Former Youngstown State women's basketball star Brandi Brown will have the opportunity to continue her career at the professional level after signing a contract to play professionally in Sweden starting in September.
Brown has signed to play for the Solna Vikings of the Damligan, Sweden's top league for women. Brown, the 2013 Horizon League Player of the Year, is the first YSU women's basketball player to sign a professional contract since Heather Karner in 2008.
"I'm looking forward to playing basketball overseas in Sweden," Brown said. "I thank God for this new opportunity, and I am also thankful for the lessons I've learned on and off the court at YSU. I believe that these lessons have prepared me for new things to come. I appreciate all of the support from my coaches, teammates and the community for helping me get here."
Christer Sjögren, the sports director of the Solna Vikings, said, "We have a young team, and Brandi is exactly the kind of player we are looking for: a 'go-to' player who is used to scoring and taking a lot of responsibility for the team's success. With her inside/outside game, we believe she will be hard to defend for opponents." The statement was in a press release issued by Brown's agent, Matthew C. Krejci of MK Sports and Entertainment LLC.
Brown had many and substantial achievements during her four years at Youngstown State. The Pomona, Calif., native capped off her career by being named the Horizon League Player of the Year, Capital One First-Team Academic All-America and Associated Press Honorable Mention All-America in 2012-13. Brown averaged 20.1 points and 11.1 rebounds as one of only two players in the country to rank in the top 20 in both categories. She led the Penguins to a 23-10 record and a WNIT berth as a senior, spearheading the program's turnaround from an 0-30 mark her freshman year.
Brown finished her career with a school record 1,239 rebounds and 2,079 points, the second-most in school history. She also holds YSU's career records for minutes, free throws, games played and starts, and she is one of only two players in Horizon League history to finish with at least 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.
Brown graduated Magna Cum Laude with a bachelor's in communications studies in May.
The Vikings have finished in the top four in the league in each of the past eight seasons and lost in the finals in 2012-13.
