Mirror photo by Michael Boytim Penn State’s Alli Campbell goes through an interview on media day for the Lady Lions.

By Michael Boytim

mboytim@altoonamirror.com

UNIVERSITY PARK — It has been half a decade since Alli Campbell led Bellwood-Antis to back-to-back PIAA girls basketball championships and had the Lady Blue Devils competing for a third straight before COVID-19 ended those hopes.

It’s also been almost as long since Campbell has been completely healthy.

But as she enters her fifth year of college basketball and fourth at Penn State, Campbell is ready to have a breakout season.

“I feel really strong,” Campbell said. “This is the first year that I have had a full offseason of healthy training, and it’s been great to see the results of that. My time at Penn State hasn’t been what I thought it would be with two back-to-back knee injuries and starting the year last season with breaking my foot in the first game, but I feel great now.

“I feel like I had a great offseason of development both on and off the court as a leader and as a player, and I’m excited to see how that translates to games.”

Campbell has been serving in the role as team leader and Penn State representative this offseason. She accompanied fellow senior Jayla Oden to Chicago for the Big Ten Media Day to represent the Lady Lions along with coach Carolyn Kieger.

Campbell, along with Oden and Moriah Murray, were the three featured player speakers at Penn State’s local media day on Tuesday.

“I like how our roster has played out,” Kieger said. “We have been working really hard to become a player-led team. We have some phenomenal leaders who have really stepped up this offseason. We’ll start with Alli Campbell, who is healthy and looks better than ever. She’s really excited to lead this group.”

Campbell played in 25 total games last season and averaged 15.2 minutes and 3.2 points per game after returning from her foot injury. She’s hoping those numbers go up this season.

“I have the most experience on the team this year,” Campbell said. “I’m looking to have a much bigger role than in years past. Just being out there, being healthy and leading others and scoring the ball more are some goals. In high school, I scored a lot of points, so I’m excited to get back to that as well. Having fun and winning games are my two priorities this season.”

Campbell recently was accepted into a Masters of Business Administration program not long after she decided to return for her fifth season.

“I am doing the one-year MBA program this year for the Smeal College of Business,” Campbell said. “It’s a lot of school. It’s a nine-month MBA program, so we’re moving at the speed of light, it seems like. School and basketball have both been challenging as has balancing them, but I have been doing a really good job with it so far.”

Campbell’s intelligence is something that Kieger values.

“She knows what I’m thinking before I have to say it,” Kieger said. “It’s phenomenal to have an extension of you on the floor. It not only drives our culture, and I think that’s where Alli has really grown, because in her first couple years she was a leader by example and a culture driver, but now she’s stepping outside her comfort zone to be that person to hold people accountable and demands others to reach the standard and exceed the standard. She doesn’t walk by mistakes and fixes things before we have to.”

Penn State won 22 games last season and was in consideration to be selected for the NCAA Tournament before accepting an invitation to the WBIT and making a run to the semifinals.

Kieger said last year’s team was better when Campbell was on the floor.

“She’s grown in a lot of different ways,” Kieger said. “The biggest thing is her IQ. She’s got a phenomenal basketball IQ, and she’s learned how to share it. She solves problems before they occur. When she was healthy, she kept us really composed on the floor. I always thought we were better when she was out there, because she had a level of expertise and composure that really translated and was contagious to everyone else on the floor.”

The Lady Lions lost a lot of scoring from last year but brought in several transfers, including 6-foot-6-inch forward Gracie Merkle.

“We have a great blended group of five freshmen, four transfers and a great group of core returners,” Campbell said. “I’m excited to step into more of a leadership role and have a bigger role on and off the court as well. We have talked about setting the tone and the standard every day and holding them accountable. We’ll share our IQ with them to stop mistakes before they happen.”

Campbell said she’s spent the summer and the early fall bonding with her new teammates and making sure they know the culture Penn State is trying to build.

“You have to remember why you started playing the game,” Campbell said. “When you get to college, it’s easy to look at the game as a business, but I still try to find the joy in every day and just get excited about playing basketball. That’s what I came here to do, study and play basketball, and you can’t look at things as something you have to do. You should look at it as something you get to do and enjoy the games, practice and stay healthy this year.”

Though Campbell is listed as a senior, she still has one more year of eligibility after this year.

“I technically still have another year after this year,” Campbell said. “I don’t know what I’ll do with that year yet. I don’t know if I’ll play professionally overseas or just maybe get into the coaching business a little bit. Obviously, I can fall back on my MBA that I’m getting this year and get a job in the sports business industry as well. I don’t know have it narrowed down yet or where I’ll be at next year.”

Might she be back in a Penn State uniform at the Bryce Jordan Center for the 2025-2026 season?

“There is a chance, yeah,” Campbell said. “I’m not taking that off the table yet. I’ll make that decision after the season, but it’s not off the table.”