Sophia Stiles departs in peace

Sophia Stiles isn't going to be able to sit down with each of you and explain herself, how she went from Montana Lady Griz to Florida Gulf Coast Eagle, so she wants you to know this: It's not you, it's her.

The pros and cons list she drew up in April, when she was considering her options, tilted heavily toward staying and giving the Montana women's basketball program a sixth year of her life.

It's what her coaches offered. It's what her family pushed. It's even what she wanted, at least most of her. "Everything seemed like a no-brainer to come back," she says.

"Okay, Sophia, you get to play at home, you stay in Montana, your family gets to come to your games, the coaches are awesome. You love everything about this program."

It would have been so comfortable, so easy to stick to what she's known the last five years, but that familiarity is the piece she couldn't get over. As she's come to learn, comfort is the enemy of progress.

You see, Sophia Stiles is a deeply religious girl, but still not to the level she wants to be.

As a Lady Griz, everyone had her back, everyone supported her, from her family to you, the fans who adored her and loved watching her play. It all meshed together to provide a wonderful safety net.

If she faced a challenge, she always had someone to turn to, someone who would say just the right thing or make it better. But what would happen if she removed all that? To whom would she look to?

All of that was on her mind that day along the shore of the Blackfoot River, where she stopped and sat and pored over the dog-eared pages of "Crazy Love," the book by Francis Chan.

It's become one of her life guides, how sticking to the status quo, remaining comfortable, can keep you from the life of faith you want, the relationship with God that He desires to have with you.

She sat there, the pros and cons ping-ponging around in her mind telling her the choice was easy, to return, the book pushing her in the other direction, to try something different, to take a leap of faith.

"I went out there and prayed and read some parts of the book I had highlighted. Afterwards I was like, you are ready to go and ready to go do something crazy," she says.

And that initially meant going overseas, as big and as drastic a move as someone, whose life has forever revolved around family and Malta, Mont., could make.

"Obviously my family is everything to me, and that can be an issue, because I rely on them so heavily," she says.

"I need to grow a lot in my faith. Getting rid of my safety nets and really out of my comfort zone and start trusting more in God would be really good for me."

So again, she wants you to know: it's not you, it's her.

It's also helpful to remember that this debate – should I stay or should I go? – only came about because of the unique situation brought on by COVID and the extra year of eligibility it potentially allowed.

She was at Montana for five seasons that aged like a decade. A season-ending knee injury as a freshman, followed by one year off, recovering, rehabilitating, returning to the player she had been becoming.

A high-profile coaching change, the disruption brought on by COVID, a redshirt senior year with a third head coach in three seasons.

She arrived at Montana after the team's seven-win season of 2016-17. She departs feeling like she is leaving the program in better shape than when she came in.

The Lady Griz are coming off 19 wins last season, the most for the program since 2015-16.

"I think it's in good hands, and I think Brian is amazing and that the staff is awesome. The girls are going to be really good next year. I'm not worried about them," she says.

"The confidence that they instilled in us is just unmatched by most coaches I've had. Playing for someone like that was an awesome experience and made everyone play more to their potential."

So, it was set. Stiles was going to Europe, the closer to the Mediterranean the better, the more sunshine and warmth in the winter for a Malta-raised girl even better than that.

But as April became May, her options shifted from definitely playing overseas to possibly giving college basketball one more shot for one more year.

She visited Utah. Then a school she had never heard of reached out: Florida Gulf Coast. Before she looked into the program, she was mesmerized by those three words: Florida. Gulf. Coast.

She visited FGCU's campus and once again made a pros and cons list. Everything pointed toward Utah. But Sophia Stiles was on the crazy path, and there was no reason to veer from it now.

"I did a lot of praying and asking God to allow the Holy Spirit to help me figure out where I was supposed to go. That's what did it. My heart was telling me to go to Florida," she says.

If Sophia Stiles is departing in peace, Lady Griz coach Brian Holsinger owns the same feelings. After all, she's just living out what he's been preaching to his team since he arrived on campus 15 months ago.

"I teach that being uncomfortable is a good thing for all of us to grow, and that is no different for Sophia," he says. "She gave so much to this program and left a very positive mark on the Lady Griz.

"Sophia will always be a Lady Griz. Our staff absolutely loved coaching her and getting to know her. She is fantastic. We wish her nothing but the best and are so proud of her career with the Lady Griz."

She has an undergraduate degree in psychology, a graduate certificate in public health administration. By next month she'll have finished the requirements for a master's degree in public administration.

Because those five years at Montana were spent just as much in the classroom as they were on the basketball court.

Once she arrives at Florida Gulf Coast, she'll work toward a one-year entrepreneurship graduate certificate.

But before she goes, she wants to reemphasize one thing: it's not you, it's her.

"I didn't feel like I was ready to be done with basketball yet, but I also wanted to try a new experience that would allow for some self-growth and some growth in my faith," she says.

She isn't able to sit down with each of you, but she wants you to know what the last five years have meant to her.

"I want people to know how much I enjoyed my time and that I'm super thankful I got the opportunity to play for the Lady Griz, because it really was my dream my whole life," she says.

"There were ups and downs, but I wouldn't trade the overall experience for anything."

University of Montana Athletics

Players Mentioned

Sophia Stiles

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