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Makayla Reed burst onto the scene for the Troup girl’s basketball team this season. The freshman transferred halfway through the season from Calvary Christian and made an immediate impact as she slotted into the starting point guard role and never looked back.

“I knew coach (Carla Thornton) had a role for me, but I really didn’t know what to expect at first,” Reed said. “I’m thankful to coach Carla for trusting me though right away to have such an important role.”

“The speed and physicality were definitely a big change though,” she added.

This was a major transition for Reed, but she did have familiarity on her side. Reed played at Long Cane during her sixth-grade season before transferring to Calvary Christian. Most of the Troup players already had previous experience playing with Reed which helped make her transition so easy. 

“It was definitely a big change during the season, but reconnecting with the girls made it so easy and now they are like family,” Reed said. 

The transition was made easier by coach Carla Thornton as well. The long-serving head basketball coach helped Reed feel right at home.

“Coach Carla had helped me out so much since I transferred in,” Reed said. 

In the past, Reed was a true multi-sport athlete. There was barely a sport she didn’t play whether it was soccer, softball, cross country, flag football or something else.

Now, Reed is hyperfocused on basketball. It’s her true love and she plans to take it to the limit. 

While there is a large difference in talent between GIAA, the classification that Calvary Christian plays in, and the GHSA in which Troup plays, Reed has been playing travel ball where she matches up against some of the best players in the country.

“Currently I play with Tennessee Soul and we travel all over,” Reed said. 

“The competition level just wasn’t there for me (at Calvary Christian). I was really growing in my game, so I transferred into Troup to work under a really good coaching staff that is pushing me towards the goal of playing college ball,” she added. 

Reed has also been playing varsity ball since the seventh grade. GIAA allows middle schoolers to play up, which Reed did in her seventh and eighth-grade seasons. This has allowed Reed to total over 1,000 varsity points in her young career. 

Reed’s playmaking and scoring on offense, she averaged just under 10 points per game as a freshman, was key for the Tigers in the second half of the season, but her defense was equally as important. Reed averaged three steals per game as a Tiger and is only getting better on both ends of the court.

“I still have a lot to learn, but I feel like I’m in a good place right now,” Reed said. “Transferring here and learning from the coaching staff has helped me a lot, but there is still so much more to learn.”

With three years left as a Tiger, Reed’s goals are pretty simple: hit 2,000 career points with 500 rebounds and 500 assists, but most importantly, she wants to bring a state championship back to Troup County. 

“My older sister (Emilia Reed) played for the team that went to the championship game (2020) and I want to be a part of a team like that too,” Reed said.