May 15, 2024

By Jon Feyen
ScoutU

During a year when she was team captain for the soccer team and a record-setter on the basketball court, Paige Marshall had just one more goal left to accomplish – choosing her college. Marshall had about 50 schools interested in her before deciding to play NCAA Division II soccer at the University of South Carolina Aiken.

“I really liked the location and the size of the school,” Marshall said. “The coaches were also a big factor, because on my visit I felt comfortable with them and felt like they really wanted me to join their soccer program.”

Marshall was named 1st-Team All-County each of the last two seasons while helping Lake High School (Ohio) total 12 shutouts. This year she also scored three goals including a match-winner.

“I am extremely excited!” Marshall said. “I’ve always thought about playing in college, but never thought I would actually be able to play the sport I love. I am extremely blessed.”

ScoutU’s DJ Blanks originally scouted Marshall playing basketball, where she broke the school record for free-throw shooting. He soon learned that she is also a standout on the soccer field.

“What attracted college coaches was Paige’s athletic ability, length and overall character as a student-athlete,” Blanks said. “Her approach to the process was positive, and she was excited to do whatever she could to get to the next level. She absolutely deserves this opportunity to play at USC Aiken.”

“They wanted the most options they could get, and right away had 45-plus text messages from college coaches. From there, Paige narrowed down her decisions and found the right schools to go on visits to. She ended up loving Aiken very much and is moving from Ohio to South Carolina now. Paige is a very hard worker, was attentive, detailed and made the best decision for her future. Congrats Paige – I am very proud of you!”

Marshall should have a smooth transition on the academic side, as she owns a 3.95 GPA and 25 ACT score. ScoutU takes pride in helping student-athletes like Marshall find all the college opportunities they deserve.

“DJ was extremely caring, and we could tell he had Paige’s best interest at heart,” her mom Lisa Marshall said. “He was very easy to reach and talk to whenever we needed throughout the process. He wanted to be kept in the loop about all the coaches who reached out and when we had visits. Paige had a lot of coaches contact her, and she had a lot of questions that DJ was always able to help with.”

“After narrowing it down and visiting her two favorite colleges, she got offers from both and was also given offers from a couple other schools she talked with. Paige is very happy with the college she will be attending and so are we as parents. Without ScoutU’s help, she would not have been looked at by all the schools that reached out. We are very grateful that DJ found us when he did! ScoutU made this process so much easier than trying to do it ourselves. We’d highly recommend DJ and ScoutU!”