Across the Mid-American Conference, Eastern Michigan University women’s basketball player Peyton Hill, No. 23, guard, is a competitive force among her freshmen cohort, earning her the title of MAC Freshman of the Year.
Hill, who plans to study engineering starting in the fall, is from St. Louis, Missouri, where she attended Incarnate Word Academy. During her high school basketball career, Hill played for four state championships.
Before finding her love for basketball, encouraged by her father, Hill was a dancer at her mom’s dance studio.
“I danced all my life up until freshman year of high school,” Hill said. “That’s kind of where I get my footwork and all that.”
Hill danced ballet, tap and hip-hop — her favorite. She said she fell in love with the game of basketball when she was in fifth or sixth grade when she tried it out at the YMCA with her older brother.
“My dad, he always tells this story about how, maybe like a couple of games in, he said I did like a behind-the-back, step back to a shot,” she said. “He was like, ‘you should be pretty good at this sport.’”
If Hill's statistical performances are any indication, her dad was spot-on. Boasting sixth in the conference, Hill shot 81.9% from the free-throw line. She maintains her freshman proficiency, shooting 35.2% from the three-point line and 44.7% from the field, landing her second- and fourth-best among MAC freshmen.
In addition to an older brother, Hill has a younger brother and sister. She said her family is supportive of her basketball career, even driving nine hours to attend her first college game in Louisiana this past academic year.
“That just shows a glimpse of the dedication and what sacrifices they make,” she said.
For Hill, the past season’s highlight was a Feb. 7, 2026, game against Arkansas State University. She said going into the game, her team was able to let go of any negativity and fear of losing — an approach that worked, landing the Eagles a win, 76-73. The game also marked Hill’s top scoring performance when she brought in 27 points, the game high and her personal best.
Eastern Michigan University women's basketball player, No. 23 Peyton Hill, dribbles the ball around Arkansas State players in the game Feb. 7, 2026, at the George Gervin GameAbove Center.
“I guess mentally, I would say I have had a pretty solid season all throughout, from beginning to end. But I think games leading up to that, I was kind of just in my head a lot,” she said. “The team let go that game, the team trusted me and I think being in a situation like that allowed me to find myself.”
Hill ended the season with seven games under her belt when she scored 20 or more points. Hill claims the second-highest points per game average among her teammates, at 14.6.
In addition to her love of basketball, Hill is interested in technology and grew up working on cars in her family garage with her dad.
“He taught me how to do oil changes and different things about wheels, learning about the engine,” she said. “Me and my dad, we bond over tech and building things.”
Growing up, she helped her dad finish their home’s basement, converting it into a home theater, office space and gym, Hill said. Her experience with mechanics and building alongside her father are what inspired her to study engineering.
“Now that I think about it, it’s like a no-brainer. I love everything about it,” she said.
Hill said she loves cars of all kinds: trucks, SUVs, fast cars and sports cars. Off the court, Hill said she is pretty reserved. She likes to spend time alone, often playing video games. However, she said, she is still close with her teammates, especially her roommate and teammate Alli Zajac, No. 1 for the Eagles.
"She's a big reason as to why I committed," Hill said. "She helped me to trust these people, and I trust her. Her family's like my family and my family's like her family. So, she's an overall amazing person. We trust each other with literally everything. When it comes to her, I got her back as much as she has mine."
Leaving home for the first time and attending a university out of state can be challenging for anyone. Hill said it helped to have a built-in community in the form of the women's basketball team at EMU to ease her through that transition.
"I'm just grateful I get to have that automatic circle," Hill said.
During the basketball season, Hill and her teammate enjoy a ritual of dancing Fridays after practice and on travel day.
"Friday is when you get down, start dancing and stuff like that. I think just everybody's personality comes out. Some people can't dance, some people can. It's just a little bit of everything, but everybody's having fun," Hill said.
Hill said her favorite song to hype her up before a game is "0 to 100" by Drake, which she listened to before the Arkansas State game.
"Going on deeper into it, it speaks of all the obstacles that I've been through to get to here," she said. "It reminds me of where I am at and where I am wanting to go."
Hill said she finds the EMU campus community to be supportive, and for that reason she loves being an Eagle — especially when she gets to play for her peers.
"We want you guys to come to the games, of course. You know, we'll put on a good show," she said.
"I love the home games just because of the environment," she added.
It isn't always easy to be student athlete with such a demanding schedule, but Hill wants her classmates to know that she and her teammates are committed to both athletics and academics.
"Trust and believe that we are putting in the same amount of work in school as we are in the court," she said.
The Eagles ended the season 6-12 in conference play.
Looking forward to next season, Hill said she is excited to keep building with her teammates on the foundation they set this year.
"I think we can all agree that by the end of this season, there was a lot of potential that still could have been fulfilled," Hill said. "With so many young people on the team last year, everybody's coming from directions and trying to merge and be on the same road. Now, I think we did that successfully, but I think we know what individually we have to work on. As a group, we are setting new and higher standards."
"Of course we want to be No. 1," she said.
