By Dan Kelly EBS Contributor
On Jan. 10, Lady Big Horns’ senior K.P. Hoffman became Lone Peak High School’s first female athlete to sign a college letter of intent. Next fall, Hoffman will attend Miles Community College to play basketball for the Pioneers, a team led by coach Nate Vogel.
MCC is part of the National Junior College Athletic Association in Region 9. They play in Division I-North and are a perennial powerhouse in the league, boasting a roster of homegrown talent from Montana as well as players from Utah, Hawaii, Spain, Poland, Bosnia and Montenegro.
Coach Vogel is happy to be adding Hoffman to the roster, who he first noticed while watching footage of her battling it out down low against a highly touted recruit. “She scored a bunch of points against a Division I post player,” he said. “We are excited to see how she develops, and hope she can provide a spark for us on the post.”
Hoffman is extremely excited about the opportunity to play for Coach Vogel and the Pioneers. “My whole career, being able to set standards for the basketball program has been really amazing and getting this opportunity really caps it all off for me,” Hoffman said.
She knows that more female athletes from LPHS will follow in her pioneering footsteps as the school, which is among the best academic schools in the state, becomes more prominent on the athletics scene. “I am happy to start the trend of having female athletes sign from Lone Peak High School,” she added.
Hoffman scored 18 points against West Yellowstone while being double-teamed for most of the Jan. 11 home game, and leads the Lady Big Horns in scoring this year. Coupled with her strong rebounding presence and stingy defense, she will be a welcome addition to the MCC Pioneers next fall.
