Clay High School senior Maggie Swayne, seated center, announces her intention to play college basketball for Clark State College. Seated with Swayne are father Chris Swayne (left) and Clark State College women’s basketball head coach Corey Steinke (right). Standing is Clay High School girls basketball head coach Drew Emnett.
Submitted photo
ROSEMOUNT —Maggie Swayne’s signing story, simply put, is one of a comeback complete.
That’s because Swayne’s savored senior season at Clay has resulted in her beloved basketball career continuing, as she recently and officially announced her intention to play at the next level at Clark State College.
Clark State College, located in Springfield with a student population nearing 5,000, is a member of the National Junior College Athletics Association —and the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference.
She will play for the Eagles and CSC head coach Corey Steinke —as Steinke captured OCCAC Coach of the Year honors for the 2022-23 campaign.
Swayne, the daughter of Chris and Tina Swayne of West Portsmouth, played primarily as a freshman and sophomore role player at Clay —before she missed her entire junior campaign because of a torn ACL.
However, in Drew Emnett’s second season as the Lady Panthers’ head coach, the five-foot and eight-inch dual-guard Swayne stormed back for a solid senior winter —averaging a team-best 13.1 points per game, and earning all-Southeast District Division IV second-team honors in the process.
That, of course, came courtesy of the Ohio Prep Sports Writers Association —as second-team all-district automatically made her all-Ohio Honorable Mention.
Swayne spoke of her decision to attend Clark State —in her hopes of transferring following two years there to a four-year collegiate program.
“I chose Clark State because it reminded me of home, a small school and town. I felt very welcomed when I went for a visit. I had some interest from other schools, but I thought that I needed more experience since I missed my junior year due to my knee injury,” said Swayne. “At Clark I will be able to develop my skills, and hopefully after my two years I will be able to transfer to a four-year college and continue my education and athletic career.”
Swayne spoke highly of Steinke as well.
“Coach Steinke is an amazing coach and very kind. (Clay) Coach (Drew) Emnett helped me reach out to Coach Steinke so I could tell him about my interest in playing basketball at the next level,” she continued. “He has done a great job coaching, he has turned the program from no wins to conference champs in the last few seasons.”
That was a similar experience Swayne spent as a Lady Panther —as Clay unfortunately went winless during her sophomore season, before winning nine times as a senior and advancing to the Division IV sectional championship tilt.
Swayne bounced back from that torn ACL to lead Clay’s continued improvement.
“My knee is doing great, I haven’t had any problems with it since my injury. I only have good memories from Clay, even though I wasn’t doing much in my freshman and sophomore seasons, I was with friends and training hard. My senior season was a great one even with the losses,” she said. “Being able to have my good moments and actually bring something to a team that is bouncing back from bad seasons in the past feels great and gives me a lot of motivation.”
Swayne can play point guard, but said she was being recruited primarily as a shooting guard for the Eagles.
“I feel I need to be more confident and I need to work on keeping the drive in me alive during the game,” she said. “I also need to work just on the basics like my ballhandling and making sure I’m aware of where everyone is on the court.”
Swayne said she is undecided upon a major, but “I hope that going to a two-year college will help me explore that and figure out what I am good at and enjoy.”
As for enjoyment, Swayne definitely does that on the basketball court —eternally thankful for the opportunity to continue her career, with her backstory of a comeback complete.
“I am beyond grateful when it comes to being able to become a college athlete. I knew once I became a high schooler that basketball was one of my favorite sports and I didn’t want it to end after my senior year,” she said. “At Clark State I really hope just to become a better me and keep improving and keep making bigger goals for myself to accomplish.”
Reach Paul Boggs at (740) 353-3101 ext. 1926, by email at [email protected], or on Twitter @paulboggssports © 2023 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved
