Throughout her first two seasons with the Elon University women’s basketball team, Kelsey Harris was often overlooked and undervalued as her teammates Ali Ford and Kelsey Evans — both of whom have graduated — stole the show. They were the team’s heart and soul, the unquestioned leaders who pushed their teammates to be the best they could be.
This year, that same leadership will be expected from Harris, the team’s only true senior. Harris knows her younger teammates will look to her and the team’s other upperclassmen for advice on various aspects of life as a Div. I athlete.
If one of her younger teammates comes to her and asks what it takes to succeed at this level, both as an individual and as a team, Harris is confident she will have the answer.
“I would tell them to pay attention to the details,” Harris said. “The pace of the game in college is so much different than in high school. In your first year, it’s going to take some adjusting to get used to. But if you focus on the details and learning and understanding the game, then everything else will come.”
Elon head coach Charlotte Smith has talked to Harris and the other upperclassmen about their leadership and what she expects of them on and off the court. She said she trusts Harris without hesitation because she’s seen her natural leadership and maturity grow as Harris has gotten older.
“[Her leadership] has grown tremendously,” Smith said. “That’s why she was named captain before this upcoming season. I felt like she had all the intangibles.”
Junior Candice Silas echoed her coach’s sentiment on Harris’ leadership style.
“She’s very vocal. She’ll say what she thinks, and she means it,” Silas said. “She’s so powerful in the way she says things that everyone is going to listen and do what she says.”
Harris knew she would have to take responsibility for her team after Ford and Evans graduated, and she said she is comfortable in her new role despite being the heir apparent to two of the program’s most successful winners and prolific motivators.
“I’m comfortable being a vocal leader and trying to take into effect what I learned in the past,” Harris said. “I have to be more vocal this year, being one of the only seniors. I have to make sure that I’m always encouraging my teammates and making sure that we all hold each other accountable.”
Silas said she can’t think of anyone better to lead than Harris, whose work ethic and fiery lead-by-example attitude is perfect for a team littered with young players unfamiliar with the dedication they need to be successful on the collegiate level.
“I think everyone looks up to her,” Silas said. “All the freshmen, sophomores and juniors all look up to Kelsey and expect her to be that spark and be that energy, and she always is.”
As with other athletes in the final year of their collegiate careers, Harris said she hopes this season brings as much success as last season. The goals, Harris believes, haven’t changed.
“We always come into the season and talk about our goals as a team, and I don’t think they’ve ever changed,” Harris said. “Our goals would be to win the Southern Conference, win the conference tournament and go to the NCAA Tournament.”
The Phoenix has been picked to finish fifth in the Southern Conference in both the Media and Coaches’ polls, a ranking Harris said is irrelevant and should be disregarded. In her eyes, rankings are meaningless until the conference’s best teams begin to prove themselves.
Harris said she is not nervous about her younger, less experienced teammates worrying about their preseason ranking because of their poise and maturity.
“They need to realize that the rankings are there and that we can use it as motivation,” Harris said. “We need to build off last year and realize that the rankings, in the end, don’t matter.”