The Wonder From Down Under

Very few people at the University of Maryland have come from farther away than Maryland women’s basketball star Chloe Bibby. 

Hailing from Warracknabeal, Australia, Bibby came to the United States in 2017 as she played her first three collegiate seasons at Mississippi State before transferring to the University of Maryland in 2020.  

“In the winter, you play volleyball, and In the summer, we play basketball,” Bibby said about growing up in Australia. “That was just what you did. That's how I got introduced. I think it was in third grade or fifth grade when you could start playing, and it really just started from there. I really fell in love with the game, pursued it, and tried to find other avenues where I could eventually play all year round and not just have to wait until the summer.”

It was clear from that young age that basketball was something that Bibby could pursue and also something that she was head and shoulders better at than her peers. Bibby would play for Team Australia at the FIBAU17 Championship in the Czech Republic, FIBAU18 Oceania Championship in the summer of 2016, and Australia’s U19 National Team that advanced to the quarterfinals of the FIBA World Cup in Italy.

These tournaments and more put the 6-foot-2 combo forward on the radar of many college basketball programs in the United States, and it was the Bulldogs who would get her commitment for three seasons. 

“I think it was maybe my senior year of high school,” Bibby said about knowing when she wanted to come to America. “You only get one opportunity to go to college in America, and I was like, ‘why not try to take that experience?’. I'll either love it, or I'll hate it. That was really my philosophy with it all. I came over here, and I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed my time, so I thought I'd stick with it.”

Bibby was highly productive for the Bulldogs, scoring more than 600 points during her three seasons there. After the 2020 season that saw its postseason canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bibby elected to put her name in the transfer portal and would ultimately choose College Park as her new home. 

Her portal process was different than most as not only was there a global pandemic hindering travel, but she was on the other side of the world, which made the time difference between there and Maryland that much more difficult to find time to talk. 

“I was over in Australia [during the spring and summer of 2020], so times were crazy,” Bibby said. “I think [the transfer portal] is great. It gives people the opportunity to seek out new ventures or whatever they want to do. Obviously, going through COVID was really difficult. [The Maryland coaches] did a great job, considering that we had to do everything on Zoom, and they sold this place. Without even seeing the campus, I knew what I was getting with [Coach Brenda Frese’s] program and that gave me enough confidence to know that this is the school [for me].”

Transferring to a new school is difficult, on top of continuing to live in a different country which is incredibly difficult, in the middle of a global pandemic is borderline impossible. Bibby took everything in stride, though, and dove headfirst into her new team in order to get through it. 

From daily covid testing to walking the empty halls of the XFINITY Center, Bibby made the most of what was believed to be her lone season as a Terp as she averaged 13.2 points and was a lynchpin on the No. 1 scoring offense in the country. 

When Maryland’s season ended, it seemed like Bibby’s career did, too. But, due to the NCAA granting an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic, Bibby elected to exhaust all of her eligibility and return to College Park for what Coach Frese calls “The Mi22ion”.

That extra year though means Bibby and her family had to go even longer without seeing each other, a sacrifice that many families have had to make over the last two years. 

But now, with travel restrictions loosened, Bibby’s mother and father, Leigh-Anne and Adrian, are coming to College Park for the first time to see their daughter and watch her play for the first time in two years. 

“The pandemic has been a bit hectic for everybody,” Bibby said. “I know there’s a lot of families that haven't been able to see each other, so it's really great that [my parents] are able to finally get over here and get to experience Maryland and the basketball program for all that it is. I’m just feeling really grateful that they had the opportunity to come over and really excited that they're here to see quite a few games.”

On Thursday night against Rutgers, not only did Bibby take the court in front of her parents, but it was also her bobblehead night as every year Maryland seniors are honored with their own such night.

Not only did Bibby love her bobblehead (although she did joke that it could’ve used more freckles), but she went off in one of her best games of the year with a season-high 22 points, just one point off from her career-high. Even better for her was that she was able to do it in front of her family.

“It was just great,” Bibby said. “I love playing with this team. It was awesome to have my parents here. Just to have them here gives me confidence. I'm just so happy to play in front of them again.”

Not only is Bibby great on the court, but she’s also one of the team’s biggest personalities off of it as she’s brimming with positive energy, shouting out in her Australian accent for everyone to hear. If you go to a Maryland women’s basketball game, you can see hilarious videos on the jumbotron of her trying to explain Australian slang, much to the confusion of her American teammates.   

Thanks to Bibby’s energy and unabashed commitment to being herself, the entire Maryland women’s basketball team has embraced the culture from down under.

“There's definitely sayings that people have jumped on board with and that they've just fallen in love with,” Bibby said with a laugh. “But honestly, it's just the energy I bring to the team. I don't know if that's just Australian or if that's just who I am. I think it's a bit of both.”

On the flip side of that, Bibby has now been in the United States for nearly five years and has, unsurprisingly, picked up some habits from being constantly surrounded by Americans and their culture. 

But Bibby, now reunited with her family here in Maryland, has never forgotten her roots and will always be proud of where she came from, what she’s overcome, and for whatever happens next in her life. 

“My family and friends keep me in check,” Bibby said. “They'll let me know if I've got a little bit of American slang or something like that. They keep me pretty humble and make sure I don't forget where I'm from.”