Ella Smith, Brookhaven Academy

Basketball has been near the center of Brookhaven Academy senior Ella Smith’s life since her first memories.

It started with Upward Basketball Saturday mornings and then continued with private lessons and pee-wee basketball at BA, coached by her dad, Chad, on the same court where he led the Cougars before going on to play collegiately at Copiah-Lincoln Community College and Mississippi College.

It was a constant topic of conversation with her mama, Anna, as the pair travelled together to AAU practices and tournaments all around the state and country.

There was a hoop in the driveway at home, a hoop in the garage at home, and a couple more hoops in an old racquetball court her dad converted into a gym.

One can imagine she went to sleep with the bouncing of a ball reverberating in her ears.

All her hard work paid off with a career filled with memorable moments.

As a senior, Smith was the top scorer in the area, averaging 19.4 points per game for coach Drake Flowers and the Cougars (20-14).

For her outstanding play, Smith has been named the 2025 Daily Leader All-Area Girls’ Basketball Most Valuable Player.

As a senior, she also chipped in 5.1 rebounds, 2.1 steals, and 1.2 assists per game for a BA team that played its typically challenging schedule.

She put up a career-high 34 points in a win over Central Hinds Academy, the eventual MAIS 4A State Champions, a team that BA faced twice. The Cougars also played Leake Academy (32-5), Madison Ridgeland Academy (29-8), East Rankin Academy (36-3), and they thrice faced the eventual MAIS Overall Tournament Champions from Parklane Academy (28-5).

Through it all, Smith led her young team which featured only one other senior in Ainsley Orr.

Smith has always been a knockdown shooter, she once made 10 three-pointers in a game during her junior season in which she scored 33 points.

She can run a team as a pass-first point guard, as she did during her sophomore year, a season that ended with Brookhaven Academy taking the MAIS 5A State Championship with a thrilling win over Leake.

What sets her apart is her competitiveness.

That can also be her biggest weakness at times, too. If an opposing player was to steal the ball away from her, then expect Smith to sprint after them with her teeth clenched and payback on her mind.

That’s part of the reason she led Brookhaven Academy in fouls this season, averaging around three per game.

That toughness is also what sets her game apart. It’s what led to the frustration fouls but also led to the drives through the defense for a layup at the rim or big made baskets over the last three years for the Cougars.

She has had a great love of the game, which is apparent to anyone that knows her.

What’s next for Smith in her basketball journey is still being decided. She’s got some opportunities to keep playing the game she loves, but her original plan of going to Ole Miss, with intentions of one day following in her dad, grandfather, and great grandfather’s footsteps as an optometrist, still looms.

It happens for everyone eventually, the end of playing organized basketball. 

And if the end of high school is the end of the road for Ella Smith, then she has a pile of memories and moments that she can look back on with pride.

And just like her grandfather did for her dad and just like her dad did for her, one can expect Smith to one day live in a home with a hoop in the driveway and a garage with a high enough ceiling for a basket there too.