Vineyarder Erin Hill will join the Yale women’s basketball team next year, one of only four standout first-years.

“I’m so excited, I have been waiting for this moment for honestly the last year,” Ms. Hill told the Gazette this week. She played for the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School team for three years, scoring over 1,000 points. After her junior year on the Island, she transferred to Tabor Academy in Marion. She decided to repeat her junior year there to fully prepare for collegiate athletics, and she said watching her class graduate ahead of her was difficult, but worth it.

“I had to stay back and stay in high school, and now I finally get to do it,” she said.

She was named most valuable player at Tabor Academy, but also became familiar with the view from the bench. The spring after she transferred, an ACL injury left her unable to play for several months, though she still led the team as captain.

“ACL are the worst three letters to hear in any sport ever because there is such a long recovery time,” Ms. Hill said.

It was the first time she had ever been seriously injured playing basketball, and she said the experience of not being able to play cemented her passion for the sport.

“If that hadn’t happened I don’t think I’d be where I am today,” she said. “It pushed me so much harder because I wanted to get back.”

She went to every practice and game, worked on strengthening her upper body, and took on a painful physical therapy regimen. By June, she was ready for Yale’s elite camp, where she wowed coaches and secured her spot.

Ms. Hill is the tallest person in her family at about 6’2”, but there is a shared interest in basketball in the house. Her mother, Maureen McManus-Hill, played at Lafayette College and coached Erin from fifth to 11th grade. Her younger sister, Devin, plays as well.

The Yale Bulldogs won the women’s basketball invitational postseason tournament last year, making them the first Ivy League team to do so. Head coach Allison Guth said Erin got her attention early on.

“She is one of the best post passers I’ve recruited and is tremendous with her ability to score around the rim,” Coach Guth said in an email. “Players like that help you win championships.”

Ms. Hill will move to New Haven at the end of August. For now, she is spending the summer nannying and working out with her father, Brad, who is a personal trainer.

“I’m very nervous because I haven’t been a freshman in so long,” she said of her next chapter. “But I’m excited to play with so many talented women on the team.”