DES MOINES, Iowa β After suffering a season-ending torn ACL in her senior year at Drake, Megan Meyer made the difficult decision to move on from college basketball.
"When that injury happened, I was devastated and really crushed just not being able to finish out basketball how I pictured in my head," Meyer said.
It put a devastating end to what was shaping up to be another great season for Meyer, who had been named the MVC Newcomer of the Year the season before.
"As a coach and really, overall, as a human being, when you watch someone have something taken away that's really special to them, I think it's really hard and everybody kind of feels that sadness," said Allison Pohlman, Drake head women's basketball coach.
That chapter of Meyer's life appeared to be over for good until the news of the TCU women's basketball team holding open tryouts mid-season made her reconsider.
"I was sitting on my couch and my fiancΓ©e came home from work and he was telling me about how TCU women's basketball team was hosting tryouts," Meyer said. "For a while, I had been telling him how I miss playing and I miss competing."
Meyer got in contact with the team but realized shortly after that logistically, it probably wasn't going to work out. But she couldn't shake the feeling of wanting to return to basketball.
"I called [Nicci Hays Fort], our assistant coach and explained the situation to her and I was like 'Well, I would much rather finish at Drake,' not knowing that was even possible," Meyer said. "She was like 'Well, Megan, you know, you could do that,' and I was like, really? I didn't even know that was a thing."
The team was thrilled to have Meyer back.
"Having Megan come back just felt really natural for everybody," Pohlman said. "But I can tell you the day that they all found out, there was a lot of smiles, a lot of laughter and a lot of I think just overall excitement."
Meyer was a little nervous at first, but once she stepped foot back in the gym, she felt at ease.
"It kind of felt like I had never left," Meyer said. "Everything came back super quickly. It's obviously really nice that I've played with most of these girls before and our team chemistry was right there."
It's a rare chance to rewrite the ending to her college basketball career and Meyer is approaching it with gratitude.
"I'm just so thankful to have the opportunity to finish," Meyer said. "I've put in a lot of hours playing basketball and a lot of time so just being able to have that special moment, I'll be thankful for forever."
Meyer made her season debut in Drake's win over rival UNI on Feb. 3. In her six minutes of playing time, she scored three points and recorded a steal.
The Bulldogs will return to action on Thursday, Feb. 8 against Bradley. This will be Meyer's first game back at the Knapp Center this season.