Former Nansemond-Suffolk Academy basketball standout Kaylah Brown has made an impact as a freshman at Penn College.

Through 11 games of the season, Kaylah Brown has found a way to make her mark on the Penn College women’s basketball team very early. Just a year removed from high school basketball, Penn believes that Brown is the present and future of their program.

Brown is currently averaging 11.3 points per game, plus three assists and a steal. The team is currently 1-9, but despite Brown seems to shine above that. Her coach already sees her as one of a kind.

“Her athleticism, her vision on the floor, she’s dangerous because she has a great outside shot and she can drive and kick,” Coach Lauren Healy told local paper the Sun-Gazette. “She finds a lot of different ways to utilize that in different games where she’s going to shoot it outside a couple times. OK, they’re going to close out on her really hard, and she’s going to go right around you or dish off to a post player. We haven’t had anyone like that since I’ve been here and we definitely needed a floor general and someone that was going to have more of that pizzazz. That flashiness.”

Brown started to come into her own as a complete player towards the end of her junior season with NSA. She was in her first year at NSA, and she was still trying to feel her way through the program. Shortly after their season ended, Coach Kim Aston knew Brown could be one of the better guards in the conference and state and that the team was going to need it her senior year.

Brown came back her senior year showing her true potential which led to her becoming an All-State player. Brown went on to sign with Penn during the spring and has since surprised herself with how fast she was able to break through.

“I wanted to come in and make an impact,” Brown said. “The college game is much faster, but I think I have adjusted well by working hard. Even though we are not winning much, I still try to do my best every game.”

Her coaches continue to see great things in her, even as most freshmen have a learning curve to adjust to the game at the college level. They believe what Brown is giving them now will be even better in the years to come. The most important thing for Brown to reach her potential is for her to be comfortable, and she feels that she is with her head coach and coaching staff.

“I feel like my relationship is great with my coach,” Brown said. “She makes me feel very comfortable and easy to talk to. I just want to keep pushing forward and finish the season strong.”