Lady Bulldogs player signs with University of the Ozarks
After suffering a season-ending injury on homecoming night during a game against NOAA Conference rival Sallisaw on Dec. 15 at Roger Sharp Activity Center, it might have looked like Muldrow Lady Bulldog senior Kennedi “Kiki” Wight might not have as good chance to get to play at the next level.
Fast forward to Wednesday afternoon, where Wight made that dream of playing college basketball become reality by signing a letter of intent with the University of the Ozarks, located in Clarksville, Ark., in a signing ceremony at Roger Sharp Activity Center.
Wight is overjoyed that the Lady Eagles still wanted her.
“It made me feel really good about myself because, even though this injury I felt set me back my senior year, it made me feel really good that even with this injury I was still able to overcome it,” said Wight, who was named to the 2024 Oklahoma Native All-State Girls Basketball Team. “It just felt really good to have them show they wanted me even though it was very unfortunate with my injury.”
Besides the fact the Lady Eagles still wanted Wight in the fold, the school and program itself made Wight be just as interested to sign with the Clarksville institution.
“I really liked the team atmosphere,” Wight said. “It was a really nice school. I went and watched some games. I got to interact with the teammates and talk with the coach (Shauna Watson). Everything I saw within their game is what made me pick them.”
Despite not playing for the final half of her senior season, Wight still notched one of the best Muldrow Lady Bulldog individual basketball careers.
“She had a great career,” Muldrow girls basketball coach Jana Armer said. “She scored over 1,300 career points. Even though she had an injury, I still see her flourishing in college. She’ll work hard to get back and be ready when the season starts.”
Armer said there are not enough words to talk about what Wight has meant to the MHS girls basketball program.
“From the time she stepped into the gym as a freshman, she made an impact,” Armer said. “It grew every year. Even this year when she was injured, the impact that she made was still felt — especially with the younger kids. She’s a great kid. She’s worked for it. She’s a gym rat. She’s in here constantly working on her game.”
Another positive in the University of the Ozarks that was appealing to Wight was its location — and distance from home.
“It was a very big factor,” Wight said. “I had multiple schools reach out that were pretty far away, but I really loved the University of the Ozarks. I felt that I wasn’t ready to go far away from home. I still love Muldrow Schools and what they’ve provided me. I would like to come support them every once in a while.”
“We’re looking forward to seeing what she’s doing at the University of the Ozarks,” Armer said. “It’s not that far away. So that makes it easy for us to load up our younger kids. She had a big hand with our sixth-grade basketball team this year. They were all here supporting her. To load them up and to be able to go watch her will be great.”
To get to fulfill her dream of playing college basketball is something special to Wight.
“It’s really exciting because I feel like as much as I loved wearing a Muldrow jersey and being on this court (at Roger Sharp Activity Center), I feel like I’m ready for the next level to take that challenge,” she said. “I’m really excited. I’m looking forward to it.”
“The motto we always have is ‘Once a Lady Bulldog, always a Lady Bulldog!’” Armer said. “Even though she might be wearing a different color with a different name across her chest, she’s still a Lady Bulldog. We’re still going to support her in every way we can.”
Wight’s signing was just one of three that took place in Wednesday afternoon’s signing ceremony as senior basketball teammate Cailey Grinstead signed volleyball letter of intent with Missouri State-West Plains, while Muldrow Bulldogs baseball senior Colton Pulliam inked his letter with Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva. Armer said these kinds of opportunities for student athletes to get to make it to do the same thing in college is special.
“There’s just a small percentage of kids that get to go on after high school, so to be in that percentage, it’s saying big things for all three of them.”
