Former Newtown High School basketball player Cyleigh Wilson went on to have a record-setting career at Elizabethtown (Etown) College in Pennsylvania before graduating a year ago and, this March, concluded her first campaign in the college coaching ranks.

Wilson is an assistant coach at Division III Franklin College in Franklin, Ind., and helped the program to its best season in more than a decade. The team reached the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Championship game for the first time in 14 years and finished 21-7, six wins more than last year, while logging its first 20-win campaign since '13.

All of this success, of course, would not be possible without the guidance and leadership of coaches, and Wilson played a big part in her first season in a coaching role. The transition from playing to coaching was not as difficult as Wilson thought it might be.

"I expected to miss playing a lot since it has been a constant in my life for as long as I can remember, and it's something I genuinely love. But the thrill I got from competing translated surprisingly well into coaching. Watching a player succeed off the court, or execute something in a game that you worked on together in practice — it's a different feeling than being the one performing, but equally rewarding in its own way," she said.

Wilson builds her coaching style around relationships and finds her closeness in age and basketball experience works well with guiding team members. "I take pride in building genuine connections with my players — being their biggest supporter while also holding them to a high standard that we set as coaches. Winning matters, of course, but so does supporting them through all aspects of their lives and helping them grow into the people they want to become. Also, just graduating, and playing for five years at the college level really helps me relate to the challenges they are facing and allows me to give proper guidance," she said.

The team is led by Head Coach Ashley Blanch, the HCAC Coach of the Year, also in her first year with the program, an ideal situation for Wilson to begin her coaching career.

"I feel incredibly fortunate to have landed at Franklin under Coach Blanch for my first job. Not only has she been a great role model, but she also involves and empowers me to help with all aspects of the program. I have been able to focus on recruiting, player development, scouting reports, film analysis, creating offensive sets, and honestly everything in between," Wilson said. "But what I love most about college athletics is that no two days look the same — there's always an area where you can contribute, and I think that is what makes it so special."

Wilson certainly played a role in Blanch's accolades, but the assistant coach gives a nod to the team members on the court.

"I think a lot of the credit goes to our players. We were able to coach a really hard-working and talented group who embraced the standard and truly believed in the goals we set for them at the beginning of the season. My role was to support Coach Blanch and the players in any way I could — but she was already a driven and accomplished coach, which naturally made my job easy. We were picked to finish sixth in the conference in the preseason, and we ended up finishing second and reaching the conference championship game for the first time in over a decade. That's a testament to the perseverance and hard work of everyone in this program throughout the entire season," Wilson said.

Success at the collegiate level is nothing new for Wilson. At Etown, Wilson finished fourth in the country in 3-point shooting percentage, after finishing second the previous year; she ranks 11th in the country for all-time 3-point percentage; and has records for most 3-pointers and highest 3-point percentage for her team all time and Landmark Conference all time. She is the only one in Etown history to record 200 or more and shoot 45%.

According to the NCAA Division III Record Book, Wilson is one of only three players of all time in history to make more than 240 3-pointers and shoot above 44%. The guard also finishes 29th all-time in career points at Etown with 1,038. Wilson was 7-for-13 from 3-point land in two NCAA tournament games last winter.

"Cyleigh Wilson was everything that a coach could possibly want in a player. She was the first in the gymnasium and the last to leave. She always asked questions and was able to decipher things quickly because she has an unbelievable basketball IQ," said Jeremy O'Connell, who had the pleasure of coaching Wilson at Newtown High. "She worked harder than anyone to improve her craft and was always a great teammate."

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.