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Kroll Leaving St. Francis for Ohio

BRIDGEPORT — Caitlyn Kroll had a brilliant freshman season at St. Francis University.

The Bridgeport High School product was a starter, averaged almost 14 points per game and helped her team win a Northeast Conference championship to gain an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

On the forefront, everything was just awesome. But, there’s much more to the college experience than academics and sports. And in that department, St. Francis University simply wasn’t right for Kroll.

Add all that together and shortly after the season, Kroll approached the Red Flash coaching staff for a release from her scholarship. Disappointedly, the coaching staff gave it and just recently Kroll selected her next collegiate home.

Through her Twitter account, Kroll announced her intentions to transfer to Ohio University and join the Bobcats’ women’s basketball program.

“I had a change of heart and just didn’t really like the environment at St. Francis,” Kroll said during a recent phone interview. “Plus, I wanted to take my game to the next level.”

Kroll insisted that this decision to transfer really had nothing to do with basketball, her coaches or her teammates. Quite simply, she didn’t enjoy life in the Loretto Mountains of Pennsylvania.

“I had a great year on the court, had a great relationship with the coaches, so this was not basketball driven,” Kroll said. “I can’t say anything, basketball-wise, drove me to transfer. It just felt like I wasn’t in college. The social environment wasn’t what I wanted. I didn’t connect with the people there. It takes the right kind of person to live in the Loretto Mountains.”

Kroll’s on-court play was impressive. She was named third team All-NEC and was tabbed the league’s Freshman of the Year.

Kroll’s fine campaign included her averaging nearly 14 points a game, which not only led all freshmen, but ranked seventh in the entire conference. She also handed out three assists a game, which was sixth in the conference and she was 10th in the league with nearly two steals per contest. She also was among the league leaders in free-throw percentage, knocking down 81 percent of her chances.

Because of the season she had and her affection for head coach Joe Haigh made the decision to officially look elsewhere extremely difficult. She actually “procrastinated for a while” before she walked into Haigh’s office to seek her release.

“I knew I wanted to leave, but it was hard because Coach Haigh believed in me when no one else did. He still gave me an opportunity after I got hurt (in high school). He saw something in me and I am grateful for that,” Kroll said. “He and I have a great relationship and I know he was hurt. I hate to let him down, but he understood. He respected my decision and wishes me the best.”

Kroll concluded finals this week and will return to the Ohio Valley today and soon begin her preparations for Ohio and then head to Athens for the summer term.

Kroll isn’t exactly sure when she’ll officially be on the court with the Bobcats. There’s currently legislation within the NCAA, which may allow her to be granted immediate eligibility. However, should that not pass, Kroll would have to sit out the upcoming season and then still have three years of eligibility remaining.

Though she doesn’t want to sit out, Kroll has experience of just practicing. She was red shirted in 2016-17 at St. Francis as she continued her comeback from major knee surgery from an injury she sustained in high school.

“I think sitting out is a lose-win situation,” Kroll said. “I know how hard it was my freshman year when I had the game I love taken away from me. But, that year of not playing helped me to grow (as a player). If I have to sit out, I’ll do the same things as I did at St. Francis and continue to grow my game, so when it’s my turn (to play), I am ready to go.”

Before settling on Ohio, Kroll drew interest from several schools, including a few in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

“I feel like I had a great (season) at St. Francis and I wanted to compete in a bigger conference,” Kroll said. “I had a variety of looks from colleges.”

By opting for Ohio, Kroll will have a chance to re-unite with Marwan Miller, an assistant coach for the Bobcats, who was on the SFU staff when it was recruiting Kroll during her prep days.

“I feel like Coach Miller and I always had a great relations, but that’s definitely not the only reason I chose OU,” Kroll said. “I actually sat down and made a check list and OU checked all of the boxes.”

The Bobcats are coming off a 16-15 season in which they were bounced from the Mid-American Conference Tournament in the quarterfinals.

Ohio won the MAC Tournament and represented the league in the NCAA Tourney in 2015 and 2016.

Kroll — the owner of one championship ring already — believes more tourney appearances could be in the Bobcats’ future, too.

“I knew I didn’t want to go to a losing program and the fact that Ohio has been so successful in the MAC was definitely important to me,” Kroll said. “The MAC had two teams (Central Michigan and Buffalo) in the Sweet 16, so it’s going to be a challenge in the league every night. I can see myself winning two, maybe three, more championships.”

Kroll — a standout in the classroom — leaves St. Francis in good academic standing. Even with transferring, she’ll remain on track to earn a degree in accounting and will be able to start her graduate program with hopes of becoming a CPA.

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