Inside the Huddle | 'I've Always Had A Special Love for Basketball': Shoup-Hill Shines, Settles in During Second Season at Illinois

Brynn Shoup-Hill did not want to be in the spotlight, even after setting several program records in high school and thus generating attention from college teams across the country. That’s just the type of person she is.

After playing for three different teams across three states in three years, Shoup-Hill has continued to embrace that team-first mentality at Illinois, where Shoup-Hill has settled in and found her role as she competes in her second season with the Fighting Illini women’s basketball team.

“It was like I was a freshman two times in a row, so finally getting settled here in my second year feels great,” Shoup-Hill said. “I feel a lot more comfortable. Even with my relationships on the team and playing here and in the Big Ten, I definitely feel a lot more comfortable.”

Shoup-Hill feels like she always had a basketball in her hands growing up, but hoops was not the first sport she played. Instead, she remembers starting her sports career with tee ball before eventually progressing to softball.

Her basketball journey began around kindergarten, a sport both of her parents played growing up and in which her dad, Shaun Hill, competed in at the collegiate level. Hill noticed his daughter’s standout shooting abilities early on in her basketball career, and given Shoup-Hill’s advantageous height, he knew she stood out from the rest.

“Her ability to shoot was the separator,” Hill said. “The fact she could shoot was what stood out to me as the separator for her because not a lot of girls her size could shoot like she could from 3-point range.”

Shoup-Hill continued to invest in basketball, but that did not stop her from pursuing other athletics opportunities, as she also tried swimming, golf, track, and volleyball. Playing as many different sports and activities as feasibly possible, Shoup-Hill was always busy, but that was exactly what her parents aimed to do.

“We just wanted to get them involved as much as possible when they were young,” Hill said. “Whatever we could get them in, we got them in. We let them try everything.”

It initially seemed like volleyball would be Shoup-Hill’s route to college athletics, as her dad recalls the sport being the one she enjoyed the most. Volleyball also happened to be the first sport in which Shoup-Hill received college interest, and it seemed inevitable that she would continue to chase the opportunities that volleyball presented.

Despite only starting to play volleyball in middle school, Shoup-Hill seriously considered the possibility of competing in the sport at the college level, but she soon realized it was not for her. Instead, basketball was her true destiny.

Joining an AAU program the summer before entering high school, Shoup-Hill’s love for the sport continued to grow, and she found herself always wanting to be on the court. It was around this time that she switched her goal from college volleyball to college basketball, and she recognized she had the talent and skills to realistically achieve those dreams.

A native of Goshen, Indiana, Shoup-Hill attended Goshen High School, where she was a three-sport athlete in volleyball, basketball, and softball. On the basketball court, Shoup-Hill immediately excelled, and she earned first-team all-conference honors in her first year with the team.

Even as a freshman, Shoup-Hill exuded confidence, and she expected to earn all-conference accolades through only a couple games. Though she admits the transition to the high-school level initially proved daunting, Shoup-Hill got into a groove and never looked back.

Earning first-team all-conference and honorable-mention all-state status as a sophomore, Shoup-Hill continued to build her growing legacy at Goshen. Even as those individual awards continued to roll in, though, Shoup-Hill was more focused on being there for her teammates and doing whatever her team needed her to do.

Shoup-Hill continued to add on to an already impressive list of accomplishments as an upperclassman, earning all-conference honors as a junior and senior and sealing a spot on the All-Northern Lakes Conference team all four years of her high-school career. She checked another goal off her list after being named a first-team all-state honoree as a senior, one year after being a second-team member.

Shoup-Hill’s senior year brought another milestone in addition to the all-state status: Shoup-Hill became Goshen High School’s all-time leading scorer.

The best part? She had no idea how close she was for a majority of the season.

“I didn't really know I was close to being the all-time scorer until I was like five points away,” Shoup-Hill said. “I never made it my goal because I didn't know what the number was until I actually got it.”

Her coach at Goshen – who also happened to be her dad, Shaun – intentionally kept his eldest daughter out of the loop as she approached the record. Though he kept track of her progress toward the historic mark, he did not want her to feel any pressure or try to force anything en route to surpassing the previous record.

