Porter spent two seasons at Montreat College in Montreat, North Carolina, where she played for the Cavaliers in the Appalachian Athletic Conference under head coach Kristin Eggert. She led the team in minutes played both seasons and contributed to seven clean sheets in conference play as a freshman, helping the Cavaliers earn the fourth-place finish. She was named team captain later that spring.

The Huntsville, Alabama native was a five-year letterwinner at Grissom High School, playing for head coaches Kelsey Shields and Chris Schumate. Porter helped the Tigers post six shutouts as a junior in 2022 and earned Best Defender honors four years running, adding the team's Best Newcomer Award as a freshman and its MVP award as a senior. The defender captained the team as a junior and senior, was a four-time All-Metro selection, and earned 7A All-State recognition in each of her final two seasons; she was also selected to play in the North-South All-Star Game.

Ellie is the daughter of David and Hallie Porter and currently studies psychology.