Her favorite player? Chelsea Shine.

Shine was a three-year starter at forward for the Virginia women's basketball program. Her senior season coincided with Joanne Boyle's first as the Wahoos' head coach. Sam Brunelle, then a kid growing up 20 minutes from John Paul Jones Arena in Greene County, was a ball girl at UVa home games in those days.

Brunelle grew up watching the Wahoos. After she outgrew ball girl responsibilities, it wasn't uncommon to see her in the stands. By the time she was a junior at William Monroe High School, Brunelle stood 6-foot-2—and had grown her own game to the point that espnW ranked the forward as the No. 6 player in the 2019 class.

Boyle abruptly retired that spring after leading the Hoos to the second round of the 2018 NCAA tournament. On April 15th, 2018—two weeks after the Fighting Irish won the NCAA title and a day before Tina Thompson was named Boyle’s successor at Virginia—Brunelle committed to Notre Dame.

Four years later, Brunelle is coming home.

Less than two weeks after entering the transfer portal, the 6-foot-2 forward will play her final two college seasons at Virginia. Brunelle will finish this semester at Notre Dame and take part in commencement ceremonies, then complete three online classes over the summer before joining the UVa program as a grad transfer.

“Oh my gosh. It’s really come around full circle,” Brunelle told CavsCorner from South Bend on Sunday. “It’s kind of crazy. Three years ago I probably never would have thought I’d be in this position right now, but things work out how they’re supposed to.”

Brunelle announced her commitment on Saturday afternoon following a quick trip home for an official visit. She’s the first addition for new UVa women’s basketball coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton, who was hired last month after Thompson’s contract was terminated following four losing seasons.

At her introduction, Agugua-Hamilton emphasized numerous times the importance of rebuilding the women’s basketball program’s relationship with the local community. From the moment Brunelle announced plans to transfer, she seemed like a logical fit in that regard. Agugua-Hamliton and her staff agreed, reaching out to the forward “pretty much immediately” after Brunelle entered the portal.

Agugua-Hamilton had briefly recruited Brunelle out of high school while the coach was an assistant at Michigan State. A Herndon native, Agugua-Hamilton drew parallels between her homecoming as a coach and the potential for Brunelle to do the same as a player. Brunelle arrived in Charlottesville Thursday night and spent the day Friday touring the school and meeting with Agugua-Hamilton and her staff. She also got to reconnect with UVa athletics director Carla Williams, who following Boyle’s retirement four years ago, had joined Tim Taylor and other then-Virginia assistants on an in-home visit with Brunelle before the forward committed to Notre Dame.

It was the first official Brunelle made after entering the portal. It didn’t take long for her to realize it would be her last.

“I got the same exact feeling that I got when I knew Notre Dame was the place for me. It’s an indescribable feeling, to be honest,” Brunelle said. “I was telling Coach Mox when I was in her office. I was like, ‘It’s crazy because a lot of people don’t experience that feeling once, but I’m experiencing that feeling twice.’ I knew it was the place for me.”

Agugua-Hamilton coached a pair of NCAA tournament teams in her three seasons at Missouri State, including a Sweet 16 run in 2021. That track record appealed to Brunelle as well, as did the coach’s pitch about rebuilding a UVa program that has made 25 NCAA tournament appearances all-time, but only one in the past dozen seasons.

“I’m just excited to be a piece of the puzzle to make that happen,” Brunelle said. “I’m most excited about being a piece of that but then also getting other pieces to make that work.”

At William Monroe, Brunelle averaged a double-double in each of her four seasons and was a three-time all-state selection. She was the Gatorade Virginia Player of the Year as a junior in 2018, but missed half of her senior season because of a foot injury. Her best season at Notre Dame was her freshman year, when Brunelle started all 31 games and was and ACC All-Freshman Team selection after leading all of the league’s first years in scoring at 13.9 ppg.

Longtime Irish head coach Muffet McGraw retired after that 2019-20 season, with assistant Niele Ivey ascending into the top spot. Injuries became a factor: her knees, her back, her foot, her shoulder. Brunelle gained weight and had to recalibrate her approach to nutrition. She spent the last two years coming off the Notre Dame bench. As a junior this season, she put up 6.8 points and 2.5 rebounds in 16.5 minutes in 32 games, without a start.

Brunelle described her time in South Bend as a time of growth and adversity, “because when you’re injured, it sucks. It does suck. I’m a very happy person and positive person but it sucks to be hurt. But I think that there’s a lot to be learned from that. Because I’m a strong person and I’m always gonna work hard, no matter what’s thrown my way.”

“It’s been a lesson,” she added, “but I don’t regret a single bit of it because I think it’s made me stronger in the end.”

Since she’ll be enrolled in online classes at Notre Dame to complete her degree, there are still some compliance questions about when Brunelle will be able to start working out at UVa this summer. Once that time comes, her focus will be on getting stronger and injury prevention.

Brunelle joked that she has already heard from “too many” friends and supporters since making her announcement on Saturday. With aspirations of becoming a teacher, her longterm plan was to return home to Central Virginia once her basketball career was finished. She only got to play at UVa once with the Irish, scoring a game-high 21 points in a loss at JPJ as a freshman.

Now, the same arena where she grew up serving as a ball girl and admiring Chelsea Shine will be Brunelle’s home court.

“I grew up having such a huge support system, and to me, that humbled me and made me extremely grateful because all these people want to see me do well. All these people want to see me succeed. That gives me confidence,” she said. “I think being able to play in front of them, it’s so surreal. I don’t have words for it.”

JOIN CAVSCORNER TODAY!

If you are not already a member of CavsCorner, come join us and see what all of the buzz is about.

Click HERE to subscribe and get all of the latest news and join hundreds of other UVa fans in talking about Cavalier football, basketball, and recruiting. You won't be disappointed!