VIDEO: Braelyn Wykle Interview
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Preseason conference favorite Carson-Newman produced a pair of preseason plaudits. Braelyn Wykle was named to the first team and Addison Byrd earned a spot on the second unit Wednesday as the South Atlantic Conference announced its preseason all-league clubs entering the 2020-21 season.
This season marks the third straight year that the Lady Eagles can tout a pair of preseason All-SAC selections. Carson-Newman is joined by Catawba and UVA Wise as the only programs in the league with a pair of players earning preseason accolades.
"We definitely go at each other every day in practice," Wykle said. "I think that's what makes a team good. We work hard and I am really excited. I have been working on finishing around the rim more with contact especially. I have been keeping in tune with my shot and keeping good form."
Coming off of an electric rookie season, Wykle earned second-team D2CCA All-Region honors, first-team All-SAC, SAC Freshman of the Year and SAC All-Freshman team laurels in 2019-20. She was the only underclassmen to earn an all-region plaudit. The SAC Freshman of the Year became the sixth player in school history to be the league's Freshman of the Year and first since Kaitlyn Cupples in 2013-14.
The Greeneville, Tenn. native was also a first-team All-SAC selection and the top member of the All-Freshman team. She joined Brooke Johnson (2004-05) and Jackson (1989-90) as C-N players to get a first-team spot and the rookie of the year. The first-team all-league selection was first SAC Freshman of the Year and first-team all-conference pick in the same season since Tusculum's Jasmine Gunn earn recognition in 2007-08. Gunn became a two-time SAC Player of the Year as a junior and a senior.
Wykle produced one of the best freshman seasons in the history of the program. During the conference's regular-season, she was second in the league in scoring at 18.6 points per game, first in three-point percentage and second in field-goal percentage. The rookie scored in double figures 24 times and posted 13 contests with at least 20. One of the best three-point shooters in the nation, Wykle ranked 12th in the nation in percentage at 44 from long range making 76 to rank second in the conference and rank 46th nationally.
She was fifth in the league with 85 total assists ranking second in field goals made leading the league in field-goal percentage at 50. She netted a career-high 30 points going 11-for-21 from the field against Anderson playing all 50 minutes in a double-overtime loss on Feb. 1. The rookie drained at least three triples 13 times leading the team in scoring 13 times.
The SAC's Player of the Week on Jan. 25, Wykle tallied five straight 20-point scoring efforts in the middle of league action capped by a season-high 30 points going 11-for-21 from the field and 5-for-8 from the floor against No. 20 Anderson on Feb. 1. She has scored in double figures in 16 consecutive outings entering her sophomore season.
Despite playing only 30 games for her career, the sharpshooter in 30 three-pointers shy of joining the program's top 10 for a career. Scoring 505 points in 30 games as a rookie, she has the 1,000-point mark in sight.
Byrd, a two-time All-SAC selection, played 20 minutes per night in 28 games as the team's top option off of the bench as a junior She produced 14 double-digit scoring efforts including a pair with at least 20.
"I have been trying to stay in the gym as I always have working on my shot and keeping it in tune," Byrd said. "I have been working more on being mentally strong and not being so hard on myself all the time. With Braelyn and Lindsey [Taylor] and the newcomers, I feel more confident this year."
The Nashville, Tenn. native dropped 21 points and nine rebounds in a road win at No. 21 Lander on Nov. 9. A couple months later, she went 9-for-12 from the floor scoring a season-high 22 points against Queens on Jan. 11
The senior tallied a career-high six assists in the SAC Quarterfinals against Lenoir-Rhyne on March 4. In the final 21 games of the year, Byrd posted 10 points per night with 11 double-digit scoring efforts making 51 percent of her shots from the field.
For her career, Byrd enters the 2020-21 season with 721 total points shooting 47 percent from the field adding nearly four rebounds, two assists and a steal per game over 80 career contests.
2020-21 SAC Women's Basketball Preseason All-Conference
First Team
Teliyah Jeter, Wingate
Madeline Hardy, Lenoir-Rhyne
Keli Romas, Newberry
Braelyn Wykle, Carson-Newman
Caitlyn Ross, UVA Wise
Taisha DeShazo, Catawba
Second Team
Taylor Hair, Anderson
De'Ja Marshall, Mars Hill
Kristian Eanes, Queens
Addison Byrd, Carson-Newman
Lyrik Thorne, Catawba
Nia Vanzant, UVA Wise
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