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Saturday April 16, 2022 | 10:01 a.m
Christopher Horner | Tribune Review
Hampton’s Sophia Kelly scores against Plum on December 16, 2021.
Sophia Kelly’s response was exactly what Brooklyn Kohlheim, the Mercyhurst women’s basketball coach, wanted to hear.
Kelly, a senior three-sport star from Hampton, was in a recruitment interview with the Division II school when Kohlheim popped a question.
“I said, ‘You’re really, really good at football. You’re really, really good at lacrosse. Why did you choose basketball?’” Kohlheim said. “She said someone told her she could never play basketball in college, and she said, ‘I wanted to prove them wrong.’ I loved that answer. That really sold me to her.”
The 5-foot-9 Kelly has signed on to play at Mercyhurst, the only school that has offered her a basketball scholarship. She didn’t start playing AAU basketball until her junior season and was late to the recruiting path.
But a chance sighting of Kohlheim when Kelly played for Team Western Pa in July. Bruins Under Armor in Kentucky set in motion the events that led to an offer from the PSAC school.
“It was just a perfect fit for me,” Kelly said of Mercyhurst. “The whole atmosphere together with the coaching staff and the team.”
Kohlheim was in Louisville to recruit Kelly’s AAU teammate and eventual Mercyhurst conscript Bailey Kuhns of Greensburg Central Catholic. But the long, athletic Hampton Guard quickly caught the Lakers coach’s attention.
“Sophia somehow caught our eye,” said Kohlheim. “I really didn’t know anything about her. … We were surprised that it was still available. She has such a huge advantage. She just plays a lot of other sports and has really started playing basketball in the last few years. She kind of fell under the radar.
“She hasn’t even seen her best basketball. She doesn’t even know what to do.”
Kelly was named a first-team all-section team as a junior after averaging 12 points, and was named a second-team all-section team as a senior after averaging 10.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and who led 18-5 Talbots in steals. She finished her career with 796 points — 14th all-time in Hampton history — and led the team this season by a plus-minus 390 points.
Kelly was selected for the Roundball Classic basketball game along with Hampton’s teammate Biz Watson. The Class 5A (Silver) All-Stars will compete against the District 10 All-Stars on May 19th at Geneva College in Beaver Falls.
Kelly is the second Hampton player from the Class of 2022 to commit to playing college basketball, joining Kayla Hoehler of Pitt Greensburg.
Kelly decided to focus on getting a basketball scholarship a few years ago after being told soccer or lacrosse would be her easier ticket to college. Kelly didn’t want to take it easy on herself.
“That’s one of my motivators why I switched (sports),” Kelly said. “I played association football until my junior year. In the middle of my junior year, I transferred to AAU (basketball). I probably could have gone on and played for a good football school too. I do not know. I always wanted to challenge myself, and I thought I could do that in basketball.”
Kelly has also created a friendly college rivalry in her home. Both of her parents played for PSAC rivals Gannon Sport. Jason played soccer and Cara (Eisenschmid) played basketball for the Golden Knights.
“It’s kind of funny,” Kelly said. “My mom played at Gannon and now I go to her rival school.”
Hampton coach Tony Howard has no doubt that Kelly will be successful in college. He calls her “probably one of the best straight shooters I’ve trained in 15 years” and describes her athleticism as “extraordinary.”
“Obviously, I think she has the athleticism and the basketball ability to play at that next level,” Howard said. “Their knowledge of the game will really set them apart.”
Kelly will play a guard/forward spot for Kohlheim’s fast attack. The Lakers went 9-19 last season and have won just two seasons in the last 22 years. Kohlheim, entering her fourth season, said Kelly’s athleticism and attitude to prove her wrong made her a perfect fit.
“We’re pretty young as a program,” Kohlheim said. “We’re about to turn it around. We need such dogs. We need underdogs who want to come in.”
Kelly’s defensive skills give her a chance to play right away. Mercyhurst completed his top defensive guard, and Kelly once defended every position on the floor while at Hampton.
“She’s something special,” said Kohlheim. “She has such pure athleticism. What I loved about her over the summer is that she can defend multiple guards.”
For the first time in three sports, Kelly will focus solely on basketball at Mercyhurst, where she will study cybersecurity and computer science. As a Hampton senior, she has sandwiched her basketball season between a first-team football season this fall and lacrosse, where she is one of the team’s best players, this spring.
“I’ve been training my body for all three sports since the beginning of my sports career,” she said. “I think that focusing on one sport and training for one sport will really improve my athletic ability when playing basketball.
“I feel like I’m just getting started.”
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