Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Western Carolina University

Western Carolina
The Official Home of Catamount Athletics

Schedule

Full
Trumm_inside

Women's Basketball Denise Gideon, Director of Media Relations

Bailey Trumm Forges New Path to Western Carolina Women's Basketball

As a sophomore in high school, Bailey Trumm had her life planned out. She had committed to Appalachian State and expected to spend four years in college playing basketball for the Mountaineers. And then, the COVID-19 pandemic happened.

She was finishing up her senior year at Powell High School in Powell, Tenn., and like so many high school seniors across the country found herself closing out the final three months of high school in front of a computer. In the summer months, Trumm made her way to Boone, N.C., to begin her collegiate career at Appalachian State.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to her plans at starting college in a normal setting.

"I have never really gotten to experience real college life yet," said Trumm. "Like so many others, I spent like 18 hours a day in my dorm room only coming out for basketball practice."

Coming from a close-knit family, Trumm found herself addicted to Facetime catching up with her parents and sister, Reagan, while she was sequestered in her dorm room.

As Appalachian State's first game of the 2020-21 season was set to begin with a home game against Charlotte, Trumm began feeling ill. She discovered she had COVID-19 and was put into quarantine.

"When I got COVID-19, it made me realize I just wasn't happy," Trumm said. "That is nothing against Appalachian State; the coaches and administration were great. I was just getting sick a lot and I called my family and told them it really wasn't worth it, I would rather come home."

So, Trumm packed her bags and returned to Tennessee. She continued to take online classes at Appalachian State and used the remainder of 2020 to weigh her options.

When January 2021 rolled around, Trumm began to feel the pull of basketball. She would watch basketball games one right after the other getting the feel for the teams and weighing her options. It was a sport she had played her whole life and she missed it.

"All I did was workout, do school work and then see who was playing that day," Trumm said. "I watched so much basketball and felt like I learned a lot watching so many different teams play and their styles."

Trumm didn't rest on her laurels as she sat out the 2020-21 season. She used the time to continue perfecting her game and keeping in shape. After all, who could keep down the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) girls' basketball record holder for most 3-pointers in a career (416)?

"Around January I took it upon myself to start a three-month workout I would wake up and do every day," Trumm said. "After that I would go to a basketball workout with a trainer in the Knoxville area, then I would do my classes and then two more workouts."

Around the time Trumm decided to sit out the 2020-21 season at Appalachian State someone close to her was being recruited by Western Carolina. She came along for the visit to Cullowhee, N.C., and the WCU campus and toured the area.

"I came home and did some serious soul searching about it and in the end, I felt there were more pros then cons if I decided to make a change," said Trumm. "So, I entered the transfer portal."

She emailed Catamount head coach Kiley Hill and told him of her intentions, and they talked a lot about her needs and what she could bring to Western Carolina.
After meeting Hill and his staff, Trumm realized she had the opportunity to do something special. She had the chance to completely change the trajectory of her life and basketball career.

Trumm will be entering collegiate women's basketball as a freshman for a second time in as many years. This time, however, she will get to experience it all pre-pandemic.

"I am so ready to be on campus in July meeting all my teammates and working with the coaches," Trumm said. "I think I will bring a work hard mindset spending all my free time in the gym and hopefully bring my teammates along with me."

The Tennessee state high school 3-pointer leader admits associate head coach Kendra Samuels-Eaton told her that her former Catamount teammate Lauren Powell owns WCU's 3-point career record (214) - though Trumm said she couldn't remember the number. But there would be no surprise at the end of Trumm's career if she remembers her number and her name is a the top of the list and Powell is behind her. 
 
 
 
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Bailey Trumm

#25 Bailey Trumm

G
5' 7"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Bailey Trumm

#25 Bailey Trumm

5' 7"
Freshman
G