by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
“When we recruited Brodi Byrd to come to Kansas City Kansas Community College, her goal was to play NCAA Division II basketball; that was her personal dream,” remembered KCKCC head coach Joe McKinstry.
That goal is no longer a dream. It’s a reality. The 5-6 shooting guard from Truman High School in Independence has committed to continue her stellar basketball career at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri.
“She will play at and compete at a high level and be a very good player for Southwest Baptist,” McKinstry said. “She’s the best we’ve ever had coming into a gym with a good attitude and mind set and ready to work hard and get better.”
“We’re graduating two key guards who gave us 27 points a game so we’re looking for Brodi to step in and have an impact and play a leadership role,” Southwest Baptist head coach Kelsey Keizer said. “She can shoot and score, plays with a lot of energy, has speed and intensity and knows how to play at a high level. But the No. 1 thing is her competitiveness and desire to win.”
A member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference, which includes Rockhurst and William Jewell from the Kansas City area, the Lady Bearcats finished 15-13 overall and 9-11 in the GLVC this past season, Keizer’s sixth as head coach.
Southwest Baptist’s recruitment of Byrd started in earnest after Lady Bearcats assistant coach Brittney Dukes saw Byrd in the Region VI semifinals at Labette.
“Brittney immediately said she was a player who could have great success playing for us,” Keizer said.
Byrd, however, has yet to visit the campus in Bolivar or meet Keizer face-to-face.
“I was supposed to go on a visit and then everything got shut down,” Byrd said. “So I had a virtual visit. They made a video of the campus and I now I talk weekly to a couple of players, one from St. Louis who I played against last year and another from Belton.”
“It’s been kind of wild; everything by phone and video,” Keizer said of the shutdown created by the coronavirus pandemic. “We can’t wait to give her a hug and high fives.”
Byrd had other offers including two colleges in Iowa and Christian colleges in Arkansas and Kentucky.
“Southwest Baptist is not too far from home so my family can come and see me play for two years,” she said. “And talking to the coaches and players, they seemed like a family which is what I was looking for.”
In her two years at KCKCC, the Lady Blue Devils finished 57-11 and won the NJCAA DII national championship her freshman season. Byrd started in 22 of 36 games in the 32-4 championship season, averaging 8.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists. Starting the last 14 games of the season, she was an integral part of the Blue Devils’ stretch drive, averaging 13.0 points in the final five games of the season, four of which were in the national tournament.
The only returning starter this season, Byrd averaged 10.3 points this season despite being a target of opposing defenses. She scored in double figures in 17 games with highs of 24, 23 and 21 points as the Blue Devils finished 25-7. She also shared the team lead in assists (2.4) and was second in rebounds (4.8) and steals (1.8). The daughter of John and Janice Byrd, she has two older sisters.