Some say that imitation is the biggest form of flattery, and as a young child Whitaker Buchanan took this to heart. Seeing her older sisters play soccer sparked Buchanan’s interest in the game, so at the age of three she began her soccer career.
Years later, Buchanan is now an integral leader of the Samford Women’s Soccer Team.
“I obviously wanted to do everything they were doing, so my parents put me in with them and I loved it,” Buchanan said.
Christin Allen was her first coach at Sky Soccer club. Allen was Buchanan’s neighbor who’d played soccer at Belmont before coaching at Vanderbilt. After she moved to Sky Soccer Club, Allen started to make a large impact on Buchanan’s love of the game.
“She (Allen) was my biggest influence in pursuing the game. I still talk to her today,” Buchanan said.
Buchanan’s career took off after she moved to a higher-level team with Tennessee Soccer Club in eighth grade. The game got more serious, the team began to travel, and Buchanan thrived in this environment.
It was at this point that she knew she wanted to continue to play the game she loved at the collegiate level.
“I just knew it was something I wanted to do. I knew it from a young age,” Buchanan said.
Immediately after eighth grade, Buchanan started to get recruited. It was a chaotic time as she didn’t know what she was walking into — she was only 14. School after school from the SEC conference battled for Buchanan.
“It was hectic but so rewarding because I could really see that my hard work was paying off and schools wanted me,” Buchanan said.
With so many options, Buchanan wanted to find a school that fit her playing style and her wants and needs as a student. After considering how many players would be graduating, possible playing time and campus life, Buchanan decided on Ole Miss.
After her first year at Ole Miss, she realized she was looking for a different type of school and playing style. Buchanan originally wanted to explore her previous SEC options, but NCAA rules would require her to sit out a season.
Buchanan wanted to play, so she scrapped all her offers and entered the transfer portal.
“I had a clean slate. It was like I was in eighth grade all over again,” Buchanan said.
Samford was the first school to call Buchanan. She had no idea what Samford was but had two past club teammates who attended the university. Buchanan found that Samford’s coach Todd Yelton ran the type of team she was looking for.
“It was similar to SEC style, but more technical and that’s what I wanted,” Buchanan said.
Buchanan accepted Samford’s offer and transferred in her sophomore fall. This posed some disadvantages as she didn’t have a spring season to warm up and get her bearings.
“I don’t even feel like a transfer anymore. I feel like this is home,” Buchanan said.
She attributes her success to teammate Ella Simpson. Simpson describes Buchanan as a key part of the team both on and off the field.
“She is so talented on the field and off of it she is a light to everyone around her,” Simpson said.
The women Buchanan has spent the past two and a half years with have also led her to explore her faith more deeply. Buchanan was a Christian before coming to Samford but says she didn’t know what that meant at the time.
“It was just something I said because I went to church,” Buchanan said.
Being at Samford exposed a different faith experience than Ole Miss, now having to get convo credits and attend cadres. Even with the required convo credits, students can still simply walk through Samford without growing their faith.
“Being around girls that are into their faith paved the way for me to get into it. They’ve shown me what it looks like to play for Christ, and that He’s the most important thing,” Buchanan said.
Buchanan’s growth in faith has become something that Simpson has picked up on and shares her joy in.
“Her passion to serve others like Christ is one of my favorite things about her,” Simpson said.
When it comes to post-grad decisions, Buchanan plans to step away from being a player in the game she loves. However, this isn’t a goodbye to soccer.
“I think it’s my calling to step away from play and really get into coaching. I hope with my connections and experience I can coach at the collegiate level,” Buchanan said.
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