Hannah Valentine is a talented tennis player.
She broke the school record in career wins this year, but she won’t be playing that sport in college — instead choosing to play on another court.
Valentine signed her national letter of intent with Barton County (Kan.) Community College in a ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 14 at Platte County High School.
The leading scorer for the Pirates last year, the guard earned all-conference and all-district honors.
“I always liked basketball the best I always had the most fun playing and with the coaches so in the end it was basketball,” Valentine said. “Tennis, I always had fun but taking to next level. I don’t think I like it enough to be that competitive.”
Playing right away was something important for Valentine, who dew interest from Division II schools Missouri S&T and Missouri Western, but she liked what the Cougars had to offer in a two-year setting. She will be a guard/forward for Alan Clark’s team, which is off to a 4-0 start.
“She will be a great offensive rebounder and a kid that attacks the basket,” said Clark, who made the drive from Great Bend, Kan., to ink the first Missouri player in his seven years in the program — four as the head coach. “We talked several times. She seems like the type of kid we want in our program. Academically, socially and athletically, she is the type we want.”
Valentine, who wants to major in either pre-engineering or pre-med, joins a Barton County squad that won the NJCAA national academic title with a 3.72 grade point average last year.