CHARLESTON, Ill. -- After verbally committing last January, Mattoon native Reynae Hutchinson signed a National Letter of Intent to officially join the Eastern Illinois volleyball squad under new EIU head coach Kate Price.

An outside hitter, Hutchinson earned All-Big 12 Conference and Decatur Herald & Review Area Volleyball 'Player of the Year' honors following a standout senior season as Mattoon HS advanced to the IHSA Sectional Finals. 

“I am really excited about Reynae joining our Panther squad,” said Price. “I think she will be the type of player that will come in and immediately want to make an impact, which is why we recruited her from the beginning.”

During her time as a member of the Green Wave squad, she averaged 4.3 kills and 3.2 digs per set under the tutelage of her mom, Susan Hutchinson, who is the head coach of the Mattoon squad.

“This is a neat time for me not only because she is my daughter but she is my first athlete to get a Division I scholarship,” Susan Hutchinson said in a recent Charleston Times-Courier sports article. “Even though I've had a lot of capable athletes who could have played (Division I), she is my first scholarship athlete, but also my daughter.”

Reynae can also play clutch softball as well, previously earning All-Big 12 and Decatur Herald & Review 'Player of the Year' kudos as a pitcher/power hitter last season. A late fall season injury has limited her playing time this spring season, however, as she is recuperating from surgery.

“One of her advantages is that she is a very versatile player who can play several different positions, which on the court makes her true threat,” said Price. “I am looking forward to coaching Reynae this fall. I think that she has a ton of potential and will come in ready to work hard.”

Hutchinson will join nine returning letter winners from last season's EIU squad that made a major one-year improvement from the previous campaign, as the Panthers just missed out of advancing to the end-of-season six-team Ohio Valley Conference championship, while capturing three consecutive third place finishes in early season tournament play.

... for more info, contact Bart Rettberg, Asst. SID