Coming off of the bench in all six of San Diego State’s women’s basketball games, freshman point guard McKynzie Fort has made the most of her time on the court. She leads the Aztecs in points scored.
Thus far, Fort says she finds the campus friendly and she enjoys the environment, but based on her mild manner that response comes as no surprise, even when she likely has more classmates in a general education lecture than fans at her basketball games inside of Viejas Arena.
She is humble, patient and optimistic. She has the kind of optimism that one would expect from a player that knows it’s just a matter of time before she takes her corner of the world by storm. She has the type of refreshing attitude, skill set and work ethic to shift attention back to a long-overlooked program.
Fort began playing basketball at 4 years old and says she hasn’t taken a break since. She describes her family, who introduced her to the sport, as athletic basketball enthusiasts who lacked the same opportunities to compete at a high level.
In seventh grade Fort joined her first club basketball team through her church. The team was organized by one of her early mentors Darryl Dubose, a man that would push her toward excellence.
When high school arrived, Fort was already prepared for the expectations of playing club basketball during the offseason and soon found that she was playing basketball during every free moment. That didn’t bother her.
“It was always instilled in me to work hard,” Fort said. “You have to want it more than anyone else on the floor, and you have to want to get better, so I just worked on improving my game at every chance I got.”
Fort brought her words to life when she started playing one-on-one with grown men, Fort’s high school basketball coach Anders Anderson said. He recalls her bringing her dad, brother and other full-grown men to the gym just to raise her level of play.
“She definitely made a jump between her sophomore and junior year in high school,” Anderson said. “Every part of her game improved during that period. She was always good, but that’s when you could tell she would do well at the next level.”
Anderson remembers the next two years being special for Fort. During that time she was named captain of her high school basketball team, but it wasn’t just for her play. Sure, she would mentor teammates in basketball, but would often be found out of her study hall seat helping teammates with academic struggles.
For Fort, hard work had its way of translating onto the court. She earned a varsity letter all four years of high school while playing for a team that won its league each year. After her junior season she was named a second team all-state player. A year later, she was named player of the year by The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.
Excellence on her high school team was only one aspect of Fort growing into a young phenom. Her club team, Finest Basketball Club, traveled to a number of big-time basketball showcases across the U.S.
Her great on-court performance led to calls pouring into the Fort house and to club coach Ray Mayes.
Fort was receiving interest and offers from ranked and unranked teams alike. University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Wake Forest University, University of Los Angeles, California, a host of others, and even the previous SDSU regime contacted Fort about her basketball playing ability.
But what is it about a 17-year-old player that makes colleges trip over themselves as they hustle to get a commitment? What is it that set her apart or elevated her to state and national recognition?
“She is the proverbial gym rat,” Anderson says. “When others leave, she keeps playing. She is always finding something to improve.”
Fort would stay after practice for a couple of hours, or come in before to get some shots in. She trained six days a week without any vacation time.
“While people had a great summer, basketball was the main thing I was doing all the time,” Fort said. “Even when I was tired I continued to keep pushing.”
This discipline and dedication eventually earned her a four-star recruit rating before landing a spot on ESPN’s top 100 national recruits. Her dream of playing college basketball was fulfilled the day she committed to Oregon.
Fort said that she looked for comfort with the coach and team and the plans for her as a player when deciding which school to attend, but everything would change in spring 2014 when Oregon women’s head coach Paul Westhead would not get his contract renewed.
Her comfort zone was gone.
In true McKynzie Fort fashion, she went back to work — but this time it was the unfamiliar work of finding a team.
Fort made a blind phone call to SDSU women’s basketball head coach Stacie Terry, who had never recruited Fort. After the first conversation, the two set up an unofficial visit that eventually led to Fort’s commitment to SDSU.
Six games into the season, and though she has not started a game, Fort leads her team in scoring, minutes played and assists. She is second on the team in steals.
“Not only is she a talented player, but she is an incredible athlete and has a very high basketball IQ,” Anderson said. “She is one of the most humble players you will meet.”
Despite her statistical success, it’s hard not to get the feeling that Fort is anything but satisfied. She discusses mountainous personal goals that would only leave her feeling like she let herself, and most importantly the team, down if she didn’t reach them. She has a quiet confidence veiled behind her unassuming smile when she discusses what the future holds. In her eyes, she is a just part of a program that is working to build a legacy and do great things.
In the approaching seasons she expects to generate a buzz around the team. The kind of buzz that is only heard beyond the bright lights of Viejas Arena, the kind of buzz that is only generated by 12,414 fans.
