Jenna Kilty’s Road to the NBL

4 Minute read

By: Andrea Aruino

Jenna Kilty’s basketball journey throughout college to where she is now is a path that not many can say they’ve walked. This journey was challenging but it is a true testament to Kilty’s drive and passion to play the game. Kilty is from Oakland where she graduated from Bishop O’Dowd High School in 2020. From there, she committed to Portland State University (PSU) for two years, and was able to see the floor more than most freshmen would see their first year. 

After her freshman season, the head coach at PSU did not return which resulted in her losing a lot of playing time. She went from starter to bench player which was discouraging for a moment. Kilty found this as an opportunity to move into a new direction and join a different program. She entered the transfer portal where she then decided to attend the University of Idaho. Unfortunately, Kilty was injured for the majority of the preseason with achilles tendinitis. As the regular season picked up, she found herself outside of the usual rotation which created a mental hurdle that seemed to be growing as junior and senior seasons went on. 

“It was brutal sitting out during my senior year. I knew I was running out of time and on top of that I haven’t been able to perform at a high level under three different coaches. I knew I had the extra COVID year but I wasn’t sure if I could keep going, especially if something happens and I don’t get to play again, I didn’t think I could take that mentally,” Kilty said. 

For her last eligible season, she went to Cal State Northridge (CSUN) where she averaged 5.6 PPG and 3.1 RPG and led the team in three point shooting. After one game playing at CSUN, she knew that she wanted to continue playing basketball post-college. This urged her to call Coach John Newly who was head coach of the South West Metro Pirates in the National Basketball League in Australia. She called him in March and Newly got back to her in April telling Kilty that she had to be ready to play in two weeks. 

“It was a blessing in disguise how Newly [did not return to PSU] and ended up going to Australia two to three years later. This served as a good reminder for me that things may seem bad in the moment and everything is up in the air but that just means something in the future is building,” Kilty said. 

Kilty recalls coming into UPB as a high school player up until her entire college career and having Coach Packie help prepare her for the trials that college basketball puts an athlete through. Now as a professional in Australia she still looks to Coach Packie who has always been a text away to talk about how she can improve but also just to talk, and that’s what has helped her the most throughout these bumps in the road. 

She has grown to love playing basketball in Australia for the South West Metro Pilots. Here she averages 6.1 PPG and is continuously working on getting the ball to her teammates and making threes. Playing overseas poses many differences such as practice being two to three days a week, with one game on the weekend. This opportunity helped her regain a sense of self regarding who she is on the court but most importantly who she is off the court. 

“When I first got to Australia it felt like I wasn’t doing enough because of how little we would practice. I realized I was stuck in the mentality that I had to be perfect in order to play on a college court but this thought process tainted me. I learned quickly that it was okay to chill and to simply have fun with it,” Kilty said. 

Her teammates saw the stress she was putting on herself and reassured her that her worries about not playing or not being good enough were far from reality. Kilty’s teammates and coaches instilled in her a mindset that allows her to have fun when playing, while still showing up with her competitive spirit. For many players on this team, basketball isn’t their entire life. Most have jobs outside of this and that helped Kilty to realize that she could release herself from the pressure of having to make basketball her entire being

“All my teammates are showing up five minutes before practice because they’re all coming from full-time jobs that pay their bills. When they’re out on the court they’re doing it for fun and to get away from the real world.. Meanwhile I’m having it be my whole life but I’ve started to go out there with the mindset of simply letting loose and having fun and that’s been the best thing for me,” Kilty said. 

It’s a new found freedom that Kilty is cherishing. There are aspects of life that she gets to experience and enjoy in tandem with basketball. An aspect she cherishes is being able to set aside more time to travel or indulge in hobbies she’s always had. These are all things that she rarely got to focus on due to being bound to the strict schedule of a college athlete, let alone a D1 athlete. 

As she looks into the future, playing in Europe is definitely an option but right now she’s soaking it all in, even looking for a way to find herself back in the NBL next season. She has a new found freedom with the structure of the NBL and that’s something she wants to cherish after having experienced the strict and extensive college schedule in America. It served her for a while but she knows that it’s something she wants to move on from at this point in her life.