Wood's Newcome ready for soccer at Marshall

For McKenna Newcome, finding out that the head coach of the college soccer program she verbally committed to was being relieved of his duties less than two weeks before the initial day of the National Letter of Intent signing period was “kind of a shock.”

The difficult news didn’t shake the James Wood senior center midfielder’s belief that NCAA Division I Marshall University was the right school for her in all aspects, however.

“Very quickly, me and my family had a conversation, and I was like, ‘I’m comfortable where I’m at,” said Newcome in a phone interview. “I didn’t choose Marshall just solely on a coach. I felt comfortable with the community and the support around Marshall, and the school itself. I really didn’t have second thoughts at all. I was excited to sign, and I’m really excited to be with all the commits.”

James Wood held a ceremony attended by family members, friends, teammates and school staff on Wednesday to celebrate Newcome’s signing with the Huntington, W.Va., institution. Newcome will receive a partial athletic scholarship and is waiting to find out official details with academic scholarship money.

In the spring, Newcome was a First Team Class 4 All-State selection who had 30 goals and 22 assists in 21 games to lead all Winchester-Frederick County players in both categories. She was also the co-Region 4C Player of the Year and the Class 4 Northwestern District Player of the Year.

Newcome’s actual signing with the NCAA Division I Thundering Herd took place on Nov. 8, nine days after Marshall University announced that four-year head coach Michael Swan would be relieved of his duties. (Newcome made her verbal commitment on Feb. 1.) Marshall is still in the process of deciding on a replacement for Swan, who went 17-37-8 overall. This past year, the Herd went 7-9-1 for their most wins since 2015, and went 2-8 in the Sun Belt Conference.

Newcome — who currently plays club soccer with Northern Virginia Alliance — reached out to Marshall by email before an Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) showcase last year. The Herd watched her play at the showcase, and Swan reached out to her on June 15, the first day that coaches could contact rising high school juniors.

Later that summer, Swan flew out to Loudoun Soccer Park just to watch Newcome at an 8 p.m. practice.

“That kind of impacted me a lot,” Newcome said. “Just that he was that personable with me and forward with me.”

Newcome attended an ID camp in Huntington following Swan’s practice visit, and that experience also made a big impression on her.

“I got to be with the [class of 2023] commits who are currently freshmen at Marshall,” Newcome said. “They were playing with us, and they were very sweet and welcoming and talked to me a lot. I got to see the school and do an admissions tour. It was just very comfortable and I really loved it.”

Newcome said she was also dealing with ankle pain at the time (she eventually had to sit out the fall of 2022 because of a torn tendon in her right ankle) and she liked the attention to detail and care that Swan talked about when it came to dealing with injuries at Marshall.

In August of 2022, Newcome went on an unofficial visit directed by former Marshall assistant coach Austin O’Connor, now at the University of Florida, that included watching a Thundering Herd game and a meeting with Coach Swan.

Newcome also likes the sense of community at Marshall, one that’s been particularly strong since the 1970 plane crash that killed 75 people, including football players and coaches, who were on a chartered plane returning from a game at East Carolina.

“The ‘We are Marshall’ movement, and the movie, and the plane crash, and all that just kind of brings that community together, and I could kind of see that on my visit,” Newcome said. “It just felt like a family, and that just kind of drew me in.”

Newcome said she’s undecided on a major right now, but she has plenty of things she’s interested in as a result of the classes she takes at Mountain Vista Governor’s School through her James Wood enrollment. She’s considering civil or environmental engineering, environmental science, or exercise science.

Newcome also made trips to Old Dominion, Bucknell, Longwood, Middle Tennessee State and the College of Charleston. Newcome gave College of Charleston a lot of consideration, but Marshall won out.

“[Marshall] feels like home,” Newcome said.

Marshall will feel like home in more ways than one. Clarke County senior Madison Toone — who Newcome got to know during an official visit this summer — and two of Newcome’s club soccer teammates also make up part of Marshall’s recruiting class.

Newcome said she worked hard over the years to excel in school and soccer — often doing homework in the car during the four to five trips per week she made to Loudoun County to play — and she appreciates all the people who have helped her in her journey to playing in college.

“My friends, my family, all my coaches, from Blue Ridge, to Loudoun, to [Olympic Development Program coaches],” Newcome said. “You finally get to sign that letter and go, ‘This was all for a reason, and all of these people sacrificed a lot for me.’ There are so many people that have helped me to this point, and I’m just really grateful.”

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