NEW HOPE — Reagan Greenhaw wasn’t speaking to her best friend.
Greenhaw, a senior at New Hope High School, was upset with Bree Younger — her closest friend since third grade — when Younger told Greenhaw she was on her own for college. While Greenhaw announced her commitment to play soccer at Meridian Community College on Sept. 10, Younger — also offered a scholarship by the Eagles — told her friend she wouldn’t be joining her.
Unbeknownst to Greenhaw, though, Younger had already accepted the offer. She had a surprise planned.
The next day at soccer practice, Younger slipped a bottle of tea into Greenhaw’s locker. On it, she’d written two words: “Hey, roomie.”
“She was really surprised,” Younger said of Greenhaw on Friday morning, shortly after the two signed their letters of intent to play soccer together for the Eagles — and, naturally, live together.
“I’m really excited to meet new people, but I’m glad to have that one person I can go back to at the end of the day and talk to and talk about our day — just have somebody that I know and somebody that I’m comfortable with there,” Younger said.
She announced her commitment Sept. 29, less than three weeks after Greenhaw did. Although the two went to Meridian together to visit the campus and received their offers at the same time, Younger wanted to wait a bit after her friend made her choice.
“When she committed, I was like, ‘Well, I don’t want to just go for her,'” Younger said. “I wanted to see if I liked it for myself.”
She did. Younger picked Meridian over Northwest Mississippi Community College, which turned out to be a good choice when the Rangers’ coach left not long after Younger received an offer from the school.
She and Greenhaw will play for the Eagles and coach Mike Smith, who coached both players with Alliance Futbol Club in Meridian. Greenhaw said the familiarity she had with Smith and a great visit to the campus made the choice easy.
“Everybody was so welcoming,” Greenhaw said. “It just felt like home. It definitely felt like I was supposed to go there.”
Now, she won’t have to go alone. Younger will be there, too.
“I just think everything worked out how it should have,” Younger said.
Greenhaw agreed, saying she was glad to see her and her best friend’s efforts rewarded Friday as the two took their next step together.
“It just feels really good to have all that hard work pay off,” Greenhaw said.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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