FORT MYERS, Fla. – Camryn Brown has been hired as an assistant coach for the nationally-ranked FGCU women's basketball program as announced by head coach Karl Smesko today. Brown joins the Eagles after working the previous two years at West Virginia State University.
 
"Camryn has a tremendous knowledge of the game, and she has a very good understanding of FGCU basketball," said Smesko. "Everyone I spoke to raves about Camryn's work ethic. She is passionate about learning, loves basketball, and is motivated to be an outstanding coach. I am very fortunate to work with amazing assistant coaches like Chelsea Lyles and Shannon Murphy. I am confident Camryn will be a very valuable addition to our coaching team."
 
Brown served under WVSU head coach Charles Marshall for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 campaigns. This past season, she was named to the WBCA Thirty Under 30 which recognizes up-and-coming coaches who have exemplified their involvement in community service, mentorship and impact on others, professional manner, and attitude and professional association involvement.
 
A 2020 graduate of High Point University, Brown played under former FGCU standout-turned-assistant coach Chelsea Banbury. Brown played in 121 games with 90 starts during her four years at High Point. She recorded 1,305 points, 468 assists, 295 defensive rebounds, and 243 three-pointers over the course of her illustrious career.

She was named Big South Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year after a remarkable senior season. Brown dropped 44 points and made 10 shots from behind the arc in a game against Winthrop to break school and conference records in both categories. She was named Big South Player of the Week on three occasions and was even named to the NCAA's Starting Five once.

Brown played in all 62 games of her junior and sophomore seasons with 60 starts. The biggest moment of her career happened in the Big South Championship Quarterfinals during her sophomore year. She hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to defeat Presbyterian that landed her on the No. 3 play in the SportsCenter Top 10 that week.

As a freshman, she played in all 30 games and was selected to the Big South All-Freshman Team.

Overall, Brown was named a Millis Scholar-Athlete, achieving a 3.0 cumulative GPA or higher, in all four of her years with the Panthers. She became the third player in school history to be named a CoSIDA Academic All-American at the conclusion of her senior campaign.

Brown replaces Sydnei McCaskill who earlier accepted an assistant coaching position at Marshall University.
 
FGCU, ranked No. 20 in the final WBCA poll of the season, finished 2021-22 with a 30-3 overall record after advancing to the NCAA Tournament Second Round. That marked the eighth NCAA Tournament appearance for the Eagles over the past 11 years and fifth straight. The Green and Blue won its ninth ASUN Championship Title to earn the berth, while the 30 wins marked the fifth time in the past eight seasons to hit the milestone.
 
For complete coverage of the women's basketball program, follow the Eagles on Twitter and Instagram at @FGCU_WBB, on Facebook at /fgcuwbb and online at www.FGCUathletics.com. You can also sign-up to have news on FGCU women's basketball or other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.
 
E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!
 
SUPPORT THE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PROGRAM
Do you enjoy watching or following the FGCU women's basketball program? Would you like to play a role in the growth of the program and help take it to heights never before experienced? If so, you can reach out to Director of Advancement, Matt Ring, about opportunities to make an impact on the experiences of our student-athletes. He can be reached by email at mring@fgcu.edu or by office phone at 239-745-4434.

COACH SMESKO
FGCU head coach Karl Smesko maintains a record of 610-128 (.826) overall in his career, which is the third-highest winning percentage among active Division I coaches behind only UConn's Geno Auriemma and LSU's Kim Mulkey. He has also led the Eagles to a 232-18 (.930) mark in ASUN regular season play and a 30-2 (.933) record in ASUN tournament play. Over the previous 10 seasons, he has guided FGCU to a 153-5 (.968) record in conference play with six undefeated seasons. The 12-time ASUN Coach of the Year has led the program to 12-straight 25-win seasons and 18-consecutive 20-win campaigns, including 30-plus wins in five of the last eight years. On top of all that, the Eagles are 549-101 (.845) all-time since Smesko started the program in the 2002-03 season, and the Green and Blue's .845 all-time winning percentage is the best in NCAA Division I women's basketball history.
 
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.

ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 92 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11 seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 45 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn at at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 20, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as four of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 26 consecutive semesters. The past five semesters (Fall 2019 – Spring 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 - being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
 
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