With the Millers down by a goal in the early moments of the 2023 IHSAA soccer state final, Meredith Tippner decided to take the game over. In the first half’s 21st minute, she scored the equalizer. In the 30th minute, she delivered again on an assist to Atley Pittman, pushing the Millers into the lead. After halftime, Tippner sent another pass that set up another goal, extending the Millers’ lead to 3-1. That day, Tippner was the most dominant force on the pitch. That wasn’t uncommon throughout the season, as she was later named Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year. For her junior campaign, for most observers, it’s unanimous. Tippner is the best soccer player in Indiana, and it isn’t close.
But here’s the catch: soccer is her secondary sport.
“I love the game of soccer, I love playing in games,” Tippner said. “But I think at the end of the day, for me, I learned that if I’m going to play for four more years or even longer, I have to love every single part of the game, and I found that with basketball.”
For those next four years, Tippner will be attending the University of Miami to play Division-1, Power-5 collegiate basketball. As the 93rd rated prospect in the nation in the espnW rankings, Tippner has attracted the interest of college recruiters since her freshman year.
Former head coach of women’s basketball at Toledo Tricia Cullop was the first to offer Tippner a scholarship. After Cullop accepted the lead role at Miami this April, Tippner again was one of her top prospects. Tippner says the continued belief Cullop had in her heavily affected her decision to commit to Miami.
“The coaching staff was huge for me,” Tippner said. “After [Cullop] offered me again, I wanted to get on campus to see for myself if it was a place I could see myself living and playing at, and it was.”
Three is the magic number for this dual-threat athlete. During her time at NHS, Tippner has picked up three state championships—one in basketball her freshman year, and two back-to-back titles in soccer during her sophomore and junior campaigns. She’s also the third Miller girls basketball player in the last three years to go on to play division one basketball, preceded by the University of Connecticut’s Ashlynn Shade, as well as 2024 graduate and current Iowa State Cyclone Reagan Wilson.
Three is also the number of steals per game Tippner has averaged throughout her high school career, placing a spotlight on her defense. Miller head coach Donna Buckley says Tippner’s defensive effort is one of many attributes that make her unique.
“What separates her from other players is her ability to play defense and rebound,” Buckley said. “If your best player wants to play defense, then everybody will, and it makes it really tough to beat us.”
Alongside Shade and Wilson, Tippner has played with some of the most talented and highly-ranked athletes Indiana girls basketball has seen recently. Sitting behind those players, Tippner has enjoyed the opportunity to model her game after them, and blossom into a sought-after recruit herself, according to her coach.
“From [Wilson], I see [Tippner] picking up her leadership. She’s learning to be more vocal,” Buckley said. “She’s a big time athlete in multiple sports, and a great leader. I’m sure she has picked up a lot from the people around her.”
In the past half decade, the girls soccer team at Noblesville High School has more state championships than games they’ve lost. In the hierarchy of Indiana high school soccer, girls head coach Mike Brady and his staff created a program that has sat atop the throne four out of the last five years, a level of success never before seen in Noblesville athletics. For Brady, nominating his goals and assists leader of two championship teams to become Indiana’s next Gatorade Player of the Year was a no-brainer.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever had a player more deserving of that honor,” Brady said. “There’s a lot of great soccer players in the state of Indiana, but what she meant to the team, we don’t make it over the finish line without her doing what she was able to do for us.”
Alongside Brady, assistant coach Kristin Hetzel has trained Tippner on the varsity roster since Tippner’s freshman year. Hetzel says that the seniors’ generation of players have ushered in a new era of Noblesville soccer.
“Meredith had that competitive instinct as a freshman. Our girls who are younger that are on successful teams want to continue that success as they’re a junior or senior,” Hetzel said. “It starts an expectation of a winning culture. At one point, winning sectionals was an expectation, now it’s higher.”
The expectation for excellence is not lost on the team’s players. Senior Atley Pittman, Tippner’s varsity soccer teammate since freshman year, understands and agrees that the bar has been set high for the Millers.
“This year, obviously the end goal is for another state championship, it’s kind of always been that three-peat, so I think to finish off senior year with another one would be a lot of fun,” Pittman said. “But obviously during the season we have our priorities. We have to learn how to play together again, and we’re definitely building that back up.”
Even though each new year comes with new trials and tribulations, high expectations have remained a throughline. However, they have created higher results as well. Ten years ago, Noblesville had just seven state championships in its history. In that past decade alone, the Millers have added sixteen more collectively. Her coaches say it’s athletes like Tippner who have turned the page, and created programs where trophies are no longer a rarity.
”If you’re the best as a freshman, you’re not on a team that’s going to make you better,” Tippner said. “This school has allowed me to evolve as a player, and as a person, on and off the court.”
Tippner’s accomplishments during her tenure speak for themselves, describing the effect she can have on a roster. This year, as a senior, she’s the favorite to do something no athlete before her has ever done: become Indiana’s Miss Soccer and Miss Basketball during the same season. However, her goals reach further than decorating her personal trophy case.
“For me, on the individual accolades, if they come that’s great, but that’s not what I’m here for,” Tippner said. “I want to represent Noblesville. At the end of the day, it’s not about me personally, it’s about the team, it’s about the community, and that’s who I play for.”
Like everyone who reached the top of their respective fields, Tippner says she has put every ounce of energy she has into reaching her goals. Unlike the majority of student athletes, however, she did it on more than one playing field. In a society where high school athletes are typically forced to place all of their eggs in one basket, Tippner looks to inspire future generations to pursue multiple sports.
“I want to leave Noblesville better than I came into it,” Tippner said. “I hope that I can encourage and influence some girls [into thinking] that you can play multiple sports, the chance to create a family on both ends is worth it.”
