Former Martinsville basketball star continuing to shine bright on the court at Purdue
MARTINSVILLE, Ind. (BVM) — Kayana Traylor will always be labeled as one of the best girls basketball players in Martinsville High School history. The school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,114 points, Traylor committed to play collegiately at Purdue during her sophomore year. A few years later, she is shining on the court with the Boilermakers as well.
Traylor began her basketball career in kindergarten, and would begin playing AAU ball already in second grade. While she tried out other sports like soccer, volleyball and softball, basketball was always where her love lied.
“It was always just basketball for me when it came down to it,” Traylor said. “It was the one sport that I was best at.”
Basketball may have always been Traylor’s destiny based on her family history in the sport. Both her parents were collegiate players, with her father playing at Iowa and her mother competing with LSU. Traylor’s aunt also played in college at Florida State.
“Growing up, we were always in the gym and doing something basketball related,” Traylor added. “Having that background obviously helps because with anything I’m going through right now, they can relate and help me out. That’s been really special as I’ve been here at Purdue.”
Throughout her youth basketball career, Traylor often played up a couple of years against older girls. By sixth grade, she was starting on an eighth grade team, and that’s when Traylor really realized her special talent within the sport.
She continued to put that talent on display while at Martinsville High School. While her team saw modest success in winning three conference championships as well as two sectional championships over her four years, Traylor absolutely starred.
Some of her favorite memories from her time with the Artesians were playing with the same teammates she had since second grade, and also getting to play alongside her sister who was a freshman during her senior year. But perhaps the best was becoming the program’s all-time leading scorer with 2,114 points, besting a mark previously held by her aunt.
“It’s humbling and something that I’m really grateful for,” Traylor said about the scoring record. “I give credit to my coaches and my teammates that helped me be the best player I could be throughout my high school career. That moment was really cool and I actually didn’t realize it coming into the game but when I scored they stopped the game and congratulated me. I’ll always remember that.”
Traylor averaged over 18 points per game in each of her seasons with the Artesians, highlighted by a 23.7-point-per-game average in her sophomore year. The point guard is also a strong rebounder and skilled passer, and set the Martinsville record for assists with 437 in her career.
It was a tremendous four-year stint at Martinsville for Traylor, and she hopes to have set a precedent for others to follow.
“I hope I was somebody people could look up to,” Traylor said. “Coming from a small town where not a lot of people go on to play Division I in any sport, I just hope to be a role model like I am for my three younger sisters. I hope people can look at me and believe they can achieve some of the same things.”
There was no secret that early on in Traylor’s basketball career, and specifically her high school career, she had what it took to become a Division I college player. As just a sophomore at Martinsville, the basketball star was receiving plenty of college interest. But she knew where she wanted to go from the start, and soon made a commitment to the Boilermakers.
“I definitely had a lot of interest, but for me, I wasn’t trying to waste anyone’s time,” Traylor explained. “I knew in my heart that I wanted to stay close to my family and play for an Indiana school. When I put it in perspective of what I wanted, it really wasn’t hard and I feel like that’s why I committed as early as I did. It came down to what felt the most like home and that’s why I chose Purdue.”
Anxious coming into the Purdue program, Traylor knew there would be an adjustment from high school ball to the college level. While challenging at times, she learned a lot about the college game, and did whatever her team asked of her in her first season.
Impressively, Traylor started 22 contests already as a freshman, averaging over six points per game while also dishing out a total of 119 assists — the sixth-best mark by a freshman in program history.
Traylor’s sophomore season was fairly similar to her freshman year, as she again started 20-plus games, scored over six points per game and dropped over 100 assists. But perhaps the biggest leap for the point guard so far as a college player has come between her sophomore year and her current junior season.
“I think the biggest jump that I’ve had was this year,” Traylor said. “I’ve had to step up into a different type of leadership role with a lot of our players from last year leaving. Being able to embrace that and having my coaches and teammates trust me has been fun so far and hopefully we just continue to get better.”
With the COVID-19 pandemic raging on, there were thoughts just a few months ago that a college basketball season might not even take place this winter. Although Traylor has continued to keep her basketball skills sharp while also drawing positives despite the uniqueness of the times, life has been tough for college athletes over the past year.
“It was all up in the air and all day by day and really it still is,” Traylor said. “I think it kind of gave me a new perspective and in a way that break was a mental break that we all needed. We wish that the circumstances were better and that we could have played in the NCAA Tournament last year. But being able to be around our family and the people who love us most was good for a lot of us and I think we definitely cherish the game more now.
“In a way there were a lot of positives from this, but at the same time it’s been kind of straining on us with having to get tested everyday and not being able to go and see our loved ones all the time. But that’s where we’ve really learned to lean on each other and build great bonds and chemistry.”
Currently, Purdue has a record of 5-4, earning two wins thus far in Big Ten play. Traylor has started all nine games and played nearly 35 minutes per contest while becoming the true leader of the team. Her improvement so far has been impressive, as she has upped her per game averages to 16.4 points, four rebounds and four assists.
As the Boilermakers head through the remainder of the season, Traylor hopes to help her team improve everyday, and maybe lead Purdue on a late-season run.
“I think we’re capable of playing with anyone,” Traylor said. “Obviously, the Big Ten is tough top to bottom so every night is a battle and anyone can beat anybody. We have a lot of new pieces and have been working to jell more, but it’s always fun to play basketball with my teammates. I’m grateful to be having a good start so far and hopefully we can keep winning some more games and keep playing well.”
Traylor hopes to continue to become an even better leader as her career at Purdue finishes up in the next couple years. While she also hopes to push her teammates to success, the ultimate goal is to continue to have fun with what she is doing.
Currently, Traylor is studying law and society at Purdue, and aims to earn a future career within the criminal justice field. But first, the junior will look to extend her basketball career by playing professionally overseas. Continuing to improve each day, the sky is the limit for Traylor when it comes to a pro career.
“I hope to play at least a few years overseas,” Traylor said. “After that I will enjoy basketball and live through watching my younger sisters play. But the plan is to play a few years after college and that’s the ultimate goal.”
