It’s been 26 years since the WNBA was established and it continues to grow each year with many prospects going for the spot on a team. Kasey Kidwell sees herself playing pro and overseas. Kidwell started playing ball at the age of 4 when she began in the Upward League. Kidwell would love the game after seeing her older brother start playing. “ He is 7 years older than me, and I always watched his games and practices,” Kasey states.  “Growing up with an older brother I got competitive. I eventually wanted to be better than he was and that’s where my competitiveness kicked in and I fell in love with the game.” Kasey would play high school ball at Carolina Day School. During her time at Carolina Day School, Kidwell averaged 11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals a game. By the end of the season, Kasey made the 1,000th point mark and was named to the NCISSA All-State Team, Asheville Citizen-Times All-Western Second Team, and Carolina Athletic Association First-Team All-Conference. 

Kasey began her collegiate career at Austin Peay State University in the 2018-19 season.  In her freshmen campaign, Kasey appeared in 28 games, averaged 3 points per game, 1.1 assists per game, 1 rebound per game, and 11.1 minutes off the bench. By the end of her first season, Kidwell totaled 312 minutes, 83 points, 31 assists, 29 rebounds, and 14 steals. In sophomore season, Kasey saw an improvement within her game as she appeared in all 30 games and started 24 of them as well as dished a record of 40 or more assists and 30 steals or more in one season. In a game against Tennessee State, Kidwell was perfect from the floor as she went 5-for-5 behind the three-point line and scored 13 points. Kasey would finish the season with 126 points, 59 rebounds, 43 assists, 30 steals, and 471 minutes. In 2020, the impact of COVID-19 caused a lot of changes within the basketball season for many teams. Some teams canceled their season due to COVID-19 and in concerned for their players’ health. For Kasey, she continued to improve her game throughout the year and succeeded in critical games for the Governors such as shooting 100% from the charity stripe against Eastern Illinois, leading the team in rebounds against SIUE, and getting to start in the OVC Tournament against Belmont. By the end of Kidwell’s 2020-21 season, she tallied 229 minutes, 32 rebounds, 13 steals, 48 points, and 14 assists. Kasey made sure to make her final season at Austin Peay her season to shine. In 2021-22, Kidwell took her game to a whole another level as she bested in minutes with 585 as well as 121 points, 44 assists, 41 rebounds, and 29 steals. During her time at Austin Peay, Kasey tallied a total of 1,597 minutes, 378 points, 161 rebounds, 132 assists, and 86 steals. Kidwell would soon enter the transfer portal afterward as she announced her commitment to play her graduate season for Queens University. Currently, Kasey is one of the leading scorers for Queens University. 

Many student-athletes have found that study hall has helped them throughout their college career as they stated how important to keep their grades up. Kasey has vouched for how study hall has helped her in the academic aspect of her collegiate career. “ I can thank study hall for that for sure and all my academic coaches,” Kidwell states. “I’m a big procrastinator so when I was in study hall I was able to finish a lot of homework. My coaches were big on academics so that was a number one priority before basketball.” Kidwell has shown how important academics are as she was awarded the OVC Commissioner’s Honor Roll in 2018-20, Dean’s List in Fall 2018, Spring 2020, and Spring 2022, and Athletic Director’s Honor Roll in 2019 and 2021. Recently, Kasey graduated with a bachelor's degree in Human and Health Performance. Kidwell explains how the major of her study is relevant to the sport. “you can work with sports and do strength & conditioning coaching or personal training & corporate wellness,” Kasey states. Kidwell saw how impactful Human and Health Performance was during the pandemic as she created workout videos for athletes to work out at home. 

Women’s basketball continues to increase in numbers each year. This year’s NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament National Championship between the University of South Carolina and the University of Connecticut brought in 4.85 million views, bringing in the most-watched season finale on ESPN Networks in nearly two decades. Many records were broken for the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament including the most-watched Elite 8 game between the University of Connecticut and North Carolina State University as it attracted 2 million views since 2006. The game was also the most-watched NCAA Women’s Basketball game of 2022. Kasey believes women’s basketball will continue to rise after witnessing many historical moments from this year’s NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. 

A girl with a dream becomes a woman with a vision. For Kasey, she sees herself playing professionally as she aims to continue her game at a pro level. “I would love to go overseas if I have the opportunity. But if I don’t, I want to stay in the world of basketball,” Kidwell states. Whether it is coaching or becoming a personal trainer, Kasey would still love to be involved as her passion for the sport is undeniable. Kidwell advises those that aim to take their talents to the next level to be both coachable and disciplined. “If this is something you want to do at the next level you are going to have to work for it because it won’t be handed to you,” Kasey explains. “You have to stay in the gym and work on your craft.” Kasey also emphasizes the next generation to listen to mentors and be willing to learn from coaches. “I’m in college now and still to this day I’m learning the game of basketball to better myself.” 

When it comes to role models, Kasey acknowledges her brothers as her role main inspiration in basketball. “I always wanted to be better than him at basketball,” describes Kidwell. “Every time he was in the gym, I was too and that’s who I looked up to when it came to sports.” Kasey also credits her parents for sacrificing so much to support her and her basketball career. “My mom took me to every practice after work, and my dad drove us all over for my AAU tournaments. “They did so much for me and seeing how much they did for me,” Kidwell explains.  Kasey emphasizes how grateful she is for her parents as they were with her every step of the way to continue to support her and the game she loves.  

If there’s a word to describe Kasey and her journey, that word would be perseverance. When asked what makes her and her story stand out, Kidwell confidently answers: “ I’m just blessed to be able to play college basketball at the D1 level. I’m the first person in my family to play a sport in college and continue to get my master's.” Kasey explains the importance of making her family proud and how much they mean to her during the process. “I want to make my parents proud. I owe it to them for all the things they have done for me to be here,” Kasey states. “As a kid, I never realized how much of a priority I was to them until now. For that, I’m forever thankful for them and just want to make them proud.”

On September 2022, Beautiful Ballers announced Kasey as an official athlete for the Beautiful Ballers team. When asked about joining the Beautiful Ballers team, Kidwell excitedly expresses how much she is looking forward to learning from other official athletes on the team. “The women on the Beautiful Ballers team have so much to offer with continuing to grow the brand,” Kasey states. “I’m really looking forward to keep learning about my own self and how to grow so I can continue to bring my own thoughts to the team as well!” Kasey explains her definition of what it means to be a Beautiful Baller and how it is important to inspire others. “Being a Beautiful Baller means to me is being able to inspire and influence the younger generation of female athletes,” Kidwell states. “Being a female athlete growing up, I was uncomfortable in my own body and didn’t know how to bring out my girly side as well. Even to this day, the public will criticize women for wearing nails, lashes, or hair extensions in a basketball or sports in general.” Kasey reassures that is okay to express the girly side and still be a beast on the court. “My motto is “Feel Good, Play Good!”

To learn more about  Kasey and her story, be sure to follow her on Instagram: kidwell05