Columbus East’s Brelyn Pool shoots against Purdue Poly Englewood’s Ro’niya McNeil Nov. 4 in the Orange Pit at Columbus East High School.
Tommy Walker | For The Republic
Brelyn Pool is glad to return to the hardwood for her senior year.
The Columbus East senior missed all of last season because of a torn ACL. Once she returned to the court, she picked up where she left off and hasn’t missed a beat with her teammates.
Pool was destined to have a breakout season last year. During AAU season in the summer of 2024, Pool was playing in the “Run 4 Roses” tournament in Louisville. She was fighting for a rebound and was pulled down by her opponent, which made her land wrong. Pool felt a pop in her knee and immediately knew it was her ACL.
Pool was devastated to have history repeat itself and go through another long recovery period. In seventh grade, she tore the ACL in her other leg.
“Right when I came down, I already knew what it was,” Pool said. “It was rough and pretty sad. I was really looking forward to my junior season. I had a really good feeling it was going to be a good year until it happened.”
Pool had surgery on her knee in September 2024 and didn’t let the injury defy her. She went back to work quickly following surgery in hopes to come back much sooner from her injury than she did in seventh grade.
Brelyn Pool
Pool started physical therapy sessions three times a week for the first four months, then eventually dropped to two days and one day a week for several weeks. She was given a list of things to do from her physical therapist as homework that included leg lifts and knee slides to help build her quadriceps back to strength. Pool was on crutches for about six weeks and was cleared to put weight on her leg after three months.
“It was tough,” Pool said. “I was doing exercises constantly, and my therapist put me through a lot, and I think that helped a lot more. I liked working with her. She was one of the main reasons I was able to get back as fast as I did. She challenged me more. I felt great. It was so good. I felt better than I ever had.”
Pool felt good and ready to play in the spring, but the doctors didn’t clear her to resume activities until later in the summer for AAU season. She practiced with her East teammates in June, but wasn’t cleared yet for full physical contact.
“Here I am at six months, and I was practicing,” she said. “I was doing good. I was doing above and beyond in therapy, much better than where I needed to be. I knew I was ahead of where I needed to be by accomplishing everything.”
Pool returned to the court for this year’s “Run 4 Roses” in July. It was a full-circle moment that marked one year from when and where her injury occurred.
“I was so ready to play,” she said. “I was counting the days until it was time to go there. I was so excited. I didn’t get to play much at first and had to ease my way back, but it was really awesome.”
East coach Kaitlyn Phillips had big plans for Pool in the rotation last year until injury setback. Pool wasn’t the only injury to the Olympians last year. The injury bug limited East to two wins last year. With everyone back to health, East already has surpassed that win total going into Thursday’s game at Columbus North.
“When we got the news last summer about her, it was pretty devastating for us. We had big plans for her for her junior season, and I’m sure it was more devastating to her,” Phillips said. “She is someone who is not really a post player. She is probably the purest shooter on our team. But she is also the leading rebounder on our team, so she has a knack for finding the basketball, and she has really stepped up in her role and playing high and being asked to rebound more than she’s probably used to.”
Pool has given the Olympians another option on the floor and has been versatile at both the defensive end and the offensive end. She possessed a strong dedication during her recovery to get back on the court that made her teammates notice.
“I think a big part of her was her influence, more silent than anything in terms of just leading by example with her resiliency,” Phillips said. “She took her physical therapy and her rehab more serious than anyone I have ever seen before. Her recovery time was impeccable. She was at physical therapy religiously. As soon as she could, there was a basketball in her hand. So you could tell she was really serious about getting back and getting back as soon as she could, so I think there other girls seeing that and seeing her work ethic helped out quite a bit.”
A few weeks ago, Pool announced her verbal commitment to continue her basketball career at Aurora University. She’ll continue to play the sport that she’s loved since the fourth grade.
Pool is thankful to be back on the hardwood and playing for the Olympians one final time.
“It’s really tough at times,” she said. “It’s like a roller coaster. There is a lot of ups and downs, for sure, but it does get better, and it all works out in the end.”
