- Kailey Woolston returns to BYU basketball after an 18-month missionary hiatus.
- She joins a team led by first-year head coach Lee Cummard with strong newcomers.
- Woolston co-hosts a basketball camp, emphasizing skill development with former BYU great Erin Thorn.
PROVO — Kailey Woolston was ready to put basketball on the shelf two years ago when she decided to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
But for the first six months, that wasn't a problem. Woolston and other missionaries where she served held weekly "finding nights" where the elders and sisters would gather at a local church meetinghouse, play basketball, and uses it as as a way to connect with those who might be interested in the church.
Of course, six months in, mission leadership opted to do away with the activity. Too many injuries — sprained ankles, mostly — came from the evening.
But also ...
"It wasn't very effective," she told BYUtv after returning, with a laugh. "That's why it stopped."
For the final year of her mission, Woolston — who spent most of her time in Virginia, eastern Pennsylvania, and the thriving metropolis of Martinsburg, West Virginia, (population: 18,773) — met with church members, taught those interested in the church, and otherwise didn't think much about the basketball life she left behind when she averaged 13.3 points per game and ranked second in the NCAA in 3-point percentage at 46.6% in 2023-24.
She came home to a slightly different team than the one she left. Lee Cummard was the first-year head coach of the program, though the longtime BYU assistant helped recruit Woolston to the Cougars during her standout career at Lone Peak High School. Woolston was also welcomed home by familiar teammates Brinley Cannon, Kambree Barber and Delaney Gibb.
But she also saw heavy minutes — with success — given to the freshman backcourt duo of Sydney Benally and Olivia Hamlin, along with post Bolanle Yussuf in leading the Cougars to a 26-12 record and the championship game of the WBIT.
Woolston will team with Gibb and Hamlin this weekend in hosting a 7/11 Series basketball camp Saturday at Lone Peak High School under former BYU star and WNBA guard Erin Thorn.
Registration is still available for the camp, which will also add stops this summer in Rexburg, Idaho, and Alberta, Canada.
"We wanted to be able to give back to young girls who are trying to get to the college game," Woolston said. "This is a great opportunity to learn from Delaney and Liv, coming off a great year that they had, and Erin Thorn, who has years of playing professionally and coaching under her belt, as well.
"Erin Thorn leads her camps in a way that helps campers practice on their own," she added. "If you have specific things to take away and work on your own, you can get to a point where you reach your goals."
Woolston returned to BYU midway through the season, jumped back into workouts to shake off the rust from not playing basketball in a year, and watched from the bench while redshirting as the Cougars went 9-9 in Big 12 play and put together a five-game winning streak that included a pair of wins over Houston and Utah in the conference tournament in Kansas City.
What she saw was a team united under a first-year head coach, from those seniors to Cannon's "glue-guy" mentality, to a handful of seniors like leading rebounder Lara Rohkohl. Woolston was as present as anyone, just in a different role than most of her basketball career.
"It was an incredible opportunity to watch from the outside at the run that they made," she said. "It was awesome to see the connectivity that everyone had, and the love they had for each other. I think that's what helped them play all the way into April. ... They were able to keep that momentum all the way until the end with a huge run in the WBIT.
"That run will be super helpful going forward, and since the majority of us are returning, it will be huge for us this year and in coming years," she added.
Now she's back, one of four "newcomers" on a roster that brought signed Russia-born wing Liza Astakhova from North Carolina and freshmen Vahayliah Seumanutafa from Australia and Stella Sakalas from Western Springs, Illinois.
In addition to four seniors, the Cougars lost former starter Marya Hudgins (West Virginia) and rising sophomore Braeden Gunlock (Montana State) to the transfer portal, as well as redshirt McKinley Willardson and junior Arielle Mackey-Williams to graduation.
"The transfer portal always being an option, and the fact that our core stayed is a huge signal to what we have going," Woolston said. "Everybody wants to be a part of it. Everybody wants to spend time with each other. ... It's a huge sign that we love each other, and we all want to be here.
"Everybody has a such a strong work ethic in this group, and that will push us to take the necessary steps to elevate our game to the next level."
