Women’s Basketball Snags Transfer Bree Salenbien for the 2025-26 Season
April 13, 2025 | Women's Basketball
MUNCIE, Ind. - Bree Salenbien (Adrian, Mich./Lenawee Christian) returns to the midwest and will transfer to play for head coach Brady Sallee and the Ball State women's basketball program this season after playing four years at Gonzaga.
"I have been a fan of Bree for a long time," Sallee said. "When we saw her go into the portal, we were full steam ahead. Her length as a wing player is real. Her quick release from the 3-point line is elite along with a real ability to put the ball on the rim. Bree is a winner and will bring some big-time experience to our program next season. We are thrilled to welcome Bree to our program."
A well-rounded shooter, Salenbien had a successful freshman campaign at Gonzaga appearing in 29 games while playing 260 minutes, scoring a season high 14 points on 71.4 percent shooting against Pacific. She logged 75 points and 40 rebounds as a true freshman while also earning West Coast Conference Freshman of the Week honors.
Salenbien suffered an injury at the end of her freshman season that sidelined her as a sophomore. She then returned to the lineup in 2023-24 showing promising numbers including an 89 percent shooting percentage from the charity stripe.
This year, Salenbien had a breakthrough performance, chipping in a personal best 17-point performance at Santa Clara while pulling down a season-high 10 rebounds at Washington State. Salenbien saw action in 21 games while entering the starting lineup on two separate occasions. She averaged 6.4 points per game and 3.0 rebounds.
Prior to Gonzaga, Salenbien was a four-star recruit at Lenawee Christian High School. She was ranked the seventh-best guard in the nation and 44th-ranked player in her class by ESPN, as she was the highest recruit to sign with the Bulldogs in history. Salenbien was the second-highest ranked recruit from the state of Michigan for the class of 2021.
Salenbien was named the AP Division IV Player of the Year each of the last four seasons. She led Lenawee Christian to back-to-back Division IV state championships in 2018 and 2019. She was selected as the Class D Player of the Year in 2018 and was selected USA Today Second Team Michigan in 2019.
Salenbien finished her high school career averaging 25.6 points per game, 11.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 2.7 blocks and 3.4 steals. Salenbien earned the Gatorade Player of the Year in Michigan while finishing her high school career with 2,059 points and 920 rebounds.
Salenbien becomes the sixth member of the Cardinals' 2025-26 class joining, Zhen Verburgt (Hemiskem, Belgium), Giorgia Gorini (Genova, Italy), Aniss Tagayi (Montpellier, Hérault, France), Karsyn Norman (Bedford, Ind./Bedford North Lawrence) and Brooke Winchester (Warsaw, Ind./Warsaw Community High School).
"I have been a fan of Bree for a long time," Sallee said. "When we saw her go into the portal, we were full steam ahead. Her length as a wing player is real. Her quick release from the 3-point line is elite along with a real ability to put the ball on the rim. Bree is a winner and will bring some big-time experience to our program next season. We are thrilled to welcome Bree to our program."
A well-rounded shooter, Salenbien had a successful freshman campaign at Gonzaga appearing in 29 games while playing 260 minutes, scoring a season high 14 points on 71.4 percent shooting against Pacific. She logged 75 points and 40 rebounds as a true freshman while also earning West Coast Conference Freshman of the Week honors.
Salenbien suffered an injury at the end of her freshman season that sidelined her as a sophomore. She then returned to the lineup in 2023-24 showing promising numbers including an 89 percent shooting percentage from the charity stripe.
This year, Salenbien had a breakthrough performance, chipping in a personal best 17-point performance at Santa Clara while pulling down a season-high 10 rebounds at Washington State. Salenbien saw action in 21 games while entering the starting lineup on two separate occasions. She averaged 6.4 points per game and 3.0 rebounds.
Prior to Gonzaga, Salenbien was a four-star recruit at Lenawee Christian High School. She was ranked the seventh-best guard in the nation and 44th-ranked player in her class by ESPN, as she was the highest recruit to sign with the Bulldogs in history. Salenbien was the second-highest ranked recruit from the state of Michigan for the class of 2021.
Salenbien was named the AP Division IV Player of the Year each of the last four seasons. She led Lenawee Christian to back-to-back Division IV state championships in 2018 and 2019. She was selected as the Class D Player of the Year in 2018 and was selected USA Today Second Team Michigan in 2019.
Salenbien finished her high school career averaging 25.6 points per game, 11.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 2.7 blocks and 3.4 steals. Salenbien earned the Gatorade Player of the Year in Michigan while finishing her high school career with 2,059 points and 920 rebounds.
Salenbien becomes the sixth member of the Cardinals' 2025-26 class joining, Zhen Verburgt (Hemiskem, Belgium), Giorgia Gorini (Genova, Italy), Aniss Tagayi (Montpellier, Hérault, France), Karsyn Norman (Bedford, Ind./Bedford North Lawrence) and Brooke Winchester (Warsaw, Ind./Warsaw Community High School).
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