Correspondent file photo / Robert Hayes South Range then-junior Gabby Lamparty reacts after her game-winning goal found the net against Crestview on Oct. 29, 2021, in the district final at Bo Rein Stadium in Niles.
Unlike most other kids, South Range senior Gabby Lamparty knew exactly where she wanted to play college soccer when she was just 12 years old.
She happened to play on the same club travel team as West Virginia University head coach Nikki Izzo-Brown’s daughter during middle school, which was her first exposure to the university.
“That was the first time I got to see her play,” Izzo-Brown said. “So she was on my radar back when she was in eighth grade.”
With the now 10-time Big 12 Conference champions as Lamparty’s frontrunner, she made her first visit to Morgantown this year, and once she stepped foot on campus, it was a wrap in her mind.
It was almost fate for Lamparty, as her journey has now come full circle. Lamparty signed her national letter of intent earlier this month to play for Izzo-Brown at WVU.
“Ever since I was 12, I loved everything about the school,” Lamparty said. “I loved the campus and the coaches. But I really chose WVU when I went on my official visit. I got to watch them practice and seeing the competitive environment and how the coaches worked with the players, it really made my choice very easy.”
It wasn’t always a foregone conclusion that she’d be able to get to this point, however.
Lamparty tore her ACL toward the end of her sophomore basketball season. Sophomore and particularly junior years of high school are essential evaluation periods for college coaches and those years are pivotal parts of the recruiting calendar.
“My recruiting process was a little different than others because I had the injury,” Lamparty said. “I also switched clubs [from Soccer Vision Academy to Internationals Soccer Club] at the same time. So there was a small window that I had a chance, and when it opened up, I had a few schools looking at me [Dayton and Kentucky]but nothing was close to WVU.”
Lamparty rehabbed, recovered and returned for her junior season with the Raiders, where she scored 23 goals and led the team to a Division III district title and a regional semifinal appearance. Her performance that year was enough to earn her All-American honors by the United Soccer Coaches, as she was one of only 70 players chosen nationwide.
Lamparty has done and played a little bit of everything during her high school and club careers, and her versatility is one of the biggest things that appealed to Izzo-Brown.
“The one thing I love about Gabby is her versatility, and if you ask Gabby (what position) she’s going to play collegiately, she’ll probably giggle and say ‘I don’t know,'” Izzo-Brown said. “And that’s a really good problem to have because there are kids that can only play one position, but with Gabby, she has a great attacking mind, but can also defend and play in that role. So, her versatility just makes her that much more valuable.”
“She’s a competitor. With that mentality, she has a defensive mindset, but also an attacking mindset. So positionally, I don’t know where she’s going to fit in yet. But she has so many attributes that I love, it’s going to be interesting to see.”
Lamparty plans to enroll in general studies at WVU and said she hopes to make the team’s rotation and contribute right away as a freshman.
“Ever since I stepped foot on the campus, I knew that (WVU) was the place I wanted to be and everything pointed in the direction of me going there,” Lamparty said.
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