Four years ago, Elizabeth Seton High School officials heavily recruited Raven Fox to attend the all-girls college prep institution and to play basketball for the Roadrunners. However, it wasn’t until her senior year that Raven was allowed to suit up for the team because she didn’t meet the academic requirements necessary to play.
In her final year at the school in which she dramatically improved her grades and performed outstandingly on the basketball court, Raven quieted the naysayers and proved hard work was all that was needed to graduate. Now, a big time Division I university has called.
“Raven is an exceptional athlete with the ability to score from all spots on the floor,” Syracuse University Head Women’s Basketball Coach Quentin Hillsman said in a statement. “She is a fierce competitor that played in arguably one of the best leagues in the country, where she was the leading scorer.”
Raven has beaten the odds and she has now signed a letter of intent to attend Syracuse. She says she is thrilled with her success on the court and even more satisfied that she was able to improve her grades despite pressure from family and friends to leave the school.
“When I started high school, I didn’t know anything about being ineligible. My academics were never a problem before; I was always an average student in middle school,” she said.
Featured with five other Annapolis area high school students by Chesapeake Family Magazine, Raven says her father tried to convince her to transfer to another school with less rigorous academic requirements. She says that he and others knew she had a passion for basketball and they feared sitting out would hurt her post-high school chances of landing with a good college program. Instead, Raven decided to stay at Elizabeth Seton and put in the work to raise her grades.
“I knew at Seton I would have a better education and would be more successful,” she said. “I don’t think I’d be the person I am today if I had left.”
Raven, 17, began attending after-school study halls, and she sacrificed social time with her friends to go home and study until she was eligible to play again.
“The hardest thing was not playing, because I had never had basketball taken away from me,” Raven said. “Being without basketball motivated me, and I wanted to prove to people that I could do it.”
Raven’s determination will allow her to join what the sports-themed website SB Nation reported could be Hillsman’s best ever squad at Syracuse. Raven scored 17.7 points and had 4.5 rebounds per game as a senior at Elizabeth Seton and was her team’s leading scorer. She earned first team honors in the Washington Catholic Athletic conference.
Hillsman reportedly loves to load up on high-scoring guards and he gets another player in Raven that project to fit that mold.
“More than ever,” Raven said, “I’m motivated.”