The Ballarat Rush have strengthened its roster with a WNBL player ahead of the 2021 NBL1 South season.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Kasey Burton, a junior Ballarat player from Exies Acmy, is returning to the Rush.
She previously played in the top tier Australian women's league for the Melbourne Boomers and Bendigo Spirit.
READ MORE SPORT:
She signed with Melbourne as a development player, then moved on to Bendigo as a development player for the 2019-2020 season.
Burton also made the move to the Melbourne Tigers from the Rush for the 2018 and 2019 NBL1 seasons.
It was there she started all 20 games and averaged 9.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.
She said she is excited to be back in Ballarat and playing at the new Ballarat Sports and Events Centre with a talented group of players.
"I have always enjoyed being involved in the local Basketball Ballarat community and have maintained my connections through coaching at my local club Exies Acmy," she said.
"It will be fun to try out the new home court at the Ballarat Sports and Events Centre, it's definitely got a lot of room to cater for our amazing Ballarat supporter base. Hopefully we can get a few fans there."
"The team is coming together nicely, we have a lot of local players which will hopefully inspire our Ballarat junior girls to play at the NBL1 level."
Burton was a star junior in Ballarat basketball circles, starting out her journey with Exies Acmy.
She represented Victoria Country at the under-16, under-18 and under-20 levels and made her debut for the Rush in 2013.
Head coach Eric Hayes said it's wonderful to have home-grown talent coming back to Ballarat and will be great to have Burton back on his side.
"So good to have another talented local come back to the program after some years away," he said.
"Kasey has always been a skilled and tough competitor on the court when we have played against her in recent years so it is great to have her with us for the 2021 season."
"Kasey is a very versatile player that can play multiple positions this season which will really be valuable for our team."
Burton is the eighth Rush signing. She joins Alicia Froling and well known Ballarat names Claire Blower, Claire Constable, Kristy Rinaldi, Annie Collins, Millie Cracknell and Taylah Wynne on the squad.
The NBL1 South season kicks off April 17 with a road trip to Albury Wodonga to face the Bandits.
If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ballarat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.
Have you signed up to The Courier's variety of news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in Ballarat.