BU forward Averill lands NCAA deal

Ella Averill’s room in Brandon sits ready for her to return.

She headed home for the off-season, expecting to keep building with the Brandon University women’s basketball team.

After all, everything worked out better than most could have expected when the Perth, Australia product joined the Bobcats.

But in short, Averill played her way out of town. She accepted a full-ride scholarship and will play NCAA Division I ball at Fordham University in The Bronx, N.Y., in 2026-27.

“In no means was this a decision where I said I’m not coming back. I was coming back to Brandon unless all the stars aligned,” Averill said, adding she also had an offer from the University of Rhode Island.

“They were obviously both amazing programs with Rhode Island making the NCAA tournament last year, but I felt in Fordham what I could see my role being; they had so much intention in recruiting me and developing me into a really complete player. I felt that I could contribute so much to their program.

“Being able to be part of a rebuild like I was in Brandon is a pretty special thing.”

Averill joined a team that hadn’t earned a playoff spot since 2017 and became absolutely irreplaceable in coach Ilarion Bonhomme’s lineup.

The six-foot-one forward had been a role player most of her life, predominantly as a stingy defender, but Bonhomme saw much more potential in her as a scorer. It took time to adjust, but Averill averaged 19.75 points per game during the second semester and was statistically one of the top rookies in Canada West.

She helped BU finish 7-13, good for the last playoff spot.

“I’m so grateful to have played under him, and he’s made me believe in myself so much more. I’ve never had a coach put so much time into me,” Averill said.

“A coach has to coach the whole team, but the amount of effort he put into individually developing my game was just incredible, and that got me seen by quality NCAA Division I schools.”

Averill has been playing for the Eastern Suns of Australia’s National Basketball League 1 since the Canada West season ended. While she has been playing semi-professionally since she was 15, she hadn’t posted many big numbers on the stat sheet in past seasons.

But this year, she’s averaging 13.13 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

“I’ve had multiple people say … you play a completely different style of basketball from when you left. That’s all to the experience of coming to Brandon,” Averill said.

Averill racked up 27 points in one game, earning the Azcan Round Medal, which is awarded to one player from each NBL1 game. Soon after, she signed with Stella Athlete Management and agent Sally Phillips, who helped her through the NCAA process, securing the full ride and name, image and likeness (NIL) agreement money.

While Averill was just a first-year at BU, she was granted two years of NCAA eligibility under its 5-in-5 rule, granting five years that must be completed within five years of high school graduation.

Averill’s decision was between two massively different programs in terms of 2025-26 performance. Rhode Island went 16-2 and won the Atlantic 10 title, losing 68-55 to Alabama in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.

Fordham finished 2-16, in dead last.

Averill saw the path to a bigger role at Fordham, but that wasn’t the only reason, or the most important one, for her.

“To see the excitement they had when they found out I was academically eligible and then athletically eligible … was just amazing,” Averill said. “That’s an awesome feeling. It was like when I was recruited by Illy, to have a coach that wants you so badly to be a part of their program is a really cool feeling.

“Having coaches that believe you can have impact is so good for your confidence.”

Averill said she wouldn’t have believed she’d be in this position a year ago. She recalls Bonhomme recruiting her and saying he could turn her into a DI player, and laughing.

But as dedicated as he was to developing her, she pushed herself day in and day out.

She hopes to see her import spot filled with another high-impact player soon, and wants Bonhomme’s program to keep trending in the right direction.

“He’s the best coach anyone could ask for. He cares about his athletes so much and without him, I wouldn’t be here,” Averill said.

“Any player that goes to Brandon and gets to play under Ilarion is so lucky, because he’s seriously just a hidden gem and if you want it, he will help you get there.”

Averill said she’s making sure to get her stuff back from Brandon, so she can rock her Bobcat gear around the New York campus with pride.

“I’m very much a kind of person that wants to remember where I came from,” Averill said.

“My name plaque from my change room in Brandon, I’m putting it in my locker in Fordham so every time I come in, it’s a reminder of where I came from and the awesome program I was able to be part of.”

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com