Natalie Greene, a 6-foot senior post/forward at Willowridge has made a name for herself both on and off the basketball court.
Known for her incredible skill and resilience, Greene recently led the Willowridge Girls’ Basketball team to an undefeated 12-0 season in 4A Region III District 21. She averaged 18 points and 13 rebounds per game, earning her the MVP of 4A Region III District 21 title and was named to the All-Region Team.
“Being the most valuable player shows that my work is paying off,” Greene said. “From not knowing anything about basketball to becoming the most valuable player for the district is very surprising.”
This remarkable feat is even more inspiring, considering Greene had never really played basketball before her freshman year. Despite this, she quickly transformed into a four-year varsity letterman, demonstrating that hard work and determination can defy expectations.
Before basketball, Greene was into ballet, having been a member of the Banbury School of Dance since she was five years old. She attended Meyerland School for the Performing Arts, studying dance and piano, seeing the arts as a part of her future. However, her life took an unexpected turn when a teacher noticed her height in the hallway and mentioned she should play basketball.
“That was a total shock for us,” said Greene’s mother, Nakia Cooper. “I was dead set against it because I wanted a ballerina, not a basketball player. I was angry in the beginning because, in my mind, they changed our plan.”
It was at this pivotal moment that Greene’s journey as a basketball player began—an entirely new path that would come with unique challenges.
Born deaf and hard of hearing, Greene faced a major obstacle from the start. She is deaf in her right ear and struggles with background noise, which can make it difficult for her to hear everything happening around her on the basketball court. While she can hear better in isolation, the chaos of the game—where the cheerleaders are chanting, coaches are yelling instructions and referees are blowing whistles—magnifies her hearing challenges.
“It’s hard to explain because my disability is normal to me,” Greene said. “Basketball is a rhythm game. On the court, I ‘feel’ the game differently. When I couldn’t hear the plays, I watched the game and reacted to others.”
In the beginning, communication was a challenge. At one point, Greene’s coaches, Tiffany Collins and Joe Randolph, believed she was ignoring plays because she wasn’t responding. After being made aware that she was hard of hearing, the coaches and players adapted to repeating themselves during the games and all just kept moving.
Greene continued to excel in basketball, demonstrating that physical challenges don’t have to define one’s capabilities.
Off the court, Greene is just as impressive. With a 4.1 GPA, she serves as the student body president, won the Miss Willowridge 2024-2025 title and is a member of the National Honor Society. She is currently in WHS’s Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) program and will graduate this May with her high school diploma and an associate degree in computer science.
In college, she plans to pursue a degree in American Sign Language with a focus on Black Deaf Studies and a degree in business administration.
“I believe my hearing loss is hereditary because I have an aunt who also has single-sided deafness,” Greene said. “Therefore, I want to study ASL because I feel the gene could be passed down to future generations.”
Finding a college that offered both a basketball program and a major in American Sign Language proved to be another hurdle for Greene as many schools she considered didn’t offer an ASL major. That is until a TikTok video about Gallaudet University—a renowned university in Washington, D.C. for deaf and hard of hearing students—popped up on her feed.
“I found Gallaudet on social media because a TikTok said, ‘My deaf PWI has a dance team,’ and that seemed really intriguing,” said Greene. “I quickly texted my mom and told her.”
Coincidentally, just the day before, Greene’s mother had spoken to a co-worker who is an American Sign Language interpreter and mentioned Gallaudet University.
“Me being a protective mom, I wasn’t in favor of her going so far away from home, so I didn’t think twice about it,” said Cooper. “But after Natalie sent me that text message and learning they had both ASL as a major and a basketball program, I knew that was God working.”
After reaching out to Gallaudet University’s recruiting coordinator, Shelby Bean, and sending Natalie’s HUDL film, her mother received a call from the university’s women’s head basketball coach, Stephanie Stevens.
“They told me they were looking for a ‘big’ to join their team and were interested in meeting her,” Cooper said. “It was at that time I started to cry. We visited other schools that offered Natalie spots on their teams, but none had the total package. After visiting Gallaudet, we knew it was a perfect fit.”
Gallaudet University, which just celebrated its first conference championship in GU’s women’s basketball history, has become a beacon of opportunity for Natalie. It offers the perfect combination of academics, athletics and support for her as a deaf and hard-of-hearing individual. It’s a full-circle moment for a young woman who started as a dancer and then became a basketball standout, all while refusing to let her hearing define her.
“As a parent you always dream that your child leaves a legacy in the world,” Cooper said. “I believe Natalie will not only inspire other young Black women but will also pave the way for future generations of athletes and students with disabilities.”
About Natalie Greene
Class: 2025
IG: @MMXNatalie
Twitter: @Nataliejgreene
Position: Post/Forward
Height & weight: 6-feet-0, 160 pounds
Favorite artist: Domani
Status: Committed to Gallaudet University
Favorite subject: English
Shout-outs: Coach Joseph Randolph, Coach Jason Williams, Coach Tiffany Collins, Coach Jeremy Peters, Coach Ben Simmons, Basketball Hall of Famer Cynthia Cooper
