Naomi Ashley Commits To Bryant University

Naomi Ashley (5’7″, G, Blessed Sacrament) of Hamilton, ON has committed to attend Bryant University in Smithfield, RI of the Northeast Conference.

“I just think that it’s a crazy experience. I was hoping for it from last year. A-Game (summer travel team) really helped me out with that”, said Ashley.

“I really got the scouts to see me. I got to talk to some Coaches and I ended up going with Bryant. They contact me we arranged an official visit and I just fell in love with the campus and fell in love with the players.”

Ashley is the type of player to play far bigger than her size. Her athleticism allows her to chase down loose balls, to be strong enough to navigate her way through crowded situations in the key and as well to be able to rip balls away from players far bigger than her. Ashley can usually be counted on to be among the first on the floor, sacrificing her body while diving for loose balls, demonstrating the size of her heart and competitiveness.

Having played in the JUEL league and AAU circuit last year for the first time, Ashley credits those experiences with putting the finishing touches on helping to prepare her to being the player that she now is. It has given her the opportunity and expose her to better talent, forcing her to step her game up and meet the challenge.

“Last year at JUEL, it was a big eye opener for me to see all of the competition around me and all the great players. Playing with great players makes you a better player. Coming from the JUEL season last year and and going into my AAU season with A-Gameand experiencing basketball in the States was crazy. It just built up my skill level altogether. This year, I’m really looking to capitalize on the skill that I’ve gained, and just build on it.”

Being able to better understand the level of skill that she will need to measure up to has done wonders for her. But seeing what her competition is up to has also caused her to take stock in the areas that she will be looking to tighten up on this rep season with her eyes on post secondary ball.

Naomi Ashley – April 2009

“At Bryant, they want to use me as a Guard, so, I’ve got to get to the best if my ability at that position to perform my best there.”

In a strange turn of events, besides all that she brought to the table with her athleticism and hard work, Ashley’s recruiting had fallen under the radar among Canadian Universities.

“I never had any offers from Canadian schools. I was kind of surprised.”

The lack of interest is pretty amazing when considering all that Ashley was doing off the court. Ashley was an accomplished track and field athlete, winning an OFSAA (Provincial high school championship) Bronze Medal in her Grade 9 year and a Gold Medal in her Grade 10 year in 80m Hurdles Gold Medal back in the Spring of 2012. This was all before giving up the sport last year to focus on basketball.

Regardless of being overlooked in Canada, she had very strongly considered an offer from Vermont before making the visit that would ultimately help to seal her decision.

“Bryant was like, ‘We want you!’,” recalled Ashely, “and I just felt a lot if confidence in that.”

“So just checked out the school. I saw the campus, met the players and I didn’t want to meet anybody else. I just knew.”

Naomi Ashley will be looking to pursue a Major in Biological Sciences.