Kelsey Carey wasn’t sure if she could be a Division I player until this summer. In her second year playing with the NYC Heat, the St. Joseph Hill forward competed with more confidence, often out-played or stood toe-to-toe with elite players.
“This could definitely happen,” was the feeling Carey got of Division I. “I could definitely see myself playing at this level.”
She won’t have to picture it for much longer — it is now a reality.
Carey rewarded Fairfield and coach Joe Frager for their belief, persistence and interest in her by verbally committing to the MAAC school during her visit on Wednesday. She chose them over Longwood, Manhattan, Colgate, Army and Mount St. Mary’s. Carey will become the first Division I player from the small all-girls Staten Island Catholic school since Helen Swartley went to Wagner in 2005.
“I really wanted to go to a school that wanted me,” she said. “Not meaning I would play right away, but that they would eventually need me and that they liked how I played.”
The Stags, traditionally one of the conference’s top programs, first noticed Carey at the Blue Chip USA Invitational and Nike Nationals in Chicago. By the time the end of July came around, the coaching staff was at all her games at the USJN/Nike National Championships.
“She’s [Frager’s] type of player,” Heat coach Kevin White said. “She plays hard, she’s intelligent. As soon as they called, I said this was a great school for her.”
Visiting the Connecticut school removed any hesitations she had. It was close to home, featured a successful club, strong academics and she felt a connection with the coaching staff. Carey wants to major in biology, a Fairfield strength, and one day become a physician’s assistant. Everything was even better up close.
“I looked up pictures,” she said. “I liked it when I saw it online, but when I went there it was just so beautiful. Just meeting the coaching staff really helped me make a decision.”
An All-Staten Island first team selection by The Post, Carey averaged 23.5 points per game as a junior and has 1,447 over her three-year varsity carrier. She poured in a career-high 43 points and pulled down 25 rebounds in a win over Tottenville last season.
“She is going to get better,” White said. “I really think she has a big upside.”
Carey is happy to have the process over with and be able to have a clear head going into next season, where she could add the 2,000-point plateau to her resume. She at least knows she can call herself a Division I player now.
“I’ve been working for this my whole life,” Carey said. “When I first played travel ball, getting a Division I scholarship is what my main goal was, what I have been working for forever. It’s sort of a dream come true. I always wanted it so badly.”