LEDGER — Mitchell High School’s Jill Pittman will continue her basketball career at the next level.
The senior announced earlier this month that she has accepted an offer to play collegiately after graduation at Brenau University in Gainesville, GA.
Brenau, which competes in the Appalachian Athletic Conference within the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), extended their offer to Pittman this past September.
Pittman also had an offer from Division III Agnes Scott College in Decatur, GA, which she received this past August.
“Excited is definitely an understatement,” Pittman said. “This is something I’ve wanted for as long as I can remember. Basketball has always been a huge aspect of my life but it’s always been more than that— it’s created so many opportunities for me in life. Meeting new people, traveling to new places— that alone has been the biggest blessing to me.”
The Brenau Golden Tigers are led by ninth-year head coach Kris Stewart. Stewart earned his undergraduate degree from Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk and spent time as an assistant basketball, football and track coach at Freedom High School in Morganton.
Brenau assistant coach Sheena Johnson is a graduate of nearby Mars Hill College.
Brenau has also extended an offer to Mitchell senior Paige Johnson who led the Mountaineers in scoring this past season with 10.8 points per game.
Pittman, a senior, was a key part of a Mitchell team that finished this past season 22-6 overall including an 8-2 mark in Western Highlands Conference play.
Pittman and the Mountaineers also won four state playoff games and marched to the 1A West Regional Final where the team was edged by Murphy.
As a junior, Pittman appeared in all of the team’s 28 games and chipped in 8.6 points per game, which was good for fourth on the team. She also pulled down 2.6 rebounds per game and had 1.5 steals per game.
Pittman’s best game of her junior season came on Feb. 21 against rival Mountain Heritage when she poured in 21 points and shot 64 percent from the floor.
Pittman transferred to Mitchell from Avery High as a sophomore. She appeared in two varsity games as a freshman for the Vikings in 2017-18.
In her first season with the Mountaineers during her sophomore year, Pittman appeared in 27 games and averaged six points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.
“Moving to Mitchell County the start of my sophomore year was a big change for me but the opportunity at hand was worth that change,” Pittman said. “Like any normal person, I was nervous but the excitement of a ‘new beginning’ seemed incredible.”
Pittman said she will always remember the coaching she received at Mitchell.
“Coach [Zack] McCartha, Coach [Ryan] Cook, Coach [Bruce] Woody and Coach Shana [Cook] have made me not only a better player on the court, but a better person off the court,” she said. “I will be forever grateful that they pushed me to work for the things I love.”
McCartha said he and his staff are proud of Pittman’s accomplishments.
“She is a fantastic player and an even better person,” he said. “We can’t wait to follow her journey.”
Pittman, McCartha and the rest of the Mountaineers are scheduled to begin their first official practices in December and begin playing games in January after the pandemic pushed the season start date back and cut the number of games for all North Carolina high school sports earlier this school year.