MORGANTOWN — Lydia Adrian has lived in Morgantown her entire life.
“I grew up in Morgantown, and I have two older brothers,” she said. “Jared is six years older than me and Nathan is four years older than me.”
Lydia has special memories of Nathan, a former WVU basketball standout, during his playing days.
“Nathan was a freshman in college when I was a freshman in high school so our seasons always overlapped,” she said. “However, we both attended as many of each other’s games as possible. I remember one time specifically we had games on the same night but his was at 9, so right after my game, my coach drove me to Coliseum so I could make it in time. There were many nights I spent in the Coliseum in my practice uniforms doing homework in the stands because it was a school night.”
The Adrian family took a trip to Bordeaux, France, when Nathan played professionally there after his time with the Mountaineers.
“We were lucky enough to visit him over Thanksgiving in 2019 in Bordeaux,” Lydia said. “It was the first time my family had traveled to Europe and it was an amazing trip. Bordeaux was beautiful, and one of his teammates who was from France, had Thanksgiving dinner with us because he had never celebrated an ‘American Thanksgiving.’ “
Adrian attended Morgantown High from 2013-17. During her time as a Mohigan, she was part of the teams that won back-to-back-to-back state basketball championships in 2014, 2015, and 2016.
“Being on the MHS teams that won three state championships in a row was surreal,” she said. “I always knew we had a lot of talent in my class and the classes ahead of me because we all grew up competing with and against each other, but to win three state championships in coach (Jason) White’s first three years of coaching us was a true testimony to our chemistry.”
But Adrian was not a one sport athlete. She also played volleyball.
After graduating in 2017, she decided to attend WVU. She is an exercise physiology major with an emphasis in health professions and a minor in sports and exercise psychology. Attending WVU has allowed her to experience things in and out of the classroom.
“Over the last four years, I’ve been lucky enough to go on two volunteer trips to Ecuador and Peru,” Adrian said. “I’ve been a member of multiple student organizations, I’ve worked multiple different jobs to build experience for my future and I’ve had time to be present and have fun with my friends. All of these things are reasons why I chose not to continue my athletic career into college. I saw the commitments and sacrifices my brother went through as a student athlete and I decided I wanted to be a ‘normal’ student, not a student athlete. I missed basketball almost every day of my life since my last game in high school, but it’s allowed me to invest myself into other areas of my life and I’m grateful for that.”
Adrian graduated in May and will move to Wheeling to attend Physician Assistant School at West Liberty University.
“I hope to work in cardiology or pediatrics when I am finished with PA school,” she said.
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