BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Hadleigh Dill's journey to Campbell University is similar to many student-athletes who are competing at the NCAA Division I level in basketball.
 
Join a competitive AAU program at an early age, field verbal offers from programs, excel in the classroom as well as on the court during your high school career.
 
However, her story also veers off the track of the routine trip from prep standout to college starter.
 
Let's begin with the fact that a severe ankle injury cost Hadleigh nearly all of her senior season at Enka High School in Candler, N.C.
 
Despite that setback, she also entered Campbell in the fall of 2023 with enough early college credits to be classified as a sophomore academically.  In fact, she is on track to graduate in four years with not only an undergraduate degree in sport management, but also with her MBA.
 
Now she stands as one of the leaders of the team that came just shy of earning Campbell's first trip to the NCAA tournament in a quarter century.
 
Dill's college career already includes a trip to the WNIT second round.  She is less than two semesters from completing her undergraduate requirements in just three years.  For these reasons, and so many more, she is grateful for her scholarship.
 
"First and foremost, I'm blessed to have my scholarship," said Hadleigh, who was valedictorian of her high school graduating class.  "It definitely takes that financial burden off, but it also recognizes the hard work and the sacrifices that not only I, but my parents have made.  My parents spent countless hours, money, traveling, sacrificing their own time, missing sibling birthdays, my mother spent multiple Mother's Days in gyms watching me play.  To me, it recognizes their sacrifices. I'm forever grateful for that."
 
Beyond her family, Hadleigh is thankful for the Campbell staff staying with its commitment to her, in spite of a severe injury that curtailed her ability to play as a high school senior.
 
"I'm grateful for the coaches for seeing my potential and being willing to provide me with a free education," she said.  "I'm blessed and grateful to be here and have this opportunity."
 
The generosity of Fighting Camel fans, alumni, family, and friends truly makes a difference in the lives of student-athletes at Campbell University.  Through the Women's Empowerment Fund, the Fighting Camel Club's goal is to make that experience even better, specifically for our female student-athletes.  To join the Fighting Camel Club, click here.
 
A close family
The youngest of three siblings, Hadleigh grew up in the North Carolina mountains in Candler, an Asheville suburb, next door to cousins and learned to compete at an early age.
 
"I grew up next to my cousins (two boys), playing in the back yard – football, baseball, using the trees as the bases.  We grew up outside before screens were kind of the thing."
 
Even though she admittedly had to be bribed (her words) by her parents with a baby doll to play in an Upward Basketball league, she quickly found that those backyard games with her cousins fueled a competitive edge.
 
Hadleigh credits her first AAU coach, Kevin Laws, with teaching her basketball fundamentals.  As she grew, and her game improved, so did the travel requirements of practicing and competing.  By the time she joined the East Tennessee Flight AAU team, which was based out of Knoxville, Hadleigh and her parents were making two weekly round trips of more than three hours just to practice.
 
As a high school freshman, she received her first verbal offer – from Appalachian State.  A similar offer from Campbell and Coach Ronny Fisher followed.
 
Why Campbell?
Not only was Campbell one of the first programs to recognize Hadleigh's potential, but the staff's continued diligence was among the many factors that led the 2022 NCHSAA 3A tournament's most outstanding player to ultimately choose the Fighting Camels.
 
"The recruiting process is a lot," said Hadleigh.  "Even though they offered me as a freshman, they were still consistent in their recruiting – even after I got hurt.  They still were calling me.  I made multiple visits here.  It was the team and a community I felt like I could be a part of.  A winning program, but also the family feeling of it."
 
Hadleigh's father, Michael, and Fisher both attended the same high school in Fairview, N.C.  Fisher was in the gym when Hadleigh suffered the injury that cost her all but the final two games of her senior high school season.
 
"In my junior year of AAU summer ball, the first live period in April, Coach Fisher had just flown in to watch me, and I dislocated my ankle."
 
The injury was so severe that Hadleigh was transported by ambulance to the hospital.  What was originally thought to be an eight-week recovery period extended to 10 months for her dislocation, fractures, pulled ligaments, bone bruises and evulsion fractures to heal.
 
Some teams would not offer a highly-valued scholarship to someone who had suffered such a severe injury.  Coach Fisher stayed true to his commitment.
 
Academic excellence
Hadleigh's mother, Senna, is a teacher at Enka High School, and Hadleigh's older siblings – Braxton and Olyvia – also took advanced courses to prepare for college.  Hadleigh also praises the Enka faculty for its willingness to work with athletes, many of whom had to miss class while traveling during the regular and postseason.
 
It was during her high school career that Dill learned about the importance of working ahead and keeping her teachers informed of her travel requirements.  Both of those skills are ones she has carried on at Campbell, which competes in a conference that requires travel from Boston to Charleston during the regular season.
 
What's the secret for a high school valedictorian who has earned CAA Commissioner's Honor Roll and College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors?  Hard work, prioritizing and time management.
 
