College commitment: Midview's Mary Meng decides to follow Bowling Green coach to Michigan State

After helping lead Midview to its first state tournament appearance, Mary Meng took advantage of the chance to continue her basketball career on an even higher level. Meng, this year's Lorain County Miss Basketball, was released from her national letter of intent to play at Bowling Green State University in the wake of coach Robyn Fralick's departure for Michigan State. On Tuesday, Meng announced on her Twitter feed that she will be following Fralick to East Lansing to play for the Spartans. "I didn't expect to go through the recruiting process again but I feel like maybe I was more prepared for it this time," Meng said. "It was just a matter of finding a school that met what I was looking for. I think coach Fralick is a really great coach and that she's led teams to such great success. I've always been a player that prioritized having a good relationship with coaches." Meng averaged 16.2 points and 17 rebounds this year for the Middies, who won the first district and regional championships in school history. She also averaged four blocked shot per game. She will graduate with the Middles' single-game (29) and single-season (460) rebounding records. "It's incredibly exciting," Midview coach Brittney McNamara said. "You have that one percent that can play college basketball at that level and that less than one percent that can go to a Big Ten school. It's exciting to see all of the work she put in at Midview hopefully carry over to Michigan State. "You have to put in the work day in and day out to have these opportunities and Mary has done that. She's been such a leader for our team these past two years and I know that's going to continue when she heads over to Michigan State." Meng grew up watching Big Ten sports as an Ohio State fan, never expecting to have the opportunity to play at one of the conference's premier schools. "Getting to go to a school on that same level is pretty crazy," Meng said. "The Lord has blessed me with a great opportunity." Meng was the only player that Fralick, who coached Ashland to a Division II national championship in 2017 and compiled an 88-73 record in five seasons at Bowling Green, recruited as part of her 2023 class that will be following her to Michigan State. "When we found out that coach Fralick was going over to Michigan State she let us know that she wanted Mary to come with her there," McNamara said. "I really believed in what she did at Bowling Green and what she will do at Michigan State, so when the opportunity opened up it was something that appealed to me," Meng said. "This is kind of the icing for the season we had," McNamara said. "The fact that Mary is able to leave Midview and go to the Big Ten is a great example of what we can do at this school and in our program." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.