Header image courtesy of Mott Community College
Playing college basketball close to home wasn’t initially part of Ryleigh Zinn’s plan. The former Genesee High School standout started her college career at Lake Superior State, an NCAA Division II college in Sault Ste. Marie that competes in the competitive Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).
Zinn appeared in 20 games for the Upper Peninsula school before transferring to Mott Community College. While at Mott, she re-found her own new path in basketball but also had the opportunity to watch her younger sister Averie finish her record-breaking high school career.
That scenario sort of flip-flopped the view earlier in their high school careers, where the younger Zinn had a close view of Ryleigh’s impressive basketball accomplishments – Averie even had the assist on Ryleigh’s 1,000th career point at Genesee in a game in which Ryleigh’s 43 points broke their aunt Mallory Zelly’s then-school record for points in a game. When she graduated, Ryleigh was the all-time leading scorer in Genesee history. Averie later moved her own name ahead of her sister in the school’s record books, along with several other state and county records, including surpassing Flint legend Tonya Edwards as the all-time leading scorer in Flint area boys’ or girls’ basketball history.
“To come home and watch my sister just break all these records, I wouldn’t have had that opportunity if I never went to Mott,” Zinn said. “I think that was my favorite part about coming home, was seeing her build all these things that no one’s ever seen. No one’s ever had 2,000 points in the Flint area.”
During her one season with the Bears, Zinn started 25 of 26 games and averaged 8.7 points (third on the team) and 5.1 rebounds (fourth on the team) per game. She also re-connected with a coach who had recruited her during high school, Rochester College’s Jared Ocampo. She’d been focused on going to a Division II program in high school, but Ocampo had made a good impression on her and this time around, it felt like the right place for her to continue playing basketball.
“He reached out to me again (at Mott), and he was just one of those coaches that I always talked to and I really liked,” Zinn said. “So that was honestly what it came down to for me, I just really wanted to enjoy basketball again, and I felt like this was a good opportunity to do that at Rochester.”
Rochester is coming off of an impressive season in which the team went 25-11 and 18-4 in conference play. They return several talented players from that squad, but one of Zinn’s best assets should allow her to fit right in: she’s versatile. She’s shown an ability to score with the ball or as a spot-up shooter, she rebounds and her long arms allow her to contest shots and get deflections in passing lanes.
“He (Ocampo) said I could bring versatility to his program because they graduated a lot of girls that play the same position as me,” Zinn said. “I feel like he has faith in me, and I’m just looking forward to it. I’ve gotten really close to the girls already and I’m just building those relationships. I’m just really looking forward to the season.”
Playing at Rochester also has another bonus: she and her sister will continue to be in close enough proximity to watch each others’ games and cheer each other on. Averie Zinn committed to Wayne State in Detroit.
“Her and I got so much closer this year, and now I get to be 30 minutes away from her,” Zinn said. “It’s just gonna be really fun.”
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