"My parents definitely instilled the hard work aspect in me," says Hadleigh.  "I wanted to be great at whatever I did. Academics was part of that. Academics plus being a good athlete sets you up for success, especially in the recruiting world. I had options, even if I didn't want to go the athletic route (in college)."
 
A new challenge
Dill averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds as a prep junior while leading Enka to a state 3A runner-up finish.  After missing nearly her entire senior season, she joined a Campbell roster in 2023-24 that included five seniors.  She saw action in 24 of 31 games off the bench as a freshman for a Camel squad that finished 17-14 overall and 9-9 in its initial season as a member of the Coastal Athletic Association.
 
Shortly after preseason practice began last year, on Sept. 27, 2024, winds and flooding from Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina.  While the Candler community was spared much of the worst damage that affected other parts of the mountain region, the Dill family felt the impact, nonetheless.
 
Hadleigh recalls seeing the damage from online video and how she felt when she couldn't reach her parents by phone.
 
"That was a tough time," said Dill, who was in Buies Creek when the storm hit.  "We saw (on television) everything that was going on at home. Everything that I had known was underwater. All the communication was down. I wake up and see videos of trucks floating and the CVS and the U-Haul place are underwater. I called my parents.  The line didn't even ring."
 
Text messages to her brother and sister delivered no answers as to whether her parents and extended family were okay.  Finally, five or six hours after her initial call, Michael and Senna were able to get cell service and contact their son and daughters.
 
Like everywhere in the region, the Dill family had no water or power service.  In fact, Enka High School was closed for about a month because of a lack of clean water.
 
Hadleigh's cousin, who had a place in Lake Lure, had to be airlifted out of danger after holding onto a pillar for three hours to stay out of the rising flood.  They lost their boat and car.  During fall break in October of 2024, Hadleigh took a load of groceries home to her family because the local stores only accepted cash and customer access was limited since delivery trucks could not access many businesses to refurbish stock.
 
In spite of the devastation left by Helene, Hadleigh's parents had first-hand experience in how the community worked together in such trying times. 
 
While driving on winding roads, many with just one lane passable due to erosion or a tree blocking the way, Michael and Senna were returning home after checking in on Hadleigh's grandmother.  Where once the road was passable just hours earlier, they arrived at a roadblock because the path was unsafe to pass.  On the other side of the roadblock was another family attempting to travel in the direction of where Hadleigh's parents had come.
 
In a manner of cooperation, two families who previously did not know each other decided to swap vehicles for several days so that they could continue their trip.
 
Six weeks later, Campbell began its 2024-25 women's basketball season.  Hadleigh played in 34 of 35 games with 10 starts and averaged 22 minutes and 5.2 points for a squad that finished 12-6 in league play.  She scored in double figures 10 times, including a career-high 15 points at Charleston.
 
Third-seeded Campbell romped over Towson (73-54) and second seed Charleston (80-59) to reach its first CAA title game since joining the league in 2023.  Ultimately, the Camels fell 66-63 to William & Mary in the final but accepted a WNIT bid and won at Coastal Carolina in the first round.
 
"We were so close, and I know we're working to put ourselves in that position again," said Dill.  "It's definitely a motivator because you know you can do it. We were there.  Knowing that we could give a little bit more, execute a little bit better, clean up things, that's something we are focused on."
 
Winning 39 games in her first two seasons, reaching a league final and getting a taste of the postseason, albeit not the Big Dance, are great, but not what Hadleigh enjoys most about being a part of the Campbell women's basketball team.
 
"The expectation of effort, and how we treat each other. Our team is like a family and I love that," said Dill.  "Shots may not go in, you're going to make mistakes, but you can still play hard. That's something that they really instill in the team. That's something I appreciate, you can still give that effort."
 
The three days that will determine the CAA's automatic qualifier to the 2026 NCAA Championship are more than four months away.  Hadleigh credits the Campbell staff with keeping the team focused on the task at hand during a long season.
 
"Our coaches do a good job of presenting the season game by game," she said.  "We have to take care of this one, learn from it, then we can go on to the next one.  We treat November and December as learning months and being open to the idea of getting better. When we get to conference play, we really need to be firing on all cylinders."
 
On this season's roster, only senior Gianni Boone has logged more minutes than Dill and the junior wing understands how her role has changed from two years ago.
 
"I'm more in a leadership role," said Dill.  "I know the plays, I know what Coach wants out of us.  Helping my teammates, whether it's execution or keeping my teammates upbeat in practice and being vocal. My leadership role is big this year."
 
What advice would she give a younger teammate?
 
"Be present in the moment because it's easy to look at all you have to do and get overwhelmed by it," said Dill.  "Enjoy every moment. Be prepared, whether it's a test or a game. Take everything in and learn from opportunities."
 
Obviously, the goals are clear for Hadleigh Dill and her teammates.
 
"I want to be able to say that we made it to March Madness," said Dill.  That's something you dream about and it's at the top of my list. Getting that CAA Championship. Those go hand in hand."