Somehow, Sam Breen will play basketball next season somewhere other than UMass.
The two-time reigning Atlantic 10 Player of the Year signed a professional deal with Finland’s Vimpelin Veto Koripallo, the team announced on Instagram on Monday. Breen, a Gibsonia, Pennsylvania native, is the team’s first foreign signing of the offseason.
“I am super grateful that I get the opportunity to live in a new city in Vimpeli and get to come see the beautiful country of Finland,” Breen said in a video the team posted. “I’m excited to come over and meet my teammates, my coaches, the fans, and I can’t wait to come over and see you all.”
Vimpelin Veto went 8-10 last season and finished seventh in the Korisliiga Women’s standings.
Breen won the 2023 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year award after leading the Minutewomen to their first regular season A-10 championship averaging 17.3 points and 10.1 rebounds per game with 20 double-doubles.
She declared her eligibility for the 20223 WNBA Draft but was not selected. Breen also participated in the USA Basketball 3×3 National Team Trials.
Over four seasons at UMass after transferring from Penn State during her sophomore year, Breen became the Minutewomen’s all-time leading scorer with 1930 points and posted the highest single-season point total last year as a graduate student with 589.