Berklee Scifres ’23 Signs to Play Basketball For Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

For Scifres, heading to the Florida coast was an easy choice. “I decided on Embry-Riddle because my dad is an alum and because it provides me with everything I need to be the most successful in my future aviation career.”

Scifres arrived at Hutchison as a freshman and immediately made an impact around the campus with her determination, hard work, and kindness. During her sophomore year, she was named a Daily Memphian All-Metro team member, playing as a starter on the historic 2020-21 Hutchison basketball team that took home the TSSAA Division II State Championship. “It was a surreal, once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Scifres said. “I will remember jumping on the floor after the buzzer went off and feeling like everything I ever worked for finally paid off.”

She continued to perform at a high level last season, again being named to the Daily Memphian All-Metro team and to the TSSAA All-Region West team. With the basketball season just days away, she will be the only senior on a young Sting varsity squad.

Scifres has made a big impact in her time as a high schooler, and she credits those around her for her success. “Hutchison has provided me so many great coaches and teachers that have made me a better person on and off the court, and I am very thankful for that,” Scifres said.

By her own admission, she’s a perfectionist and has worked tirelessly to pursue her aviation dreams while going to high school. She stands out among her peers for her passion for studying aviation and is a part of Hutchison’s inaugural cohort of Dual Enrollment aviation students through the University of Memphis. She completed the Weather and Climate course in 11th grade and is currently enrolled in the Aviation Safety course.

Both of her parents are pilots, and flying is a way of life in the Scifres home. “I’ve grown up in a family that is embedded in aviation, on both sides of my family,” she said. Embry-Riddle will provide Scifres with an opportunity to fly through the sky and soar on the court, all at the same time. Scifres plans on spending much of her life in the air. “I want to become a commercial aviation pilot. Later in life, I’d like to create my own private charter company,” she said.

Signing with Embry-Riddle is the first step toward making that dream a reality.