When Talya Brugler committed to St. Joe’s in May 2020, the Hawks were coming off a losing season, having gone 9-20 (3-13 Atlantic 10).
Brugler saw an opportunity that Head Coach Cindy Griffin said she seized: the chance to play right away as a first-year during the 2021-22 season. It resulted in many accolades, including A-10 rookie of the year.
But for Brugler, none of it mattered as much as the team’s success.
“She’s a winner. Regardless of if she’s getting the accolades or her teammates are, at the bottom line, she wants to win,” Griffin said. “When the game’s on the line, she’s come through for us in many areas, whether she’s being the screener or the shooter or the passer. She is part of the success directly and indirectly of what we’re trying to do.”
Since her first season, Brugler and the program have continued to grow in tandem. Brugler now leads the team in scoring, averaging 16.9 points for the 21-2 Hawks. It’s their best start in 23 seasons with Griffin as coach.
“It’s awesome because we’re still winning as a team. Being able to celebrate the successes with my teammates is what means the most to me” Brugler said. “They’re finding me at the right spots, at the right times, and I’m able to execute more efficiently because of the work that we’re putting in in our offense.”
Quick to turn the focus away from her and praise her teammates, Brugler has credited them with helping ease the pressure she felt going into the season with high expectations for herself and her team.
“My teammates have made it so much easier for me, knowing that we’re all in this together and that even if I have a bad game, there’s so many weapons on our team that we can still win, and we’re still performing at a really high success rate, even if I’m not playing well,” Brugler said.
But teammates like fellow captain Laura Ziegler still place Brugler at the heart of the team.
“She’s always very down to earth. In the heat of the game, in the heat of practice, she is never going to be all stressed out or say things she doesn’t mean because it’s the heat of the moment. She has her feet on the ground,” Ziegler said. “She’ll be a calm voice on the team that makes everybody come together and stay together throughout difficult moments on the court.”
Brugler brings that same consistency to the court.
“She’s the ultimate competitor. She’s one of those players that her motor never stops,” Griffin said. “It comes back to being the same every day, the consistent approach every day, giving that effort every day in practice and being a leader.”
In a group that Brugler described as “very self-led,” she continues to be one of the first names mentioned as the leader among leaders, a title she refutes.
“They’re an easy group to lead because they want to follow. They all want to succeed. Everyone’s very bought in, in our team culture, and what we’re about as a program, which makes it so much easier for me and Laura,” Brugler said. “There are so many other people on our team that can step up and help us every day and we’re all like in this together. It’s not really like a hierarchy or anything.”
But even still, her coach is happy to see how Brugler has grown since she first joined what then was a much different program.
“To see her have even more of a voice among her teammates has been great,” Griffin said. “She’s also on committees here on campus, and she’s on the NCAA committee, the advisory committee for student athletes. So she’s really growing her brand as well, which has been great because she’s a great player. She’s a great student-athlete.”
This article was first published by the Philadelphia Inquirer Jan. 20 as part of the Inquirer’s college correspondent program.
