'Thumbs up': How injury setback sparked Condron

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Finding consistency is so often the key to success on the basketball court and for Australian forward Erin Condron.

Now in her junior season at UC San Diego, her unwavering effort and desire has seen her become one of the most reliable and impactful bigs in the Big West Conference.

Whether she’s scoring in the post or blocking shots on the other end, Condron has an innate ability to do whatever her team needs at any given moment. Highlighting her consistency is the fact she has scored in double figures in 16 or her last 17 outings, and her Tritons have gone 13-4 over that span.

Condron’s rise has been there for all to see, but it all comes back to the countless hours behind closed doors spent honing her skills and getting better every day.

Instead of dwelling on an unfortunate hand injury that forced her to miss the first 14 games of the 2024-25 season, Condron got to work. Unable to play, she became the fittest she’d ever been and when she returned as a sophomore, provided a massive burst off the bench for the Tritons.

Speaking about last season’s injury, Condron admits it was a bitter pill to swallow but said she made the best of a frustrating situation.

“It was pretty tough,” Condron told basketball.com.au.

“I had done really well during that preseason, I felt like I was really coming in strong, but it's just one of those things at practice, the ball hit my hand the wrong way, and I tore a ligament in my thumb, so had to get surgery to reattach it to the bone.

“The whole way through I just had this mindset that I was going to improve so much in the 12 weeks that I couldn't play. I improved my speed and agility, my fitness - I'd never been so fit before in my life. By the time I came back, having already played with my teammates in preseason before I got injured, I was able to seamlessly fit in.”

Clearly not content with her strong sophomore season, Condron continued her tireless work this past offseason and today, she is now one of the leaders of UC San Diego, averaging career-highs across the board with 15.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.2 steals in 32 minutes per game.

She admits the transition to becoming the focal point of the Tritons’ offence has been an adjustment, but as she did throughout her junior career in Victoria and now in her college career, she always finds a way to succeed and rise to the occasion.

“It has been an adjustment for me,” she said.

“Growing up, I was always a pass-first player, so I've had to really learn to be consistent with that scoring mentality and throughout this season I've just been getting better and better each game knowing that even if I miss a couple of shots, I need to keep shooting because that's what my team needs.

“The support I get from the coaches and my teammates, they give me so much freedom in my game, so I'm able to put the ball on the floor and take it up the court, start those fast breaks and drive it.”

As the Tritons leading scorer, Condron brings so much to her team on the offensive end, but she’s just as vital on the defensive end too. Her ability to block shots, grab key rebounds and just play hard-nosed on that end of the floor is impressive to watch.

“Defence has always been my favourite part of basketball, it's always been something that I do pride myself on,” she said.

“Defence leads into offence, that's our team philosophy and we’re very intense on defence, we've got a big emphasis on getting steals and putting pressure on the other team.”

Before jetting off to the other side of the world to pursue her basketball dreams, Condron did the ultimate apprenticeship as a development player with the Bendigo Spirit in WNBL season 2022-23.

In a team filled with talent, the likes of Kelly Wilson, Kelsey Griffin, Tessa Lavey, Anneli Maley and Alex Wilson, Condron learned what it meant to be a professional and has taken those lessons into her college career.

“It made a world of difference,” she said.

“I learned so much, just being surrounded by incredible players and incredible coaches.

“Seeing the professionalism, it's not even just the work ethic, it's everything else outside of that; it's how you come across, how you treat your teammates, it's your whole being, and that's professionalism.

“Getting to see behind the scenes was incredible for me and I was basically in shock the whole time I was practicing with them, but I just had to soak everything up and learn as much as I could.”

One day, Condron hopes to return to the WNBL.

“The WNBL is definitely the goal for me,” she said.

“My mindset is that I really do just want to keep improving and be the best player that I can be, and if it leads me to that, then I'm going to be happy.”

It’s clear that Condron is driven to learn and improve, and that’s not just on the basketball court. A human biology major, her decision to commit to UC San Diego wasn’t purely about basketball, the education side of the scholarship was also vital.

“I had a few other scholarship offers, but education is very important to me, and UC San Diego is literally one of the best public schools that you could go to,” she said.

“It's also a science research school, so that definitely drew me here in terms of the schooling side of things.”

Condron has done a lot of winning in her career. Last year, she played a key role as the Tritons won the 2025 Big West Championship, and in 2022, she helped Victoria claim gold at the National Under-20 Championships.

In her junior days, she thrived playing against the best players in Australia, and there’s no doubt those tournaments set on the path to being a standout college player.

“It was just amazing,” she said.

“I'm so grateful that I was able to be a part of that with incredible teammates and incredible coaches. I developed a lot playing against that level of talent, just being able to see myself go up against these amazing players, the best players in Australia, and represent my state, it was an incredible experience.”

Looking back at that 2022 under-20 Victorian team, it’s incredible to see where they are now. The likes of Condron, Sophie Burrows, Tess Heal and Dyani Ananiev are all thriving in college, while Nyadiew Puoch and Dallas Loughridge are stars of the WNBL.

“I love it,” Condron said of seeing her former teammates finding success in their own journeys.

“I make sure to keep up with how everyone's going, and I just feel so happy that everyone's doing so well.

“It's amazing to see all the Aussies doing so well in the States at the moment and then Dallas and Nyadiew, they're doing incredible in the WNBL, so kudos to them.”

With Erin Condron having cemented herself among the top Australians in division one women’s college basketball, the sky really is the limit for the classy and efficient forward, but for now, she’s focused on one objective.

“The goal is to win the Big West championship," she said.

About the Author

Hayley Wildes is passionate about all things Australian women’s basketball and loves to highlight the stories of players from all levels and competitions across the globe. From our own backyard in the WNBL, to the WNBA and the Opals, and everything in between, Hayley has you covered.