Watch Katy McClellan play and you’ll see confidence, passion and athleticism. Look even closer and you’ll see McClellan is ready for the next level.
McClellan, senior co-captain at Palmyra Area High School, has accepted an offer of admission to Smith College. She will play basketball for the NCAA Division III Pioneers.
One of the Lady Cougars’ top defenders and rebounders, McClellan is a three-year starter for Coach Ron Berman and was part of the District 3 AAA and Mid-Penn Conference Champion squad in 2012-13 and the PIAA State AAA Final Four team in 2013-14.
Located in Northampton, Massachusetts near Springfield, where basketball was born, Smith is where women’s basketball was first played in 1892. The Pioneers play in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) along with such institutions as MIT, Clark and Wellesley.
Under head coach Lynn Hersey, now in her seventh season at the helm, Smith has put together five straight winning seasons and four straight post-season appearances, including the program’s first NCAA appearance in 2012-13 and the NEWMAC regular season championship in 2013-14.
Founded in 1875 with a current undergraduate enrollment of 2650, Smith College is one of the historic Seven Sisters women’s colleges. It is ranked by US News among the top 20 national liberal arts colleges in the US. Famous alumni include former First Lady Nancy Reagan, feminist icons Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem, poet Sylvia Plath, and chef Julia Child.
In addition to basketball, McClellan has also earned distinction in soccer and track and field. As a goalkeeper for the Cougar soccer team, McClellan was a Mid-Penn Keystone Division all-star the past three years, including the program’s first appearance in the PIAA state tournament in 2013, and an All-Lebanon County first team selection in 2014.
Competing in the javelin, McClellan finished second in the Mid-Penn Championships in 2014 and was a District 3 qualifier. She plans to participate in outdoor track and field at Smith.