| Brea Beal | |
| Position: | Assistant Coach |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 1 |
| Team: | South Carolina Gamecocks |
| Birth Date: | 8 November 2000 |
| Birth Place: | Chicago, Illinois |
| Nationality: | American |
| High School: | Rock Island (Rock Island, Illinois) |
| College: | South Carolina (2019–2023) |
| Draft League: | WNBA |
| Draft Year: | 2023 |
| Draft Round: | 2 |
| Draft Pick: | 24 |
| Draft Team: | Minnesota Lynx |
| Highlights: |
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| Conference: | SEC |
| Coach Start: | 2024 |
Breanna Beal (born November 8, 2000) is an American basketball player who is a free agent. She played college basketball at South Carolina Gamecocks of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
Beal was born on November 8, 2000, to Kevin Beal and Nicole Adamson.[1] [2] She grew up training for basketball under the guidance of her father, who played for UTEP at the collegiate level, and drew inspiration from Maya Moore.[3] She also took part in gymnastics and swimming before focusing on basketball.[4] In eighth grade, Beal joined the Midwest Elite Amateur Athletic Union program.[5] She made local headlines as one of the top eighth-grade players in the country.[6] Beal played basketball for Rock Island High School in her hometown of Rock Island, Illinois.[3] In her first high school season, she was the only freshman on the team and averaged 16.7 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, leading Rock Island to a 29–4 record.[5]
As a sophomore, Beal averaged 20.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.2 steals and 3.1 assists per game, helping her team achieve a 31–2 record and reach the sectional final. She joined Candace Parker and Tamika Catchings as the only sophomores to be named Illinois Miss Basketball,[7] and became the second sophomore with Parker to win Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year.[8] In her junior season, Beal averaged 21.9 points, 10 rebounds, 3.3 assists and three blocks per game, leading Rock Island to its third consecutive Class 4A sectional runner-up finish. She repeated as Illinois Miss Basketball and Gatorade Player of the Year.[9] [10] As a senior, Beal averaged 24.9 points, 13.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 3.4 blocks and 3.4 steals per game, as her team finished with a 30–2 record and won its first sectional title since 1991. She was named Illinois Miss Basketball and Gatorade Player of the Year for a third straight season, joining Candace Parker as the only three-time recipients of either award,[11] [12] and was selected as Quad-City Times Female Athlete of the Year.[4] Beal earned first-team All-American recognition from the Women's Basketball Coaches Association and played in the McDonald's All-American Game and Jordan Brand Classic.[13] She finished her career as the all-time leading scorer in the Western Big 6 Conference.[14]
Beal was considered a five-star recruit and the number 10 player in the 2019 class by ESPN.[15] In sixth grade, she received her first college basketball scholarship offer, from Iowa.[5] On November 8, 2018, during her senior year of high school, Beal committed to playing college basketball for South Carolina over offers from Michigan, Illinois and Louisville.[16]
In her freshman season at South Carolina, Beal became a regular starter due to her defensive ability. Her team was ranked number one in the nation and had a 32–1 record before the 2020 NCAA tournament was canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] As a freshman, she averaged 6.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.[17] On January 18, 2021, Beal scored a career-high 22 points against Arkansas.[18] She helped South Carolina reach the Final Four of the 2021 NCAA tournament.[19] As a sophomore, Beal averaged 7.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.[20] In her junior season, she helped South Carolina win the national championship,[21] recording 12 points against Louisville in the Final Four.[22]
|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2019–20| style="text-align:left;"| South Carolina| 33||33||21.2||41.6||28.9||55.7||5.4||1.0||0.8||0.8||1.4||6.1|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2020–21| style="text-align:left;"| South Carolina|31||30||27.3||42.6||29.6||57.4||5.3||1.1||0.9||0.8||1.0||7.1|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2021–22| style="text-align:left;"| South Carolina|37||37||24.1||38.1||23.8||59.6||5.0||1.3||0.7||0.5||1.0||5.1|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2022–23| style="text-align:left;"| South Carolina|37||37||25.2||41.7||38.0||57.7||4.3||2.7||0.7||1.1||0.9||6.4|- class="sortbottom"|style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career|138||137||24.4||41.0||31.3||57.3||5.0||1.6||0.8||0.8||1.1||6.1|- class="sortbottom"|style="text-align:center;" colspan="14"|Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference.[23]
On April 10, 2023, Beal was selected in the second round as the 24th overall of the 2023 WNBA draft by the Minnesota Lynx.[24] She was waived by the Lynx in mid May, before the start of their regular season.[25]
In March 2024, the Las Vegas Aces signed Beal to a training camp contract.[26] On May 2, 2024, the Aces waived her from their 2024 roster before the start of preseason.[27]
After her sophomore year of college, Beal signed a name, image and likeness deal with Cameo.[20] She is in a relationship with National Football League player and South Carolina alum Jaycee Horn. Bradley Beal is her second cousin. [28]