After a storied and successful career at Hart High School, Lancaster native Morgan Mack will be starting her women’s basketball career at Long Beach State next week.
“I chose Long Beach State because of the coaches, basically, and I liked the location and I just like the players and the campus, as well as the education,” Mack said.
She committed to Long Beach State a year ago, and has been working out with the basketball team since the summer. She also took classes during the summer.
“It’s been nice,” Mack said. “The weather’s been nice. I enjoy my teammates, as well, and learning them.”
Mack is expected to be a starter for the Beach, who have an exhibition game against Point Loma on Saturday before officially opening the season on Nov. 7 at Wyoming.
“I love the game, so I’m pretty happy,” Mack said about being a starter. “I’ve been playing a long time, since I was 5, so I’m ready.”
Mack started playing basketball in a boys league for Palmdale Parks and Recreation. She played with boys until her 8th grade year when she joined the Sports Academy Swish girls travel team in Thousand Oaks.
“It just made it harder, because (the boys) were basically saying I wasn’t going to be good,” Mack said. “And it just made me overcome that and gave me confidence to play harder. So, when I went with the girls, it was easier.”
Right before she joined the Hart girls basketball team at the end of 2021, Mack thought about quitting basketball. It was during COVID, when everything stopped, and she wasn’t sure she’d keep playing when things started back up.
“During COVID, I wanted to stop,” she said. “But after COVID, once it started back up, I just decided I really wanted to do this. … As soon as I went back, I got into it and then liked it again.”
Mack played four years of varsity girls basketball at Hart and finished as the program’s all-time leading scorer with 1,814 points. She also won four Foothill League titles with the Hawks and was named the league MVP in her final two seasons.
Mack averaged 18.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.5 steals in 30 games during her senior season. She was also named to the all-state team.
When she signed with Long Beach State, head coach Amy Wright was excited for the future.
“Another blue-collar worker from California, Morgan is a three-level scorer that has a calmness and coolness about her when she plays,” Wright said in a press release. “She is mature beyond her years on the court. What I love the most about her is that she wants to be at Long Beach State and make a difference. She wants to help put this program back on top.”
Mack’s mother, Shareese, works in the Santa Clarita Valley, which is one of the reasons she chose to go to Hart High.
“My mom had to drive to work every day, so basically I just rode down with her every day,” Mack said.
Mack’s father, George, played basketball at Northern Arizona University, and her brother, Bryce, a 2020 Antelope Valley High grad, played football at Northwestern Oklahoma State University. So, playing basketball, especially at a Division 1 program, was a goal for her.
“My brother and father played Division 1 sports, well my brother played Division 2, so that was the goal,” Mack said.
Mack is listed as an undeclared major, but said she is leaning toward majoring in business. She hopes to coach basketball one day.
“I’m eventually going to get into coaching after I play,” Mack said. “I’m going to coach basketball at the D1 level.”
No matter where she ends up, Mack won’t forget where she started and wants to encourage other little girls in the Valley to follow their dreams.
“I just basically want the little girls from Palmdale to know that you can make it and just keep playing,” Mack said. “And learn the mental aspect of the game.”