“I wanted to try to keep her in the flow. We didn't run anything for her; we just ran motion offense. Even though she's this girl who can score, she had to wait for her opportunity,” Hill said. “I think that was good for her because when she broke it, it was a rhythm shot out of our offense that she's supposed to take. It was nothing out of the ordinary.

“She's pretty soft-spoken and reserved, so it was cool to see her show some excitement when she got recognized for that.”

Shoup-Hill still vividly remembers the game in which she set the program’s new all-time scoring record. With the previous points leader in the crowd and entering the contest needing only one point to break the mark, Shoup-Hill made sure to just get it over with as quickly as possible.

“My first shot, I was like, ‘Please go in.’ I didn't want to stress about it all throughout the game,” Shoup-Hill said. “When that first shot went in, I definitely was relieved throughout the game. It was just a great moment.”

The program records did not end there, though, as Shoup-Hill learned after her senior season that she had also set new all-time marks in rebounds, blocks, and free throws.

Even with her name written all over the Goshen girl’s basketball record books, Shoup-Hill wants to be remembered as a good teammate rather than just as a good basketball player.

“I always hope that everyone who has met me thinks I'm a good person and humble,” Shoup-Hill said. “I just hope that I left that mark.”

Also lettering and earning all-conference honors in both softball and volleyball during her time at Goshen, Shoup-Hill committed to play basketball for head coach Shauna Green at Dayton. Instantly clicking with the coaching staff, the decision to play for Green was a no-brainer for Shoup-Hill and her family.

“Coach Green was just really genuine. She didn't make any type of promises, and I liked that,” Shoup-Hill said. “I knew with Coach Green and talking to the players, I would have to work, and I was prepared to do that coming in. They were just very genuine people, and that was definitely something I was looking for.”

Playing in 23 games and averaging 1.8 points and 1.3 rebounds as a freshman, Shoup-Hill earned Atlantic 10 Freshman of the Week honors after amassing 14 points and going 4-for-4 from 3-point range in her fifth appearance at the college level. She also registered a then-career-high 19 minutes in the Flyers’ first-round game of the NCAA tournament.

The 2021-22 season proved to be her lone season with the Flyers after she opted to transfer following the news that Green had taken the head-coaching job at Illinois. The announcement came as a shock to Shoup-Hill, who had expected to spend her entire collegiate career at Dayton, but she says it ultimately was “the best thing to happen to me in my basketball career so far.”

The decision to follow Green and her staff to Illinois was the only logical next step for Shoup-Hill, who announced her commitment to the Fighting Illini on April 19, 2022.

“They just believed in me and believed in my game to be able to play at this level,” Shoup-Hill said. “The A-10 to the Big Ten is a big jump. The fact that they thought that I could have a role and make an impact on the team was all I needed.”

Hill encouraged his daughter to explore other options when he found out about Green’s departure from Dayton, but he knew there was only one coach she would be comfortable enough to play for: Shauna Green.

“She just loves Coach Green. As soon as she first talked to her and the way it all panned out, she just fell in love with the staff and Coach Green,” Hill said. “When her coaches told her that they had that faith in her, her confidence flew through the roof based on what Coach Green's vision was for her. For me, as a parent, it's cool for her to get confident in herself and her abilities, and Coach Green and her staff played a big part in that.”

Shoup-Hill immediately found her role in Champaign, earning a spot in the starting lineup on opening day before going on to start all 28 games she appeared in during the 2022-23 season. Despite the new surroundings and the adjustment off the court to a much bigger campus, Shoup-Hill’s confidence never wavered in her transition to the Big Ten.

From a small town in Indiana to the big stage of Big Ten basketball, Shoup-Hill has grown comfortable with the bright lights, even if she does not go out of her way to seek out that attention and recognition.

“Basketball has done a lot for me,” Shoup-Hill said. “I’ve met so many people that I would never have met if I didn't play basketball. The connections, the work ethic, the discipline, and all that stuff definitely helps in every area of my life.”