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Kerrigan Miller was getting homesick.
It’s why after playing college lacrosse in Southern California for four years, the Bayport-Blue Point legend chose to play her last season — as a graduate transfer — in Chapel Hill, with North Carolina.
“I loved USC and I can’t say enough good things about it, but I also was getting kind of homesick after being on the West Coast for four years,” Miller told Goheels.com.
“So, I started to look at my options and what I want to do with my life, and then I came across UNC’s sports administration program,” added Miller, whose younger sister Maddigan this fall signed a letter of intent to play at Stanford. “The more I researched it, I was like, ‘This is awesome.'”
Kerrigan Miller this week landed on Inside Lacrosse magazine’s 2021 Top 50 Players in College Lacrosse list. The midfielder was No. 20 among women and men players from across the nation.
Here’s what Inside Lacrosse had to say about Miller, a midfielder.
“Arguably the most sought-after ‘free agent’ in the women’s Division I transfer portal over the summer, Miller has landed in Chapel Hill set to take the field for her Team USA coach, Jenny Levy. The two-time Pac-12 Midfielder of the Year, also a three-time All-American, racked up 143 points for the Women of Troy in addition to grabbing 158 groundballs, 157 draws and causing 120 turnovers.”
Inside Lacrosse
Miller has been on Inside Lacrosse’s prestigious list before. She ranked No. 25 on the 2020 list.
Miller played the past four seasons at USC. She was granted an additional season of eligibility by the NCAA and is eligible to play in 2021 due to the 2020 season being cut short because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In October, Miller was among the pool of 50 players invited to try out for the U.S. team that will compete at the 2021 World Lacrosse Women’s World Championship next summer. The pool includes two of Miller’s current teammates on the Tar Heels.
Earlier this year, Miller earned second-team All-America honors from Inside Lacrosse after leading the Trojans to a 6-0 record and a No. 7 ranking in the final IWLCA poll this spring. She finished second on her team in ground balls (16) and caused turnovers (8), and tied for second in draw controls (13). She also tallied 11 points (10 goals and one assist), reported Goheels.com.
“Kerrigan has been a dominant midfielder in the Pac-12 and in the country since she entered the college scene,” North Carolin Coach Jenny Levy told Goheels.com, speaking about the country’s top high school recruit in 2016. “She is a scrappy, relentless and confident player. Her competitive fire and passion are what separate her.
“She has been in so many competitive situations throughout her playing career, which has given her a fearlessness and an ability to handle pressure situations,” Levy added.
Here’s a video introducing Kerrigan, then a freshman, to USC.
