A West Virginia athlete from Webster Springs, Sydney Baird took her first year on the women's basketball team by storm by earning the Mountain Easat Conference Player of the Week on Feb. 5, an ALL-MEC Honorable Mention and was named MEC Freshman of the Year. Baird also averaged 13 points and 3.4 rebounds in her first season at Wesleyan and recorded team highs in assists (77) and steals (36). Nationally, Baird ranked third in free throw percentage (92.5%) and 11th in three-point field goal percentage (44.3%) but where she really shined was at the free throw line. Baird was the 2023-24 NCAA Division II statistical champion for Free Throw Percentage, leading the country with a 92.5 completion average.

It all started at Webster County High School where Sydney had a fantastic high school career and took the team to the state tournament three times for the first time in 20 years. While being coached by her parents, some accolades she achieved were three-time first-team All-Conference, 2023 Conference Player of the Year, and finished with a total of 2,510 career points. She also had a great honor of having her number 23 retired at Webster County High School for such an amazing career. 

A sit down with Wesleyan sports information took a deeper dive into getting to know Baird: 

Q: "How old were you when you started playing basketball and did you play other sports as well when you were growing up?"
Baird: "I started playing when I was really little, around three or four and I also played soccer and golf."

Q: "Who were your favorite players growing up?"
Baird: "Definitely Steph Curry, I was a huge Steph Curry fan, Micheal Jordan, and a big Paige Bueckers fan."

Q: "What was it about the sport of basketball that kept you practicing and playing?"
Baird: "When I was growing up, my mom and dad were coaches, so I was always in the gym with them and once I started thinking I could do something with this, I just wanted to push myself and push myself and see how far I could go."

Q: What is the difference about playing basketball at the collegiate level?"
Baird: "Probably that everyone is good in college and there isn't one bad player. It's much faster, everybody is stronger, and the speed of the game is a lot quicker."

Q: "What do you consider to be the best part of your game?"
Baird: "My IQ, I see the floor very well and I can shoot and handle the ball."

Q: "What do you think that you need to work on the most?"
Baird: "Definitely my speed and my footwork, I'm not as fast as some of the girls here and taking control and slowing down a little bit and seeing the floor a little better."

Q: "How do you balance your life as a college student and a college athlete?"
Baird: "It's definitely hard, I'm not gonna lie but I've always been told that school comes first; once basketball is done, I got to have something to rely on."

Q: "What were some of the highlights of your first college season?"
Baird: "Definitely the friendships I've made here; my teammates are great, and we've all become super close. Also starting as a freshman. Usually most freshman come in and hope to just get minutes."

The Bobcat Women's Basketball team will be returning 4 of 5 starters, including Baird, for the 2024-2025 season. With an experienced team coming back, the 2024-2025 season looks to be promising for the Lady Bobcats,