Maddie Gray Signs Letter of Intent

By Melissa Meador

Corinth soccer player Maddie Gray signed with Louisiana Tech on Wednesday. 

Gray said she loved the home atmosphere of Louisiana Tech. She chose the Bulldogs out of her three Division 1 offers.

“Louisiana Tech was honestly the home away from home for me,” she said. “It’s just a cute little small town but with modern things that go along with it. It’s a town with a campus, so it’s two separate things, which was one of the things I really liked. The school puts a lot into their program, which when you’re choosing where to play is something you want to see. You want to see a school that puts forth money and effort. It shows they care about it, and that was something that stuck with me.”

Gray played the rest of her high school career at Oxford before transferring back to Corinth, where she originally moved before her junior high years.

Corinth coach Cameron Glenn said she’s been a welcome addition to the team.
“I think more than anything she is an excellent teammate. She’s not just a good player but a great person,” he said. “That’s something a person in her position as a D1 athlete doesn’t have to be. She may be bigger and better than a lot of other players, but she never acts like that. She’s always inspiring others and wanting other people to be better. She makes the girls around her better.”

Being recruited as an outside back, also the position she plays for her club team, Gray is playing a different role for the Lady Warriors, filling in as the center midfielder.

“I was recruited as a defensive player that attacks, but with Corinth playing in the midfield, it means I get to work my technical skills more and be better with the ball at my feet, but still get up the field and score,” Gray said. “It will help me to be familiar with all areas of the field instead of just one, but I’m definitely excited about playing outside back at the next level. I can use my speed to get up the field and impact the game.”

Glenn called her a game changer for his team. As a junior at Oxford, she totaled five goals and nine assists while playing a defensive position.

“She came and practiced with us before she moved after her sixth grade year, and I could tell she loved the game and was impressive back then,” he said. “I was definitely jealous that she was moving because I would have loved to have had her in our program and was excited when I heard she was moving back. She has a different engine about her, and the way she moves, it’s just effortless and magical, and it happens at a rapid rate. We’re putting her in a position where she can not only impact but control the game because she’s in the midfield where the game is won and lost.”