Friday morning she was a high school senior. Now she’s a UNC Charlotte freshman.

Rayna Blackwell was excited about her senior year at Legion Collegiate Academy.

The Rock Hill native was preparing for the start of the Lancers’ volleyball season and had committed to play softball at Winthrop next year.

However, earlier this month, Blackwell got the opportunity to enroll at her dream school and play softball on scholarship. But to do that, Blackwell would have to forego her senior year.

It was an opportunity Blackwell could not pass up.

“I was committed to Winthrop, but (UNC) Charlotte has always been my dream school,” the now-UNC Charlotte freshman said. “So whenever they contacted me, I was really shocked, and I automatically knew it would be for a very big part. So I went on a visit, and I had an amazing time. I fell in love with the school, they gave me an offer, and that was that.”

To celebrate, Legion Collegiate not only hosted a signing day Friday for Blackwell but also a graduation, formally sending Blackwell off to her new home.

Athletic director Rich Posipanko even joked that since it was technically her own ceremony, Blackwell could lay claim to class valedictorian.

“She actually had her high school graduation requirements done as a sophomore, so she was taking all dual enrollment classes for college credit,” Posipanko said. “So she wasn’t a problem. It was just a matter of (Legion Collegiate Principal) Dr. Julie Marshall being able to pull all of that together in a short amount of time to make it happen for UNC Charlotte, and also to make sure she got her diploma from here.”

Blackwell was a star for a Legion Collegiate softball team that went 10-7 last season.

As catcher, she had a .473 batting average with a .927 slugging percentage, batting in 24 runs for the year. She also was a member of the 2021 Lancer softball team that won the South Carolina High School Sports League 2A state title.

“Rayna is the quiet type, but on the field, she definitely develops a leadership role,” head softball coach Shayna Trist said. “As a catcher, she is very vocal behind the plate. She’s always early to practice; she’s always early to games. She takes the younger girls under her wing and helps develop them. She’s just an all-around great teammate and player.”

Blackwell said the opportunity to enroll at Charlotte materialized quickly. The urgency came with the team having only one other catcher on the roster: sophomore Lexi Winters.

“If you had told me a year ago that I would be graduating early and going to Charlotte, I would have laughed in your face,” Blackwell said. “This has happened in the course of like six days. From graduating to signing. It’s insane. It’s just a whole bunch of mixed emotions, but I’m really excited to be at Charlotte.”

Blackwell isn’t the first athlete to do something like this.

High school athletes often reclassify. That move gives them the opportunity to face tougher competition and play with better teammates earlier in their careers.

However, this is a first for Legion Collegiate, and it’s something Posipanko said he will point to with pride.

“I’ve spent 40 years as a college coach,” he said. “And we’ve had people leave high school and come in (after the first semester of their senior year) but never anybody to leave an entire year early. It’s great.

“She’s a mature girl. I don’t think there’s any question she was going to take what was offered to her. Outstanding program. We just wish her all the luck in the world.”

Legion Collegiate administrators said, although Blackwell is technically a college freshman, she’d still be welcome back to participate in homecoming, prom, and other senior activities.

Blackwell said, if she has the opportunity, she would love to come back and see some of her old teachers and classmates.

This story was originally published August 11, 2023 at 3:02 PM.