Gillespie, Kiah

Kiah Gillespie is among the most decorated women’s basketball players in state history, reaching the pinnacle of the sport at Capital Preparatory Magnet School, Florida State and as a 2020 draft pick of the WNBA’s Chicago Sky.

A 2015 Capital Prep grad, Gillespie led the Trailblazers to three straight state championships and earned back-to-back Gatorade Connecticut Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year Awards, as well as being named a McDonald’s All-American and a Jordan Brand All-American as a senior. During Gillespie’s senior season of high school, the 6-foot-2 forward averaged 31.2 points and 16.2 rebounds, including a highlight reel-worthy 42 points and 22 rebounds in an 87-59 win over Northwest Catholic for the Class L state championship.

Gillespie finished with 2,208 career points, appearing in four state championship games and earning four all-conference and all-state honors. She was named to the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference All-Century Team for girls’ basketball when the organization celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2020.

“Kiah was dominant because of her unique combination of skill, size and basketball IQ,” said then-Capital Prep coach Tammy Millsaps. “She had an incredible ability to score at all three levels – inside the paint, mid-range and beyond the arc – which made her nearly unstoppable. Her footwork, strength and versatility set her apart, allowing her to take over games in multiple ways. Her unwavering drive to win was a defining quality that made her unique.

“Watching Kiah drop 42 points in her final game was unforgettable. It was a perfect display of her natural talent and her ability to take control in critical moments. ... That game is something I’ll always look back on as one of the most exceptional performances I’ve ever witnessed.”

Rated as the No. 14 recruit in the country by Prospect Nation, Gillespie originally signed with Maryland and played for two seasons before transferring to Florida State, where she flourished.
As a redshirt junior in 2019, she became the first Seminoles player in program history to lead the team in points (16.2), rebounds (9.3) and 3-point field goals (53), pacing Florida State to the second round of the NCAA tournament, and as a senior in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, she averaged 15.6 points and 8.7 rebounds. She started all 65 career games for the Seminoles, finishing as a WBCA, USBWA and Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American in 2020 and as a two-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference first team honoree. She earned her degree in social science from Florida State.

Gillespie, who played professionally in Toulouse, France, grew up around basketball, with her father, Levy, coaching the boys’ basketball team at Capital Prep and her brother Levy playing there as well. Her mom, Martina, also helped coach her youth teams. Gillespie is now coaching, hired as an assistant coach at Stony Brook University for the 2024-25 season following two years in a similar position at Marist. Gillespie’s dad, Levy, will serve as her presenter as she enters the Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.