Watson commits to play volleyball at Eastern

Her older brother, who is a redshirt freshman receiver at the University of Idaho, told Haile Watson that when the time was right, she'd know where she'd want to continue her college career.

Saturday afternoon was that time.

Watson, a 6-foot-2 senior middle blocker at Lake City High, verbally committed to Eastern Washington University over the weekend to play volleyball.

"They've got a great program with really good coaching," Watson said. "And it's great for academics. I'm excited to be going there to play volleyball at a higher level and being competitive with some good programs."

For Watson, she'll be the third member of her family to pursue college athletics at the Division I level, with older brother Deon (football) and father Deon (basketball) continuing their careers at Idaho.

"My brother said you'll know where it feels right," Haile said. "He just told me to go somewhere you're wanted. The only thing he really told me was to keep working hard."

Ball State, San Francisco, Louisiana Tech and Central Arkansas also expressed interest in Watson.

The move also reunites Watson with former high school teammate Kylie Curtis, who is a freshman at EWU this year.

"She's one of my best friends, so I'm looking forward to going there," Watson said. "It's going to be awesome. I really miss her this year, but it's been good. I'm happy to be playing volleyball with her again."