She felt suffocated. She could not do it anymore. Her family went to Florida for vacation to relax after the season, but she was immediately engulfed by a mental breakdown the second she walked back into her bedroom in Linwood, New Jersey.
“That pulled the trigger for me,” said Marist women’s basketball junior guard Kasey Bretones.
Back-and-forth conversations between her, her parents, her sisters and her former AAU coach, Ali Napolitano, about entering the transfer portal preceded that 2025 offseason night. She did not want to give up what she had or be considered a quitter, but she “knew what needed to be done.” She needed a new school.
“As soon as I said I’m entering the portal, it was like a weight off my chest,” said Bretones.
She left behind a combined 94 minutes on the court over 14 games at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. After her freshman season, she transferred to Marist in search of a fresh start, unaware that three more major setbacks and 11 total missed games lay ahead.
Despite the Atlantic 10 competition, upscale facilities and chartered flights to places she never thought she would go to, she felt she knew nothing that was happening because of the sheer size of UMass, a school with over 31,000 students.
“I was in my own little world,” said Bretones. “It was really tough for me.”
Nearly 300 miles away from Linwood, she missed home. Battling a fractured navicular bone from her senior high school season also hindered her time in Amherst. The fracture required surgery, forcing her to sit on the sidelines in a boot during summer workouts.
The injuries nagged. A constant cycle of returning then facing another setback persisted. The cycle of events unfolding the opposite way she was told.
“It wasn’t the best fit for me,” said Bretones. “Pretty much my whole freshman year was a bit of a low.”
Upon entering the portal, she first heard from head coach Erin Doughty’s staff because of their previous relationship with Bretones; Marist was her second choice out of high school.
“[UMass head coach] Mike Leflar spoke very highly of her work ethic, how she was as a teammate and we felt it was a good fit for us,” said Doughty.
Bretones’ brother-like trainer since fourth grade, Ryan Fader, echoed her strong work ethic.
“The most impressive thing is her work ethic,” said Fader. “It didn’t matter what time of day. It didn’t matter if we were indoors, outdoors, if it rained. Every single time she would show up.”
In return, the staff expressed their consistent care for players both on and off the court. When Bretones spoke with future teammates, they confirmed the validity of the coaches’ claims and immediately made her feel at home.
“On the ride home, I was talking to my parents saying that I could have committed right there on the spot,” said Bretones. “I immediately felt at home, and I knew I wanted to come here.”
After attending a school with over 30,000 total students, feeling like a real person greatly drew Bretones to Poughkeepsie. She played pickup basketball with the team and believed she fit right in.
“It was like she had been playing with them for months,” said Doughty.
Less than six weeks away from opening tipoff of the 2025-26 season, Bretones noticed her legs swell. In late September, the first of many hospitals admitted her. They believed she suffered from pitting edema due to her body not absorbing protein. Other doctors believed allergies caused her symptoms, and a gastroenterologist pointed to alpha-gal syndrome: a severe allergy to meat caused by a tick. It forces a person to cook with different pots and pans, avoid smelling meat and take extra precautions when exercising because it can trigger symptoms.
He recommended Bretones return to the hospital in order to flush out her body. On the way, she had an anaphylactic reaction. This forced her and her mother, Colleen, to divert to the closest hospital for EpiPen treatment.
“That threw my body for a loop. It was crazy. It was honestly bizarre,” said Bretones.
She could barely stand. She could barely walk. She constantly felt lightheaded and blacked out. Nearly a dozen doctors bounced her around different offices.
“It was consuming my life. I was like, ‘I’m a 19-year-old girl. I should be healthy. Why am I in all these doctors’ offices?’” said Bretones.
She stayed home under her parents’ watch for nearly a month, scared to stay at school because of the possibility of passing out when standing up. That did not, however, take away from her involvement with the team. When scrimmages began picking up, her father, Pete, drove her to and from Poughkeepsie in order for her to sit on the bench and be with the team.
“I know if I was in her shoes, I would have probably imploded, but that’s a testament to her will to get back on the court, be out there with her team,” said Fader.
She slowly improved thanks to finding the right doctors, new medications and a strict elimination diet that excluded dairy, wheat, soy, eggs, fish, shellfish, peanuts and tree nuts.
Faith, her family and coaches also helped her through the process. Despite feeling lightheaded nearly every time she stood up, Bretones attended church weekly with her family.
“I was praying, my mom was praying, our whole family was. All my mom’s friends were. I truly believe it helps,” said Bretones.
Her family encouraged her throughout the process. Colleen cooked for her in order for Bretones to stay on her elimination diet. Her sisters, Kelly and Katie, made get-well baskets, and the family constantly checked in via text.
“I wouldn’t have been able to go through it without them,” said Bretones.
Due to her illness that remains undiagnosed, Bretones watched the Red Foxes’ first eight games from the sidelines. She suited up for the first time with Marist on Dec. 7.
“It was all I wanted to do since my freshman year,” said Bretones. “Being able to come out, play freely, play with a group of girls that are my best friends now was an amazing feeling.”
By the third week of January, she hit her stride. Bretones scored 10 and seven points against Fairfield and Quinnipiac, respectively, while shooting 58.3% from the field.
In an instant, that all faded. With less than 10 seconds remaining in the first quarter at Sacred Heart, she slammed her head against the Pitt Center hardwood. A concussion. The first of her life. When she stood up off the floor, she walked in the opposite direction of the bench.
“I was like, ‘Are we serious right now? I just got back,”’ said Bretones.
Regardless, she always gave it her all in every aspect: physical therapy, being a good teammate and even simply waiting out her concussion.
“She was like, ‘Coach, I’m going to do whatever I can,’” said Doughty. “I never didn’t get the best effort out of Kasey Bretones at any point.”
For an athlete who never dealt with a major injury until the backend of her senior year of high school, a third major setback within two years took a toll on her.
“I was having doubts that I was unreliable for the team and the coaches because it seemed like it was injury after injury or illness after illness,” said Bretones.
Despite the challenges, she knows that unreliable does not describe her. Fader peppered her with positive reinforcements throughout the process of returning from both setbacks.
“I always tell her my phone is open, and through all those injuries, I told her to get one percent better every single day. As long as you’re getting a little bit better every day, you can get through anything,” said Fader.
Within two weeks, she was back. After career days at Fairfield and against Merrimack, she earned a spot in the starting lineup on Feb. 19 and never looked back. Doughty and Fader believe Bretones never reached her full potential because her body was never fully repaired, but she showed “glimpses of how special she can be” that she can take into the 2026-27 season.
This season has already come with its bumps in the road. Though better from the mysterious illness and almost fully off the elimination diet, Bretones suffered yet another setback before returning home from the 2025-26 school year.
When she returned to Linwood, “bad tendinitis” in her knee prevented her from running and other athletic activity for nearly a month. She required a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection, forcing her to rest, recover and strengthen the ligaments around her quad.
She rehabbed three times per week at home and continued at school with Dr. Vinny Colantuono and assistant athletic trainer Michael Koch. Though limited for a month-and-a-half of summer camp, she returned in full to catch at least a portion of camp.
“I feel really good with it now […] I’ve been [a] full go for a month,” said Bretones.
Now recovered from the tendinitis and three other setbacks, Bretones enters the season fully healthy for the first time in her college career, including having preseason under her belt.
“I’m in a great place right now,” said Bretones. “I’m feeling really strong and confident […] Obviously you’re going to have bumps and bruises, but that’s part of the game.”
Edited by Nate Shoemaker, Mike Schiavone and Max Rosen
Graphic by Jaylen Rizzo
Photos by Jaylen Rizzo and Stockton Photo
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