Cal Poly Women’s Basketball Senior Spotlight: Kirsty Brown
2/23/2022 10:07:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Kirsty Brown is from Pleasanton, California, and attended Amador Valley High School. In high school, she earned Athlete of the Year in 2017 and was team caption for three straight years.
Brown is currently a 5th year player on the Cal Poly Women's Basketball team. She graduated with a degree in Kinesiology in three years and is now obtaining a master's in Business Administration.
She is two games away from breaking the program record for career games played which is currently 124 held by Jonae Ervin.
As Brown finishes up her time as a student-athlete, we sat down with her to talk about her career at Cal Poly.
Question: How do you feel you have developed during your five years here at Cal Poly on a personal and athletic level?
On the court, I definitely think I've developed a lot in terms of basketball IQ. Along with physically, in the weight room, speed. In my position, I've become a lot calmer.
My freshman year I was super high energy, and now I realize there is a time to take a breath and make good decisions. And figure out what your next move is before you do it. Now I take a step back in the game and know when to push and hold off for a second. Decision-making wise I am a lot more experienced now; I can tell the difference between good and bad decisions.
I've matured off the court. I had such great leaders when I was a freshman and a sophomore. Now I have stepped into that leadership role for the past three years. It has helped me with communication and time management, which carry over to all aspects of life.
Q: What has been your favorite basketball moment at Cal Poly?
During my freshman year, we played away at Hawai'i. It was the end of the season, and we were playing for second place. It was a super close game. We ended up winning, and it was such high energy. Everyone was so excited, and that was the first time the team had won at Hawai'i in a while. It was great to be able to win and to get second place. We got a bye, so we went straight to play at the Honda Center. Going straight to the Honda Center and playing in that cool arena was awesome as a freshman.
Q: You will soon set the school record for most games played. What does this mean to you?
It's definitely bittersweet. Hopefully, I am able to get it and have a piece of the history and legacy to leave behind. Everybody wants to have a record. It's nice to get it, but bittersweet that it is coming to an end
I definitely want to push it [the season] as far as we can, to play as many games in the postseason as we can.
Q: How has your relationship with Coach Faith developed over the past five years?
I love Coach Faith. She is the only female head coach I have ever had, so that was a transition for me- just coming from all male coaches to practically an all-female staff. But I love it. One of my favorite things about her is that she really cares about us as people, not just as basketball players. She makes an effort to build a relationship on and off the court. We have meetings with her every other week to talk about basketball, school, life. I have any problems I know I can just call her. She's always there. I think that really builds the trust on the court as well because I know she has my back.
I trust what she says and what she asks of me when it comes to basketball?
Q: What is your plan post-graduation?
That is the million-dollar question right now. I have a couple of options I'm deciding between: if I want to continue to play- to play professionally overseas, or if I want to try and get a job. Spring quarter is when I'm going to figure that out. Right now, keeping my options open and putting feelers out
Q: What advice would you give to future players who join Cal Poly women's basketball?
The biggest thing is don't take it for granted. I still feel like last week was my freshman year. I thought I had so much time left. It really does go by so fast. Take advantage of all the people you get to meet, the resources we have, and the time.
Brown ends by saying, "we are very lucky for what we have and the place we live."
She and the Mustangs are set to host Hawai'i for Senior Day Saturday, Feb. 22 at 2 p.m.
Story by Catie Logan, Cal Poly Athletics
