Two Kalamazoo area basketball players who were overlooked after high school found Division I offers after one season at Schoolcraft College.

Siena McNitt of Garden City and Briana Young of Bloomfield Hills signed with Evansville and Buffalo, respectively, after the Ocelots completed a 33-2 season and went undefeated in the regular season during 2025-26, according to a May 21 report from Hometown Life.

From underrecruited to Division I

Both players were considered criminally underrecruited coming out of high school. McNitt received interest only from Division III and NAIA schools. Young had just a few junior college offers despite playing for the Michigan Crossover AAU team.

McNitt set records at Garden City High School, including 1,134 career points, 481 points in a season, 21.9 points per game, and 34 points in a single game. Young was a 1,000-point scorer at Bloomfield and led the Black Hawks to back-to-back Oakland Activities Association championships and the program's first Division 1 district title.

"Coming out of high school, I knew there was a lot of work for me to do," McNitt said during an offseason workout May 19. "Going JUCO, the whole point of it is to get something out of it you didn't have coming out of high school, so my plan was to go D-II or D-I. I just took a chance on myself, put that work in and it has paid off."

Overcoming setbacks

McNitt's path was not straightforward. She suffered a rare stomach infection that cost her the entire 2023-24 season at Schoolcraft. She lost weight and muscle tone and had to essentially restart her career after redshirting as a freshman.

She bounced back to average 12.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in 2024-25. She was even more impactful this past winter. After injuries at point guard, she moved over from shooting guard and led Schoolcraft's offense for 20 games. She averaged 12 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game as a facilitator. She also cracked 100 assists on the season.

"Siena has a really high IQ and is super smart," Schoolcraft coach Shay Lewis said. "She's a very versatile player and, with our system, she can play point guard or off guard because the biggest thing about the position is knowing what the reads are, how to play at our pace and when to get the ball to who you're supposed to get it to."

McNitt earned All-Michigan Community College Athletic Association-East honors and was named MVP of the Great Lakes District regional tournament. She received 11 offers since March and visited Evansville and Indiana State before choosing Evansville.

"They think I can come in and lead a team that's starting over from nothing because they like my IQ as a point guard and thought my stats were good," McNitt said. "Evansville just got a new coach three weeks ago, and he has a really good resume for turning programs around."

First-year coach Ben Wierzba is tasked with turning around the 10-25 Evansville Aces in the Missouri Valley Conference.

A dominant freshman season

Young wasted no time once she arrived at Schoolcraft. She pulled down 20 rebounds in her first summer league game just days after graduating from Bloomfield.

The small forward finished as an NJCAA All-American, MCCAA Freshman of the Year, and MCCAA Player of the Year. She averaged 15.6 points, shot 53% from the field, and recorded nine double-doubles.

"My confidence wasn't the best before I got here, so I made it my mission to show what I was made of when I got here," Young said. "Coach Shay and my coaches made me feel like I was capable of doing what I knew I could do."

Young led Schoolcraft in rebounds in 15 of its 33 games and scored in double figures 12 times.

"When I saw Bri play for the first time, I was like, 'This kid is going to be amazing because she works so hard,'" Lewis said. "I realized her ceiling was going to be through the roof."

At Bloomfield, Young had to do it all, from bringing the ball up the floor to playing center and driving to the basket. Lewis moved her to the post at Schoolcraft, sharpening her skills under the rim. Young was initially turned off by the idea, but it made her a stronger wing player and helped her land a handful of Division I offers.

"They like that I can get downhill, and they want to add more to my game, which is what I want, too," Young said. "I loved how Buffalo talked about how they wanted to add to my skillset."

More Ocelots headed to four-year schools

Two other players from the Ocelots are also heading to four-year programs. Mariah Scott, an Illinois native, has four offers including one from New Orleans. Riley Abney, a 2024 Ortonville-Brandon graduate, signed with Southern Illinois Edwardsville.

Schoolcraft's women's basketball team finished 33-2 overall and went 2-2 at the NJCAA women's basketball championship tournament after climbing as high as No. 2 in the rankings during the regular season.

"I tell everyone that Schoolcraft is the best decision I've ever made," McNitt said. "If I had to do it all over again, I'd choose the same exact school. Coach Shay did exactly what she said she would. I trusted in her, and she trusted in me."

The story of two overlooked local players finding Division I opportunities through a junior college program highlights the growing role of community colleges as finishing schools in Michigan athletics.