Bio

• 2-time All-American
• 3-time All-IIAC First Team
• 2008 IIAC MVP and West Region Player of the Year
• Top-five in school history in career points, rebounds and steals
• Led Simpson to two IIAC Championships and four NCAA Tournaments

In college basketball today, the mid-range game is a lost art. Just 10 years ago, though, a great mid-range player was a valuable weapon, and no weapon was more dangerous than Katelyn Whiton Brelsford ‘08.

Listed at 5 feet 10 inches tall in the program but standing closer to 5-9, Brelsford—a forward—played bigger than her height would indicate. She made her career inside of 15-feet, utilizing her ability to postup, drive to the hoop and hit short jumpers. Brelsford possessed a strong competitive drive that extended from practice to game day and was a big part of her success.

The Perry, Iowa product was a key component to the most successful run in Simpson women’s basketball history. Her freshman year started a string of nine-straight NCAA Tournament berths, a run which
included seven IIAC Championships. Brelsford led the Storm to conference championships in 2005-06 and 2007-08 and conference tournament championships in 2005, 2006 and 2008. She helped put Simpson women’s basketball on the map with NCAA Sweet 16 appearances in 2007 and 2008. The 2007-08 team set a school record for wins, going 27-3 to close the four-year run at 96 wins and 22 losses.

In her 118-game career, Brelsford amassed 1,592 points, third on Simpson’s all-time list and the most since 1985. She is fourth with 700 rebounds, second with 230 steals and tenth with a 52.5 field goal percentage. During her senior season, Brelsford averaged 16.7 points and 7.3 rebounds while shooting better than 53 percent from the field. In addition to earning Iowa Conference MVP honors and West Region Player of the Year accolades, she was also a finalist for the Jostens Trophy, which recognizes the Player of the Year in Division III.

Brelsford makes her home in Panora, Iowa, with her husband, Colby, and baby daughter, Fran. Her induction into the Hall of Fame continues a family tradition, as her mother, Melodie, was a Hall of Fame
basketball player at Nebraska Wesleyan.