PITSBURG- Franklin Monroe’s Corina Conley signed to play basketball for NCAA D-II Kentucky Wesleyan University Lady Panthers basketball team.
“This is a dream come true,” Conley said. “I have dreamed about this since I was a little kid. I couldn’t have done it without everybody around me.”
“Corina is an outstanding player, outstanding student athlete, outstanding kid,” said FM Lady Jets Coach Abbey Moore. “She is going to be missed.”
“Corina is a four year starter, four year captain and she is just able to get it done on and off the court,” continued Moore. “She has been huge for us in being a leader in the locker room and setting an example for our underclassmen. She is definitely going to be missed.”
Conley, the daughter of Javan and Rebecca Conley plans to study Business Administration while taking her basketball skills to the next level.
“I see her fitting right in and being a valuable role on their team,” Moore stated. “Kentucky Wesleyan is a very successful D-II program and I see her making an impact right away with them.”
“My goal right now is to play as a freshman,” said Conley. “I want to be like Ethan (her bother seeing playing time as a freshman at D-II Ashland University). I want to play my freshman year.”
“I think it will be a really great fit there because their style of play is fast and up and down the floor. That is the style that I like to play and I have seen them play. Wherever they need me to be that’s where I want to take my role and fit where I need to be the best.”
“They have a really good program,” Conley added. “I am going to have to battle to get in the lineup but that makes me better and that’s what makes the team better. Whatever I need to do to be that player for my team – that is what I am going to do.”
Kentucky Wesleyan is a perfect fit for the Franklin Monroe senior, but not just the basketball program alone. The university’s faith based program was a major factor in Conley’s choice of schools.
“When I was looking for schools and getting recruited that was at the top of my list,” Conley stated. “My Faith is very important to me and it always has been as I have been growing up. I didn’t want to lose that when I went to college. I love that Kentucky Wesleyan is a Christian school and I can be pushed in my faith, not just athletically and academically but also spiritually. That was really important to me because the Lord it is so dear to my heart and I want to be with Him all the time.”
Conley’s parents, Rebecca and Javan Conley both had very successful NCAA D-II college basketball careers providing guidance in the senior’s recruiting process.”
“They were amazing college players,” Conley noted. “They have been so supportive this entire time. They helped me through everything, seeing the good and the bad in everything. First and foremost they have always wanted the best for me.”
Conley gave special thanks to her grandparents, Chet and Carol for traveling long distances see her high school games.
“They are amazing,” Conley said. “They drive two hours to see us play. They see me play twice a week and they have been there through everything. They are just amazing and I know they are going to drive all the way to Wesleyan to see me play because that’s just who they are and I love them for it.”
FM Lady Jets Coach Abbey Moore plays an important role in the success of Conley’s basketball career.
“I love that women,” Conley stated. “My coaches up to high school where my parents but Coach Moore has been the foundation of who I have become as a player to get to the next level.”
“Coach Moore has literally pushed me, had so much confidence in me, she has pushed me so hard. That is what has made me into the player I am today. She has pushed me in practice, she has as always told me, ‘Corina you can get to this point’ and she believed in me even when I didn’t think that I could get to the next level.”
“She believed in me and she invested everything she had into me – so many hours here after practice, before practice, in the gym shooting,” added Conley. “Coach Moore was always here, she was always willing to open the doors to me and that is why I’m here as a player and who I am today playing at the next level.”
“I love my parents and my brothers Mason and Ethan more than they know,” Conley continued. “They have been amazing to me. I want to thank Coach Brooks (Hall), my Ohio Elite Purple AAU coach and all my wonderful teammates.”
“I have a great support system – this community and everybody who has been so supportive in all of this. I just couldn’t imagine doing it without them.”
“I am very blessed with this opportunity and the Lord has been so good to me,” Conley concluded. “I am very grateful and overwhelmed with joy right now – I just can’t wait for the next chapter.”
