Nationally, Bre Bolden is known as the Colonial Athletic Association’s Women’s Basketball Defensive Player of the Year, but on campus she’s best known for her laugh.
“Off the court, she’s very quiet and humble,” says first-year women’s basketball head coach Candice Jackson. “But with a very distinctive laugh!”
Bolden, a public health major and rising junior, plays the three-spot position. “It’s like a small forward guard,” she explains. But that doesn’t come close to describing the impact she has on the court. This past season, Bolden was ranked in the top 15 nationally for steals per game (3.3), and she also led the Cougars in several categories: scoring (13.7), rebounds per game (6.8) and average minutes played (33.5).
“The most challenging part of coaching Bre was getting her to trust me,” Jackson admits. “With any new coach, it is hard for a team to buy into a new philosophy. Building that trust was important and we are still working on it; it doesn’t happen overnight. But the most rewarding thing was seeing her work hard and earn the CAA honor this year.”
While individual players acclimated to Jackson’s new coaching style, each was able to rely on the team’s inherent trust of each other. Bolden credits the team dynamic as a large part of the reason she chose to attend the College in the first place.
“The team was always really welcoming,” she says. And, when the time came, the team was really supportive, too.
“We were on a bus together leaving a practice in Maryland when the CAA announced I was Defensive Player of the Year. It was so exciting,” says Bolden. “I was surprised, and my teammates were really excited for me.”
Now with her second CAA honor (she was selected to the conference’s all-rookie team as a freshman), Bolden’s goals are focused on strengthening the team: “I want to set an example for the younger players joining the team.”
She also hopes to take on a bigger leadership role as she enters her junior year, and Jackson has no doubt that Bolden can confidently mentor incoming first-year student-athletes, and that she is ready to be a team leader.
“I’ve seen a tremendous difference in her playing ability already. She’s become much more comfortable as a scorer and a defensive player,” says Jackson. “We talked a lot this year about how she is our spark plug, and the team needs her to bring it all, every day.
“Beyond that,” Jackson continues, “she always finds the positive in any situation. That much is clear from her constant giggling!”
– Photo by Mike Ledford
