Sports

A popular saying in Brown School athletics is, “Oh, we’re just the Brown School,” referring to the fact that there are many people who don’t know about us, or other schools don’t think of us as a threat in sports.

However, in the past few years, our school has made it known that we are a fierce competitor, and the outcomes we’ve gotten haven’t just come from school practices: the off-season is where champions are made.

 As we are nearing the start of summer, school sports will end very shortly, but that doesn’t mean Brown School athletes won’t stop practicing. Journee Ruff, a varsity freshman basketball player states, “I think it’s very important to work during the off-season because you have to stay in shape and make sure you don’t forget anything. It’s important to stay focussed on your sport.” She also states that she “shoots hoops in her driveway almost every day in the summer as long as the weather is nice.” Ruff also completes basketball training to maintain her skills on the court.

Although school sports seasons are over in the summer, it doesn’t limit our athletes from joining summer leagues to keep up with their sport. Sara Rogers, an 8th grader who is on the Brown School swim, track, and cross country teams, says, “Summer swim [team] helps me stay in swimming shape and keep up with my fitness. I [also] do running camps while remaining very active. It’s always a good idea to keep perfecting your sport in the off-season, especially if you don’t have any other extracurriculars that keep you in shape.” Working in the off-season is something very important to Rogers, and they feel it pays off. 

One sport that isn’t touched on as others at our school is archery, even though it has a longer season than many school sports; it lasts October through March. Caroline Gallagher, a freshman who’s on the archery team, explains that she “usually goes to EP Tom Sawyer [Park] because they have an outdoor range with set up targets since I have my own bow and arrow.” When asked about her opinions of practicing archery in the off-season, her response was, “I think that it’s important to do so, especially if you want to see major improvements. If you work really hard during the [school] season, you don’t want to lose it once it’s over, so the practice [in the off-season] is very important.”

Brown School sports are continuing to grow and become more and more competitive, and one of the factors is our committed athletes. Without the commitment, it would make it a lot harder for the coaches to try and make their team excel.  

In the recent month of April, the South Carolina Gamecocks won the NCAA Championship. Although this is not their first year doing so, this is one of the most important. In the last two years, women’s college basketball and specifically college basketball has majorly improved. As expected, women's athletics will continue to grow-- especially basketball.

Many players have brought their own name and game up, including the Iowa Hawkeyes’ Caitlin Clark, the LSU Tigers’ Angel Reese, and the South Carolina Gamecocks’ Kamilla Cardoso, who all will be playing in the WNBA next season. Some players did get a little more shine than others. When Clark became a leading scorer, all eyes were on her, and all headlines mentioned her name. Even when the Gamecocks completed the championship, the headlines were about Clark. 

Clark is stealing the shine of many players. Although she is an incredible athlete, lots of other players should receive the same treatment and recognition she does. All the articles should have been about the Gamecocks if they won the championship. I agree that maybe the same treatment isn’t equal if she is better, but these women are not on much of a different level. Clark does receive a lot of hate for this which she doesn’t deserve because she cannot control who advertises her name or writes an article on her. She just plays the game and whatever happens, happens. 

Reese and Clark have seemed to have problems with each other on the court a few times before. Their “arguments” started last year in the 2023 NCAA championship when Reese showed off her ring finger in Clark’s face, claiming that the Tigers would win the game. The LSU Tigers did end up winning. Many say that they like to go at it because of Clark's attitude and complaining and Reese's’ determination. During that game, a lot happened between the Tigers and Hawkeyes. Those situations could have been handled differently and better, but I think it’s just the players way of performing. Most of the players mentioned will move on to play in the WNBA, and even have the chance of playing together.

On Monday, April 15th, the WNBA Draft was held in Brooklyn, NY at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The WNBA draft was not just a selection process, it was one of the best drafts and had a great draft class. Many phenomenal young women such as Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso, and Cameron Brink were drafted. 

Caitlin Clark was chosen as the round one, number one draft pick. Being a number one in the draft is a very big deal in the basketball world. Clark finished her college career with a total of 3,951 points. Clark is the first Division-I player to record 3,700+ points, 1,000+ assists, and 850+ rebounds in a career. She also led her conference in points and assists. Many may say that Clark changed the game for women’s college basketball and that she is going to have a very successful career.

Leaving Stanford University for the Los Angeles Sparks is 5-star, 22 year old forward, Cameron Brink. Brink was the No.2 overall draft pick. Brink put up 17.4 points and 11.9 rebounds per game. The Sparks are placed 4 in the Western Conference. Standing at 6’4, Brink was able to do many things on the court. She's proven to be a great defensive commodity and an excellent shot blocker on the floor. Brink is also capable of scoring in bunches. For her career, Brink nearly averaged a double-double.

Another well known player, Angel Reese was drafted to Chicago Sky, along with Kamilla Cardoso. Reese was the 7th overall pick, while Cardoso was picked 3rd. Both Cardoso and Reese spent their careers battling against each other and soon they will be playing together in Chicago. Reese is actually thrilled to play with Cardoso. She says, “I’m just so excited I get to play with Kamilla.” In the second round, Chicago Sky chose 6 foot guard Bryanna Maxwell from Gonzaga. Chicago is expected to do great in the season.

During the draft, folks were introduced to many unknown and unrecognized players. A forward from Tennessee who averages 17.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, was drafted fourth. Rickea Jackson comes from Detroit, Michigan and Tennessee University. Jackson was drafted to the Los Angeles Sparks. Personally, I was introduced to Charisma Osborne, a 5’9 guard that averages 15.9 ppg. Osborne comes from UCLA, and she is proven to be an excellent player with her ability to shoot far range threes, and also finish at the rim. Osborne can get through defense. Osborne will go to Phoenix Mercury as a round three first pick. 

Many draft classes have been great, but sources say that this has been one of the best. These players are stacked with skills and they will definitely go far in the basketball world. In the future the 2025 and 2027 draft class is expected to be very good. Future Hall of Famers, NBA players, and WNBA players will potentially come from those classes, even here in Kentucky. 

The WNBA draft has come a long way since it first started, and women's sports are getting more recognition. This is great, and everyone is waiting to see what comes along for women athletes.