Texas commit Marianna Singletary wins South Carolina’s Gatorade POY
CHARLESTON, S.C. (BVM) – The University of Texas has a reason to be proud as its longtime prospect and recent commit Marianna Singletary won South Carolina’s Gatorade Player of the Year award for her outstanding performance on the court, in the classroom and in her community.
Singletary stands at 6-foot-4 and as the starting middle hitter for the Porter-Gaud High School volleyball team, has a prep career full of accolades. The No. 9 prospect for the 2022 class, Singletary has been named the Lowcountry Player of the Year twice and is a first team Under Armour All-American. She also has a SCISA Player of the Year award and a MaxPreps Second Team All-American title to her name. And she’s done it all while maintaining a 3.97 GPA.
Singletary ranks No. 4 nationally in kills on the season (748) and owns a career mark of 2,108. She also led the Cyclones in kill percentage (47.8), aces (71), and solo blocks (36) in her final year. With a history of dominance and a future full of potential, Singletary’s journey to college has been anything but quiet.
“I got a lot of college attention early on,” Singletary said. “Around 12 years old I was playing on the U13 team and began getting some good exposure. At that point, I didn’t even really know you could play volleyball in college, so figuring out that was a possibility was really eye opening for me.”
Singletary received a mountain of support from her family and coaches and witnessed first-hand the extensive time and effort others put into supporting her future goals of becoming a collegiate athlete.
“There was a lot that went into my recruitment process,” Singletary said. “Constant communication between different colleges and my coaches at the time, and then with my parents. At home, we had multiple spreadsheets we were always looking at and emails were constantly being sent. My mom made my highlight films – this was before hudl was a thing. Really a lot of hard work from everyone around me but it was obviously worth it.”
The hard work paid off in the end as Singletary received numerous college offers. With a plethora of choices at her fingertips and a recruitment period dampened by the COVID-19 pandemic, Singletary admitted that making a final decision was difficult until her mom stepped in with a simple, yet effective, idea.
“I definitely had a top-five list for colleges,” Singletary said. “I originally thought I would be able to go on official visits to help with my decision process, but when quarantine got intense, I realized that wasn’t in the foreseeable future. So instead, one day my mom and I decided to just make a pros and cons list. We ranked the schools based on location, campus size, weather, all of the things. UT came out on top by a substantial amount and that’s when I knew I’d be going to Austin.”
Once her choice was made, Singletary didn’t look back. And though the Longhorns coaching staff has recently changed, her excitement and appreciation for the UT program has never swayed.
“Even though the coaching staff has changed since my commitment, they have been very transparent throughout my whole recruitment process and I have a really good relationship with everyone,” Singletary said. “All of the current players are great to talk to and have filled me in on what to expect and what is expected. Every conversation has been really honest and transparent so it makes me feel comfortable with my decision.”
Through her Gatorade POY award, Singletary chose to give her $1,000 grant to Kids on Point, a local program that supports youth from under-resourced neighborhoods in Charleston through academics, athletics, opportunities and life skills. Familiar with supporting people in her community through her own volunteer and charity work, Singletary felt that the work Kids on Point has been able to do is a necessity in her hometown.
“I went to the facilities the other day and got to see the kids,” Singletary said. “It’s a really great program that helps the youth so much. They have a partnership with the College of Charleston and let the kids play on the college’s squash courts. The program tries to take the kids on two annual trips and this year, they are going to the squash national championships and the kids will get to fly for the first time. I thought that was really cool.”
On her future goals post-college, Singletary hopes to graduate with a degree in sports journalism and broadcasting. And though playing volleyball professionally is a definite on her list, there is one thing she strives for above all else – reaching the Olympics.
“I definitely want to attempt to play professionally or overseas for a few years,” Singletary said. “But my biggest goal is to make it to the Olympics. That has been a longtime dream of mine that I’ve never given up on. So I’m going to do my best to make that happen.”
