Meet 2024 IU women's basketball commit Sydney Fenn: ‘I eat, sleep and breathe basketball’

BLOOMINGTON — Sydney Fenn is willing to talk about her commitment to IU women’s basketball. A reporter reached out to her about it. Yes, she can. But she suggests later. The reasoning is fitting. She’s aligning it around her training.

“It was good,” she says, now on the phone, after putting in work. “It was really good.”

“I was doing a lot of post-moves. A ton of attacking, going middle, going baseline, counter moves, things like that. And some conditioning at the end.”

Fenn announced her commitment to Indiana in early June. The forward joined Indian Creek’s Faith Wiseman as commits in the Hoosiers’ 2024 recruiting class. Fenn’s mindset fits right in with what’s being built in Bloomington. This is an IU program that prides — and brands (#DoTheWork is in its Twitter bio)  — itself on intangibles. It’s part of how coach Teri Moren has taken the program from an afterthought to national relevancy.

It has become clear, too, the program’s characteristics attract people with a similar outlook. Amber Smith, who recently left her job as an assistant at Kentucky women's basketball for the same role at IU, told IndyStar: “I’m super excited to just be in an environment where working hard and blue collar is the standard that you have to reach every single day.”

And with Fenn, similar qualities surfaced. She transferred from a high school in New York to AZ Compass Prep for basketball purposes. At AZ Compass Prep, she commonly trains twice per day — lifting/conditioning and basketball. During the recruiting process, IU associate head coach Rhet Wierzba's message about the program’s culture resonated with Fenn.

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“He explained that IU culture is winning and also the work,” Fenn told IndyStar. “They're just about the work. And that’s all that I’m about.”

Hoops-crazed Indiana and Fenn seem like a good fit, too, because of an aligning passion for hoops.

“I eat, sleep and breathe basketball,” she says. “I’m watching basketball. Trying to fix my game constantly. So, yeah, that’s just who I am. I can’t stand not being in the gym. Usually, my dad will be like ‘OK, you have to take a day or two off after a tournament.’ No, I’m in there stationary shooting or something, trying to do something. So, yeah, that’s who I am.”

Fenn’s father, Darren, played basketball at Canisius College before embarking on a professional career that spanned more than a decade. Fenn watches film of her father, taking elements of his game. He has had a major influence on her.

“He’s one of my trainers, obviously, so we’re always going through things,” Fenn said. “Usually after tournaments, we’ll get in the gym and he’ll watch the game three or four times and then he’ll say ‘Well, you need to do this better’ and we’re working on it for the next three days. And then the best is when you fix it and then you work on it and it relates to the game, and he’s your biggest fan on the bench because he’s yelling, ‘We worked on that, good job, let's go.’ So it’s just awesome, especially when you can make him proud.”

Fenn visited IU in May 2023. She said she could feel the energy in Assembly Hall even though it wasn’t filled with fans. She met current IU players Sydney Parrish and Mackenzie Holmes, who lit up upon the arrival of members of the coaching staff. Fenn also saw the aftermath of a workout IU players went through.

“They looked like they had just jumped in a pool,” Fenn said. “They were drenched and they had the biggest smiles on their faces and they were laughing. We could hear them yelling throughout the workout. And it just seemed like they were enjoying themselves so much and they were having so much fun. It just made me feel happy and excited.”

Barring something unforeseen, IU is expected to lose Holmes following the 2023-24 season, which is a major blow. That means IU will have a substantial amount of production to fill. Theoretically, IU’s frontcourt for the 2024-25 season could include Lilly Meister, recent UT Martin transfer Sharnecce Currie-Jelks, Fenn and Wiseman. Though listed at 6-3, Fenn has versatility in her game.

“I’m physical on both ends of the court,” Fenn said. “I rebound, I can play inside, outside. I’ll take my defender, if she’s huge, I’ll take her outside on the perimeter, I’ll shoot and I’ll get hot that way. Or I’ll, if it’s a smaller defender, I’ll take her to the basket and just bully. I’m a worker, so even if I’m struggling out there, I’m gonna still keep going, keep pushing myself.”

IU has risen near the top of the women’s college basketball sphere. Now, creating a dynasty requires finding players that are going to continue what has been built.

“I just want everybody to know that I’m a worker and I’m gonna work and I’m gonna give everything I have every single day,” Fenn said. “I’m excited and I can’t wait to get there.”

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana women's basketball: IU commit Sydney Fenn ready to work