Brighton's Makena Smith will finally wear school soccer uniform at Purdue

Makena Smith has represented Brighton throughout high school on the basketball court, but she never got a chance to do in the sport in which she excels the most.

The nature of the high-level club soccer scene is that players aren’t permitted to play for their high school teams, so Smith could only imagine what it would be like to play for Brighton’s successful soccer program.

“I’ve wanted to play high school soccer for the longest time,” Smith said. “It’s so hard, because the national leagues I’ve played in don’t allow you to play high school soccer. I want to more than anything. I’d like to represent my school.

“With basketball, I haven’t been playing it as long; I try my best. In soccer, I feel like I could really showcase myself on the high school team.”

The first time Smith has the opportunity to represent her school on the soccer field will be next fall when she’s a student at Purdue University.

Smith, who originally committed to Florida Gulf Coast as a junior, signed with the Boilermakers to continue her academic and soccer careers.

“The initial offer I received wasn’t the same as the contract offer, so I just decided to stay a little bit closer to home after that,” Smith said. “FGC isn’t a fully funded school. Scholarships there are a lot harder. Purdue is a fully funded school in the Big Ten and is able to give out larger scholarships.”

She also considered Kentucky and would have had Kansas in the mix, but she couldn’t work out a visit.

The opportunity to play for a Big Ten school excited Smith.

“That was partially the reason I committed to Purdue, the fact it's in the Big Ten,” she said. “I’ve grown up with the Big Ten my whole life. It’s closer to home, so my family can come watch. It’s just a lot easier.”

By earning a Division I scholarship, Smith fulfilled a lifelong dream — and proved some haters wrong.

“Being kind of tall, I wasn’t very agile when I was younger,” she said. “I had to overcome that. Having coaches kind of tell me, ‘You’re not gonna play Division I soccer, you’re not good enough, you’re not going to do this.’ It’s enabled me to prove them wrong. That’s another huge thing; not only is it a big dream, but I wanted to prove everyone wrong.”

One of the reasons Smith left her previous soccer club to join the Michigan Jaguars in the Novi area was to be in a more supportive, encouraging environment.

“I was under coach Dan Dalzochio,” she said. “He gave me so much confidence, gave me so many opportunities. That’s where I took off as a soccer player.”

Juggling the demands of soccer with high school basketball is challenging, but Smith wouldn’t want it any other way. There are times when she heads to Novi to practice with the Jaguars after a Brighton basketball practice, though she limits her soccer activity during the winter.

“It’s chaotic, but it also teaches you to be more organized and work through it,” said Smith, Brighton’s starting center, whose forte is rebounding. “I’m glad I did it, for sure.

“It’s hard kind of balancing it out. When I play basketball for long periods of time, it helps with my agility and fitness, but technically my touch (in soccer) is sometimes off; I have to get back in the swing of things with that. It’s not the easiest thing, for sure. I’m trying the best I can playing basketball and to be the best I can playing soccer at the same time.”

Smith is following the same path as 2022 Hartland graduate Emmy Sargeant, who is playing soccer at Michigan State. Sargeant didn’t play high school soccer, but was a starter on the Eagles’ state Division 1 runner-up basketball team, as well as an all-stater on the track. Smith has considered competing in track and field, but hasn’t out of concerns for getting too rusty in soccer.

“When I moved over to Jags, I played on the same team she did, because my age group’s roster was full, so I played with her,” Smith said. “She’s amazing, so nice.”

Smith will play defense at Purdue.

"Kena is a great fit for our program, and I am very excited that she is a Boilermaker," Purdue coach Drew Roff said in a press release. "She is an athletic center back who is dominant in the air, thrives in 1-v-1 duels, and can be trusted to build play out of the back. Our 2023 class is poised to make a big impact next fall and beyond, and I look forward to her being an integral part of it."

Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillKhan.

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Brighton's Makena Smith to play college soccer at Purdue