Local standout nets chance to play college basketball in Colorado

WASILLA — As Azlynn Brandenburg worked through the recruiting process, her older sister, Kasara, a former college basketball player, had some valuable advice.

“She really helped me write a pros and cons list to pick the school, and to realize to not just to focus on the basketball aspect of the school,” Brandenburg said earlier this week. “You spend so much time there. Be clear it’s a place you want to be.”

For Brandenburg, that place is Grand Junction, Colorado.

Brandenburg, who helped the Wasilla Warriors earn back-to-back 4A state girls’ basketball titles, has signed her National Letter of Intent to attend Colorado Mesa University and play college basketball for the Division II Mavericks.

Brandenburg said she was able to visit the Grand Junction campus, and that helped her make her final decision.

“I felt like I went to a place I could see myself living past the college years,” Brandenburg said. “I really felt comfortable there.”

The standout shooting guard said she did consider UAA.

“The only reason it was a tough decision is UAA has such a good basketball program,” she said.

But all along, Brandenburg said she hoped to venture outside of her home state.

“I really like traveling, experiencing new places,” Brandenburg said.

Brandenburg, a varsity starter since her freshman season with the Warriors, has had the opportunity to play with youth traveling basketball teams since about the seventh grade. During the summer prior to her freshman season, Brandenburg started to appear on coaches’ radar.

“It was a really good trip. Traveled for a month, got a lot of interest from college coaches,” Brandenburg said.

Coaches continued to have interest. UAA and Western Oregon were among the Division II schools. Brandenburg said she was also recruited by Division I programs, but the opportunities were mostly invitations to walk on rather than scholarship offers. Throughout the process, Brandenburg worked for the scholarship.

Brandenburg, who currently attends Mat-Su Middle College School, said Mesa is a fit academically. While she said she’s not 100 percent sure, Brandenburg may opt to double-major in both business and psychology. She hopes to have her own wellness center in the future.

Mesa also presents the chance for Brandenburg to hit the court early in her basketball career.

“They really made it seem like I’ll help the program,” Brandenburg said. “I want to go into the program helping it. There’s a lot of potential for playing time.”

Now that her decision is made and she knows where she’ll spend the next four years of her life, Brandenburg said she’s ready to focus on school and basketball.

“It’s a relief to have it out of the way, nice to have it figured out,” Brandenburg said.

Brandenburg said she also feels better than she has in years. During her sophomore and junior seasons, Brandenburg battled sickness and injury. She was hit with mononucleosis as a sophomore and tore her meniscus last year. But despite all of that, Brandenburg continued to play a key role during Wasilla’s run to the 4A state title in consecutive years.

Now, at full strength, Brandenburg is ready to help the Warriors battle for the three-peat.

“It’s so much nicer to have the energy to be able to play,” Brandenburg said.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.