WALESKA, Ga. -- Emily Collins, a 5-foot-5 midfielder from Snellville, Ga., has signed a letter of intent to attend Reinhardt University in the fall and play for the Lady Eagles' first-year women's lacrosse program in the spring of 2011 under head coach Alyson Whitley. Collins, the team's first signee, will come to Reinhardt from Decatur (Ga.) High School, where she played for head coach Pat Solomon.  

"Emily is a very good and versatile player which is key for our first season next year at Reinhardt," Whitley said. "She has great stick skills and offensive instinct, and she is aggressive on the defensive end of the field as well. I'm really looking forward to coaching and working with Emily this upcoming year."

Collins, the daughter of Drake and Cathy Collins, attended Decatur as a senior after spending three years at Grayson (Ga.) High School. This past season, she was named her team's Most Valuable Player while leading DHS to its first-ever state playoff appearance. Collins led the Lady Bulldogs in scoring and finished among the state's top scorers. At Grayson, she played in the school's club lacrosse program. A fine all-around student-athlete, Collins was an honor student who also earned four varsity letters in basketball. She comes from an extremely athletic family with three older brothers who have played college baseball and two sisters who competed in college basketball, including Jessica, who was on Reinhardt's 2002-03 squad.

"My sister came here to play basketball and I was really interested in playing lacrosse, and Coach Whitley has been great in keeping me wanting to come here," Collins said of Reinhardt. "When I visited, it just clicked. I like that it's a small university with a small campus and small classes. I'm really excited."