Morgan Batey's family, friends, coaches and teachers gathered Wednesday afternoon to celebrate her move from the close-knit, loving Pace Academy community to the bigger world of major college basketball.

They spoke of her hard work, her humor, her character, her willingness to help others, along with her outstanding basketball ability. All of those attributes came together to reach the achievement she marked Wednesday, signing with Vanderbilt University, a Southeastern Conference women's basketball power.

Batey told the gathering that she learned early that "talent is not enough," and that "I have put in hours of hard work and sacrifices, and now I'm ready to reap the benefits of my hard work." She thanked her family, classmates, teammates, coaches and teachers for their support.

A parade of speakers, from friends to teachers to coaches, spoke about her warm personality, bright smile and willingness to get involved. This year, she played softball for the first time. Pace headmaster Fred Assaf summed up her Pace career, saying that she had made the school a better place with her presence.

After leading Pace to the state A finals last year, scoring 462 points and pulling down a state and school record 462 rebounds to be named the A state player of the year, Batey is ranked the 54th prospect in the nation by Hoopgurlz and the No. 21 guard. She is the highest-ranked player in Vanderbilt's class of six signees landed on early signing day Wednesday.

"The first thing you notice about Morgan is her athleticism, but her skill set and basketball IQ are just as impressive," Vanderbilt coach Melanie Balcomb said in a statement on the Vanderbilt women's basketball web page. "She is a complete player and will be a difference maker on both ends of the floor."

Batey said that she plans on pursuing medicine at Vanderbilt, hoping for a career in sports medicine.