Why Natalya Hodge, one of state's top recruits, holds key to Bearden's TSSAA basketball tournament run
MURFREESBORO ― Natalya Hodge has one last box to check this season.
Bearden's star guard hit 2,000 career points this season, was named a Class 4A Miss Basketball finalist and helped the Lady Bulldogs secure a return to the TSSAA girls basketball state tournament.
Now she's got her eyes firmly set on a gold ball, in what would be Bearden's second TSSAA state title and first since 2022.
Hodge and Bearden (33-5) dominated Whitehaven 59-24 in the TSSAA girls basketball state tournament quarterfinals Thursday, as Hodge dropped 19 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals at MTSU's Murphy Center.
Bearden (33-5) moves will play the No. 1-ranked Bradley Central at 8:45 p.m. Friday.
"It's really special," Hodge said. "We've been working hard all season to get to where we want to be and I feel like if we just keep taking it game by game, we will win state."
This stage is nothing new for Hodge, who's become accustomed to having all eyes on her in recent years as one of the state's highest recruited juniors, currently holding offers from Clemson, Florida State, Baylor, Ole Miss and other Power Five programs.
She was a standout freshman when Bearden last made the state tournament in 2023, playing alongside 2023 Miss Basketball winner Avery Treadwell, who's now at Florida State.
"I've always been on a big stage," Hodge said. "So being on a big stage, in a college gym, I was always comfortable with it. I don't think I've ever really been nervous, I always walk in like, 'I'm ready to compete or I'm ready just to get at it.'"
Now with Bearden back in the state tournament, Hodge's campaign is showing shades of Treadwell's two years ago, as she traverses many of the same challenges her former teammate faced.
"She's grown a lot each year, in that situation, to where she came in as a freshman and had Avery (Treadwell), who's at Florida State and kind of helped mentor her," Bearden coach Justin Underwood said.
"Just the maturity she's (shown), I think you saw she can score it but late in the game you saw some spots where she had some really good assists too to a couple of our younger kids, getting them going."
Hodge keeps up with Treadwell to this day and has enjoyed reuniting when on visits to Florida State, crediting Treadwell with helping her grow as a leader on the floor as she's blossomed into one of the state's top players in recent years.
While Hodge is laser focused on a TSSAA state championship, she's eyeing a June 1 date to unveil her list of top schools.
"I got to have a great relationship with the coach," Hodge said about looking for the right college fit. "I want to see if I'm going to have a spot open to play as a freshman. Really just is that program going to fit me. The style of play, the coaches, are they going to develop me? Really just let me be me."
Harrison Campbell covers high school sports for The Daily Herald and The Tennessean. Email him at hcampbell@gannett.com and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @hccamp.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: TSSAA girls basketball state tournament 2025: Natalya Hodge leads Bearden
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