After 'growing year' at Duke, former B-R standout Bollin commits to Illinois women's hoops

Shay Bollin's freshman year of college was full of adjustments.

The 2022 Bridgewater-Raynham graduate was living a revamped life over 700 miles away, rounding into game shape as the Duke University women's basketball team's newest recruit after missing her junior and senior high school seasons due to injury.

“It was definitely a big learning experience," Bollin said. "I think I learned a lot about myself through the process, and grew a ton as a person in general: going to college for the first time, adjusting to the speed of college basketball and the intensity and everything. ... It’s been a tremendous growing year for me.”

As the academic year winds down and her sophomore campaign nears this fall, enter one more adjustment. A big one.

More:Former B-R girls basketball standout Bollin to enter transfer portal

The 6-foot-3, sharp-shooting forward entered the transfer portal on April 5, and emerged this past week with a commitment to the University of Illinois.

Bollin appeared in eight games at Duke, averaged 2.4 points and 1 rebound in five minutes per game, as the team went 26-7 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. She scored a season-high nine points against Charleston Southern on Nov. 10.

"I am so excited to have Shay join our Illini family," Illinois head women's basketball coach Shauna Green announced in statement. "She brings size, toughness and the ability to stretch the floor. She is an elite shooter who fits our system perfectly. Shay is a competitor and a hard worker who will continue to grow in our program. I can't wait to get her on campus and get to work."

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Earlier this month, Bollin returned home for a few days after her official recruiting visit of the Illinois campus to mull over the options with her family.

The decision didn't take long.

"The second I could, I called Coach Green and I was like, ‘Hi, I don’t know what you’re doing right now, but I can’t wait any longer. I just have to tell you: I want to commit. I’m so confident in this decision.’" Bollin said. "And she was super happy. It was a great moment.”

"I loved everything (Green) had to say (during the tour). I felt super comfortable on campus and I felt it was all very real,” said Bollin of the decision. “I could tell they were genuinely good people and I heard nothing but great things about the staff and players from everyone I talked to. I tried to do my homework to make sure I’m finding the absolute best fit for me.”

Despite being sidelined, Bollin finished her high school career ranked No. 33 by ESPNW's recruiting rankings two seasons after an All-Scholastic sophomore season in which she averaging 18.8 points, 10 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game en route to B-R claiming its first Division 1 South title in 30 years.

“When I first got to Duke, I hadn’t played in a while so I was really having to focus a ton. I was in the training room every single day for, basically, a whole entire year just trying to get strong and I did a ton of extra lifting. I really tried to get my body right. But I think I adjusted pretty quickly to everything," Bollin said. "It was definitely stressful at first: coming in, being a freshman and knowing I hadn’t played, but the trainers were great about helping me and they definitely gave me a lot of confidence to get back out there.”

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Now healthy, she joins an Illinois team that went 22-10 with an NCAA tournament bid in Green's first year as head coach – the Illini's first winning season since 2012. Prior, Green spent six seasons at the University of Dayton, where she won three Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year awards and had a 127-50 record.

“I think I can definitely help the team," Bollin said. "This is a brand new construction of what Coach Green is building. Just with her history of player development – she’s really able to help players reach their full potential – and seeing what she did to this program in one year is so phenomenal and impressive. You honestly don’t see that a lot, turning a program around so quickly.

“I think I have the ability to stretch the floor, shoot, make a lot of different reads on cuts and screens, rebounding, I think I’ll be able to help. And I’m excited to help them. The team has a really competitive culture and that’s super important to me. I want to work every day and I want to be pushed to get better. I know they have that there, so that’s another thing that excites me.”

Bollin's lone season at Duke was highlighted by the Bridgewater-Raynham girls basketball program attending the Blue Devils' game at Boston College on Feb. 9. Bollin appeared in the closing minutes of the Duke's 68-27 win and buried a step-back jumper, much to the satisfaction of the hometown crowd.

“That was obviously a great moment." Bollin said. "Just to know they believed in me, and always have, and having that moment felt really great for me. I know they’re always cheering for me. I know my people are always in my corner and it’s super special to me, to feel like people really, really believe in you. I’m so thankful for all of those people. I have amazing people in my life, I honestly could not ask for a better support system.”

Hall-Rosa transferring from B-R

In other news related to the Bridgewater-Raynham girls basketball program, junior Natalia Hall-Rosa announced on social media that she is transferring to The Rivers School in Weston and reclassifying to the Class of 2025.

Hall-Rosa, a forward from Randolph, was named an Enterprise first-team All-Scholastic by leading the Trojans with 19.4 points and 7.7 rebounds per game as the Southeast Conference MVP. This past winter, the team had a 17-3 record in the regular season, won the league title and went to the Division 1 Elite Eight, where Hall-Rosa scored a career-high 33 points in a 72-53 defeat to Bishop Feehan.

She had 12 games with 20-plus points on the season, and finishes her B-R tenure with 890 career points.

Hall-Rosa has picked up multiple Division 1 college offers recently, including from Providence College and the College of Charleston.

"I will be forever thankful to Coach Cheryl (Seavey) and my B-R family," Hall-Rosa posted on Twitter. "The love and bond doesn't stop here. That's forever!"