This year, the LSU Tigers have been busy gaining some new faces. One of those is Kailyn Gilbert, who has already proven her caliber as a strong guard in Arizona. “Her work ethic. It’s just different. You can tell when a kid is different, where their focus is,” said Gilbert’s trainer at the Skill Center, Chris Ward. Playing basketball from a tender age, Kailyn Gilbert has become one of the most prolific student-athletes. Her hunger for excellence has her thriving to leave an indelible mark wherever she moves to play.

After amassing over 500 career points at Arizona, Gilbert is now dribbling in purple and gold for the LSU Tigers. Having played a couple of games under Coach Mulkey, Gilbert has made her presence feel pretty good, which calls for exploring her journey before LSU. So, let’s take a deep dive into her story and learn about this trailblazing guard, yearning to thrive on top.

Kailyn Gilbert’s life in high school

She started playing basketball at a young age, and Kailyn Gilbert has kept a strong focus throughout her growing years. Being a Florida native, she didn’t have many basketball courts near her home to work on her game. As a result, Gilbert and her father, David, would spend hours driving around looking for a place to practice.

Despite having everything of material sense accessible to her, Gilbert didn’t have the same opportunities that other players in the rest of the country had. “Where I’m from, basketball really isn’t pushed as much as in other states. So…coming from there, you kind of have to find and connect with the right people to make sure that you’re put on a certain platform,” reasoned Gilbert.

Hence, she had to transfer twice during high school to get to the right platform. Her high school journey started at Tampa Prep in Tampa, Florida. She spent two seasons there and averaged 29.6 points, 8.4 rebounds, 0.7 assists, and 4.7 steals per game.

As a junior, she played for Seffner Christian Academy, also in the Tampa area. Then, for her senior year, she transferred to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, an hour south of Tampa.

Her last stop during high school proved to be a perfect piece for her puzzle, as she played alongside players like Grace VanSlooten, an Oregon freshman who relocated from Ohio to spend her final year at the Academy as well. “Playing with Grace was amazing. She’s a hard worker, has a good attitude, and is a good person in general,” Gilbert praised VanSlooten.

Gilbert also found resources that she was not used to. Besides, IMG also provided mental health support to the players. The support eventually proved productive for Gilbert as she grew the kind of mentality with which nothing seemed to phase her out on the court.

It also helped Gilbert to adapt to how the coaches wanted her to shape her game and the difference between high school and college basketball. “High school and college are two different things, and I think that coming from where I came from, some of the things weren’t emphasized as much as they are here. So just kind of breaking bad habits and forming new habits,” elaborated Gilbert.

Kailyn Gilbert earned several accolades in high school. She was named Class 3A Florida Player of the Year, 3x First Team All-State Selection, and 2x Hillsborough County Player of the Year. She graduated as the No. 31 recruit in the class of 2022 before she committed to play for the Arizona Wildcats. But before that, Gilbert also represented the USA on the international stage.

A headstrong Gilbert headed to Arizona with a FIBA gold medal

In 2022, Gilbert participated with the 2022 USA Basketball Women’s U18 National Team and won a gold medal at the 2022 FIBA Women’s U18 Americas Championship with a 6-0 record.

As mentioned above, Gilbert’s sole purpose in switching programs was to prepare for college and to find an environment conducive to her thriving at the top of the program she was playing with.

“[Going] from my regular high school to IMG was really hard because I got away with a lot of things at my other high school. So, when I got to IMG, I was running a lot, and some days I wanted to quit. But I’m still here,” Gilbert briefed how IMG helped her develop that mental strength.

This strength and confidence had a major impact on the Wildcats’ game. As a freshman, she scored double-digits in the first two games of her collegiate career. In the Pac-12 tournament, she scored 9 points against UCLA on 3-of-4 shooting. She also had a career-high 5 rebounds in a win over San Diego.

She gave a career-best performance with 25 points against California Baptist with 9-of-13 shooting and four 3-pointers. Throughout the season, she was the only Wildcat to play through all 32 games, averaging 4.9 points per game.

As a sophomore, she became Arizona’s leading scorer and the Pac-12’s seventh-leading scorer, averaging 15.1 points per game. Moreover, she was placed seventh in the Pac-12 for three-pointer percentage and hit 40% of her shots beyond the arc. She elevated her game in her second season by starting 19 games out of the 23 she appeared in. Gilbert had the second-best rebounding average at 5.3 boards per game.

She had seven 20-plus-point games, including a career-high 26 points against Texas. She also posted her collegiate career’s first double-double with 16 points, ten rebounds, and five assists against NAU.

Lined up her next one against Seattle with 17 points and ten boards. She also dropped 22 points and 12 rebounds with two assists and a steal against Utah. She also shot 70% of her field goals and amassed 19 points and six rebounds against Arizona State.

Now, kicking off her junior year at LSU under coach Kim Mulkey, Kailyn Gilbert hopes to find the perfect environment for her to thrive and fill the big shoes left behind by Angel Reese when she was drafted in the WNBA.