Tre’Ann Classay isn’t your average high school freshman.

Going to school and having a social life is now going to be impacted by being a key contributor for the South Mountain Jaguars varsity girls basketball team during her first year of high school.

Coach Mark Carter has been able to watch Classay grow in the sport she loves since junior high school, and he said he is excited to continue watching her play at a higher level in high school.

“To have someone who I actually taught at a younger grade and see how they develop, it’s a blessing,” he said. “She’s a really phenomenal athlete.”

Coach John Cano also chimed in to praise her advanced abilities and innate knowledge of the game on the court, as well.

“She has a natural gift to find the ball,” he said. “So if it’s a loose ball, 50-50 balls, I envision she’ll be on the floor grabbing them. She’s what we call a gym rat. She never wants to leave, she’ll always put up shots, and she takes direction very well. Most importantly, she’ll be one of our top shooters on the perimeter.”

But perhaps the most important part of Classay’s life and what has gotten her to where she is now is her background.

Classay is from a small town called White River in the White Mountain Apache tribe in east-central Arizona.

She moved down to Phoenix with her mom and dad when she was in second grade because her mom wanted to finish college. Her mom, at the time, was the only member of her family to attend college.

After her mom had finished college, Classay has looked up to her as a role model, and someone she wants to be like.  

“I want to be like my mom,” she said. “I want to go to college and make them both proud and finish high school.”

Basketball runs in the family as well. Her mom and dad played basketball, and when she was younger she tried her hand at the sport because she wanted to be like her parents.

She doesn’t want to stop playing after high school, though. Classay wants to keep bringing her game to new heights and, eventually, make it to the WNBA and play professionally.

“She gives me that Kobe feeling,” Coach Carter said. “She brings that Mamba mentality.”