Full Circle: Sophie Bradbury Comes Home to BSU Hoops

By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The connection between the Bridgewater State University women's basketball program and the Bradbury family began in the 2012-13 season.

That is when Kelsey Bradbury started a four-year run as the Bears' team manager and statistician.

Her younger sisters, Sydney and Sophie, were among those who would be on hand to watch BSU play at the Tinsley Center in those years, the two of them getting an up-close look at the Bears' program.

Sydney Bradbury then became a BSU player in 2019 and finished her career in 2024 with 1,076 points, ranking second on the all-time list with 205 3-pointers made and first with 591 attempts.

Sophie Bradbury (East Bridgewater, Mass.) had a chance to become the next member of the family to be part of BSU basketball in 2023, but she was torn about what path to take.

"I was kind of stubborn about it," said Sophie Bradbury. "I wanted to go away (to school) and I didn't want to be too close to home. The only down side was I wanted to play at Bridgewater, but I wanted to go away. I was very conflicted."

So Bradbury went to the University of Massachusetts Boston where she was a freshman in the 2023-24 academic year.

Bradbury appeared in 22 games, starting one, for the Beacons' women's basketball team and was second on the team in scoring average (8.4 points) and made 3-pointers (24).

After that one year, though, Bradbury decided to follow her sisters and transferred to Bridgewater State.

Now a junior guard in her second season with the Bears, Bradbury leads BSU in scoring, averaging 13.9 points in seven games, and has made 15 shots from 3-point range.

Bradbury said she began attending games at the Tinsley Center when she was eight years old, so it's been like a homecoming since she enrolled in the fall semester of 2024 as a public relations major.

"It's very full circle, especially since I grew up around it and I've known coach (Bridgett Casey) for a very long time,'' said Bradbury. "I have four older sisters, and three of them came here. I've always been around it.

"I knew Bridgewater basketball because of my sister. I grew up around it and knew the culture of it. It was something I wanted to be around."

Bradbury suffered a left knee injury right before the start of the 2024-25 season and missed a month with what turned out to be a torn meniscus.

She came off the bench in 16 games, averaging 5.8 points and 1.9 rebounds plus a steal. The Bears played the same starting lineup throughout the season with a veteran cast (one underclassman) that reached the NCAA Division III tournament.

"It was definitely difficult (getting hurt), but I knew how to navigate it because I had torn my ACL my senior year of high school," said Bradbury. "It wasn't as serious a knee injury this time, but it took a toll on me mentally.

"But I had a great support system with the coaches and teammates and the athletic training staff."

Bradbury underwent surgery in April to repair the damage and couldn't run again until late June, then resumed basketball activities in late July.

She went into this season with an increased role after sitting behind an experienced group, including the program's all-time leading scorer, Kylie Grassi, a year ago.

"Being a part of that rotation, I was very lucky," she said. "I learned a lot playing against them and with them and that was very good."

This season, Bradbury has averaged 17.3 points in the past four games with 13 3-pointers.

She figures to be a key to the BSU offense, which graduated its top four scorers.

"I came in with no expectations," said Bradbury. "I was prepared to do whatever coach needed me to do and what she wanted me to do. It was a clean slate for everyone.

"I definitely want to contribute as much as possible. It'll change as the season goes on. It'll be a different person every game, I think."

The Bears will look to Bradbury as the main 3-point threat, a role her sister had at BSU.

Sydney Bradbury, who is now an assistant coach at Division I Stonehill College, made 35 percent of her 3-pointers and has the single-season record for 3-pointers made with 83 in 2023-24.

"She was obviously always better than me with that," said Bradbury. "She's a very, very, very good shooter, a very good player. I learned a lot from her by playing against her and with her and being coached by her. It helped me in so many different ways."

And Sydney Bradbury was able to give her younger sister a full scouting report on what to expect when she transferred to BSU.

"I knew the inside stuff from my sister," said Sophie Bradbury. "It was all good things all the time. It was definitely something I wanted to be a part of.

"I liked how competitive they were and how together it was. Everyone was constantly there for each other. The whole team was together, united, there for each other. It was a very well rounded team, very good culture, very well coached, very good support system."

After one year at UMass Boston, Sophie Bradbury landed back at the place she was connected to since being a youngster.