At the end of a freshman season in 2023-24 that turned heads across the country, BYU women's basketball player Kailey Woolston packed up her sneakers, folded away her No. 10 jersey and stepped into a world where no one cared about her 46.6% three‑point shooting percentage.
She traveled 2,093 miles to Baltimore, Maryland, to serve an 18‑month mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‑day Saints.
She went from hearing arenas erupt with “Kailey Woolston!” after a game‑winning shot to quietly knocking on doors as Sister Woolston.
“I think a lot of people talk about how I sacrificed a lot going on a mission, and how I gave up a lot,” she said. “But at the end of the day, I gained so much more than I sacrificed.”
In that shift, she stood for something even more powerful: a woman who knew her worth isn’t measured in points, minutes or headlines, but first and foremost in being a child of God.
“It all started growing up,” Woolston said. “My dad was a big advocate for us playing basketball. He loved it and was very supportive, but one of his favorite things to say was, ‘You’re not a basketball player, you’re not a pianist, you’re not a student.’ He would list off all the things we did, and then he would say, ‘You’re a child of God.’”
Her father, Spencer Woolston, said that message was intentional.
“So many people get caught up in whatever it is they’re doing that it becomes their identity,” he said. “I just wanted to make sure that never happened with them — that they always kept perspective and understood what was really important in life. Whatever it is you’re doing is great, but it’s just a thing you do. It can be a great tool to help you become a better person, a better instrument in the hands of God.”
“He tried to help us from a young age see that even though those things take up a large portion of our lives now, at the end of the day what truly matters is that we are children of God,” Kailey added.
Her younger sister, Kennedy Woolston — also a basketball player committed to BYU and preparing for her own mission — said the same message shaped her perspective.
“I think it helps me deal with setbacks in basketball,” Kennedy said. “To realize it’s not everything in my life. If I have a bad game or struggle in practice, it’s not the end. I have more important things I should be focused on.”
Kailey said that identity shaped her decision to serve.
“The fact that I know that — that I was able to be raised with that identity — is such a blessing,” she said. “Being able to go share that with other people for a year and a half was just a small thing I could do to give back for what the Lord has done for me.”
Missionary service had always been an option in the back of her mind, but she never seriously considered it until midway through her freshman year.
“We were really surprised,” her father said. “Whenever anyone had asked her, she always said she wasn’t planning on going on a mission. So it was pretty shocking.”
Kennedy felt the same surprise.
“She obviously loves the gospel and loves Jesus Christ, but a mission wasn’t really in the plan,” she said. “She’d already played a year of basketball, so she was in the flow of things.”
Kailey said a series of personal spiritual experiences led her to believe God was prompting her to go. With that realization came a deeper sense of how blessed she felt — and a wave of fear about what the decision would mean.
One moment stood out: listening to a BYU devotional by Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
“He said we can only be changed by Him as we do His work,” Woolston said. “Understanding that my whole life has been completely changed and formed through the gospel made me want other people to experience that as well.
“I’ve been able to find this peace that lasts and this understanding of what happens after this life — that it’s not all over, that I existed before this life, and that I have a Father in Heaven who loves infinitely. There are so many people who don’t know that. When I thought about it that way and didn’t worry about the basketball, it became a pretty easy decision.”
Kennedy said she could see the certainty in her sister immediately.
“I was so excited for her because she just seemed so happy and so confident in her decision,” she said. “It all happened so fast, but she was so happy with it.”
Their father agreed the choice fit who Kailey had always been.
“She’s always had a desire to help other people,” he said. “She was the kid who would always sit by another kid at lunch. She’s just always been that type of person. And I think the mission just let her unleash that.”
Kennedy echoed that sentiment.
“She’s incredibly hardworking and kind and humble,” she said. “She’s just an incredible person all around.”
She shared a childhood memory to illustrate her sister’s selflessness.
“There are two rooms downstairs — one smaller and one bigger,” Kennedy said. “She had the bigger room, and I threw a little hissy fit about it when we were younger. I got home one day and she had switched our rooms. She moved all my stuff so I could have the bigger room. She just cares so much.”
Though many outside her family and faith circle may not have understood why basketball needed to be set aside for a season, Woolston made the choice that aligned with the identity she had been taught her whole life. Her willingness to make that choice, she said, changed her and opened doors to experiences she never could have had otherwise.
She described her mission as “amazing,” filled with wonderful companions and opportunities to teach people from all walks of life.
