Brynn Schmidt (5) scores in the lane for Station Camp against Gallatin. JOHN DECKER

Brynn Schmidt didn’t intend on returning to basketball with her senior season transfer from Davidson Academy to Station Camp.

Schmidt had shifted her focus to volleyball after she had stepped away from the winter hardwood as a junior after ankle and tibia injuries in her first two seasons.

But Hall of Fame coach Kendra Jackson came calling. And calling.

“Coach Jackson was a very, very big supporter of me playing,” Schmidt said. “She did anything she could to get me on the team, and it’s just been the best thing that’s happened to me.”

They can see why now. Schmidt averaged more than 17 points, eight rebounds and three steals through six games after Tuesday’s 24-point double-double over Gallatin, which moved Station Camp to 7-2 on the season.

“We’re still figuring out all the kinks, but I think overall she’s done a good job of meshing with what we wanna do offensively, what we do defensively,” Jackson said. “We’re doing a good job of trying to find her in transition, get her some easy buckets, because she’s really athletic.”

Tuesday’s total matched a season-high for Schmidt with the Bison. She scored 24 points at Hunters Lane in their second game this year and followed it against Northeast with 22 points and eight rebounds. 

Standing at 5-foot-11, Schmidt has been an athletic addition for Station Camp. She and returnees Baylor Ayers and Ella Ohman give their team three starters at 5-foot-9 or taller.

It has allowed Jackson to move Ohman to a perimeter position defensively and employ a transition style on offense, turning turnovers into points through a 1-3-1 zone that Schmidt leads at the top. 

“It’s been awesome,” Schmidt said. “These girls have been great with incorporating me and learning my style, because we have different styles. 

“My coach has a different style, so learning each other and being able to, like, mesh ourselves together and work together as a team – to learn each other and be able to push each other to score and benefit each other.”

When they aren’t out on the fastbreak, the Bison can shoot outside or look for Schmidt in the low post.

She scored on a pair of putback misses in the first half against Gallatin to go along with three steals and two blocks. 

To start the third quarter, Station Camp tried feeding her the ball on a lob. 

Schmidt hasn’t been away from basketball entirely for the past year. “I’ve been raised playing basketball my whole life,” she said. 

Her mom – Jodi Parriott Schmidt, who played two seasons of high school point guard, then hit a growth spurt and at 6-foot-2 signed with USC – has always been an influence.

“She’s never forced me to play, but she’s always supported me,” Brynn Schmidt said. “She trains me on the weekends. She helps me as much as she can. 

“My mom used to be a point guard, so we’re a little bit different. She’s just been the best support I’ve ever had. She’s loved me at the times I’ve scored six points a game, and she helps me to succeed even when I’m at 25 points a game.”

While with the Trojans, Jodi played with Tina Thompson, who was the No. 1 pick in the 1997 WNBA Draft and went on to become the league’s all-time leading scorer before retiring. Thompson is a Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer and considered one of the Top 15 players in the sport’s history.

Brynn has quickly become one of the Bison’s best in her own right.

“Just being able to play with a team that’s so supportive and a coach that’s so supportive, that just makes me feel so welcome,” Schmidt said. “And just being able to help the team as much as I can, it’s a fun environment.”