“One overarching experience is being able to meet so many people from so many different backgrounds that I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to meet,” she said. “On the surface it seems like you don’t have anything in common, but once you have that connection through Jesus Christ, everybody is connected. We are all brothers and sisters. I was able to get to know people so fast and gain such deep connections with them because we were connected through Jesus Christ.”
Kennedy said hearing her sister’s stories changed her own perspective.
“She met so many people on her mission, and she knows their stories and what they’ve gone through and how the gospel can change their lives,” she said. “She’s coming back and helping me understand things because I’m in my own little bubble in Utah. Her life experience and her outlook are just so much more mature now.”
Their father said watching Kailey grow from afar was one of the most rewarding parts of the experience.
“It was just so awesome to talk to her every week, and all she wanted to talk about were the people she was teaching — her friends,” he said. “It was amazing to see that she had internalized that desire to help others.”
Serving the people of Baltimore helped Kailey understand several profound truths.
“One way it’s helped me is understanding where true joy comes from — that the results of things aren’t where lasting happiness or fulfillment should come from,” she said. “It’s a lot of fun to play basketball, it’s a lot of fun to win, but I shouldn’t be basing my identity and my happiness on those things.”
She said that grounding principle will shape the way she approaches basketball moving forward.
“Before my mission, I think I was really up and down with wins and losses — like most of us are,” she said. “I was in the dumps after every loss. Now, hopefully, I’ll have a better perspective on what really matters in life. I’ll still push myself to get better and attain higher things, and I’m not going to be okay with losing, but I can look at it differently. It’s not everything.”
Despite how gratifying the experience was — and how much it strengthened her mindset as an elite athlete — her mission didn’t come without challenges.
“Probably the most challenging part of my mission was giving it to God and not putting so much pressure on myself,” she said. “It wasn’t my fault if people weren’t receiving the message the way I wanted or if I wasn’t doing everything exactly right. There is always more you can do.
“So understanding I am human, I am imperfect, I am flawed — but if I give it to God, give it to Jesus Christ, He will make my offering enough. That was something I had to learn the hard way throughout my mission.”
That lesson, she said, is also why her transition back to basketball has been smoother than expected.
“The Lord really is magnifying my efforts,” Woolston said. “If you give it to Him and you just go and serve — like it says in the Book of Mormon, you receive no witness until after the trial of your faith — you have to step off that ledge and just give it to Him.”
Woolston returned from her mission about a month and a half ago and rejoined team training at the start of BYU’s winter semester in January. She won’t see the court during the 2025–26 season but is expected to make her comeback in 2026–27.
Despite two seasons away from basketball, she said she wouldn’t change her decision. In fact, she hopes other young athletes facing similar crossroads will consider making the same choice.
“Basketball means a lot to me, but I was willing to give it up at that time to serve,” she said. “So I asked God, ‘Will you help me when I get back?’ And He will — He’ll magnify your efforts, and I’ve seen that. Just do it. Step off the cliff and go. It’s the greatest experience.”
For Kennedy, watching her sister serve has shaped her own path as she prepares for her mission and future at BYU.
She said the two of them had many conversations about balancing faith and basketball — conversations that ultimately influenced her decision to commit to BYU.
“Just having the gospel as a priority is huge,” Kennedy said. “Choosing BYU wasn’t just about a good basketball program. It was about not playing on Sundays, being surrounded by people with similar values and really setting yourself up for success in that aspect of life.”
Unlike her sister, Kennedy always planned to serve a mission — but Kailey’s experience strengthened that decision.
“It’s made it so much more real,” she said. “Seeing her experiences — the good and the hard — has made me more excited to grow personally. The mission is a hard thing, but seeing her go through it makes me excited to grow through it too.”
Kailey’s mission helped her show her identity as a child of God more fully, anchoring her in a quiet confidence and a clarity that feels steadier than anything the scoreboard could offer.
“It’s amazing — that’s the way the gospel works,” she said. “When we give our small offering to God, He opens the windows of heaven and pours blessings out on us. I’ve really seen that.
“It seems like a sacrifice from the outside, but it really wasn’t a sacrifice. I was gaining so much from that experience.”
As she works toward her return to the hardwood at the Marriott Center, where her No. 10 jersey carries “Woolston” across the back, she’ll bring with her the experience of a different name tag — a small black badge with white letters that read “Sister Woolston, Missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."