FAIRFAX, Va. – Taylor Brown is getting the chance to pursue a dream – and see another part of the world in the process.
The former George Mason standout signed a one-year contract to play professional basketball with Snaefell out of the Iceland-Dominos League and left for Iceland on Thursday.
She becomes the second Mason women's basketball player in the last three months to sign a professional contract. In June, Kristi Mokube, who played with Brown and the Patriots the last two years, signed a contract with the Saarlouis Royals in Germany.
Brown, a three-time All-Atlantic 10 selection, wrapped up her collegiate basketball career in March. The point guard left as the program's second all-time leading scorer with 1,693 points in just three years after transferring from Georgetown. She also became the first player in program history with at least 1,500 points, 400 rebounds and 300 assists.
“I'm real excited,” Brown said. “It is a great opportunity. I'm just blessed to get to continue to play basketball, especially on a professional level. I've never been out of the country so I'm very excited about that. Just to get the opportunity to play professional basketball is a dream come true. I'm really, really excited about it.”
Brown joins a Snaefell team that has won the last three Icelandic League championships. Brown talked to Snaefell coach Ingi Thor Steinthorsson recently and said her role will be similar to the one she played in college – to be a scorer.
“I feel really good about this opportunity,” Brown said. “From talking to the coach, my role is to score. It is one of my strong assets so I think it is a great position to be in.”
Brown finished her bachelor's degree in sports management in May 2015 and is currently four courses away from receiving her master's degree from Mason in film and video studies.
Since finishing up class in the spring, the Bowie, Md., native has stayed busy working on several projects. She started her own company – Taylor Brown 31, LLC – which provides a variety of services from basketball training, video production and motivational speaking.
This summer, she led several video projects, including filming the 2006 Final Four dinner at George Mason in June and leading a project at her high school, Bishop McNamara in Maryland. (She also served as a motivational speaker at Bishop McNamara High School.) She also worked for Monumental Sports Entertainment and helped out at several Washington Mystics basketball games.
She also conducted a free basketball camp in the community for 30-40 girls. Coaching and teaching basketball will continue in Iceland, where Brown has also agreed to coach a girls basketball team for middle schoolers.
While she has many irons in the fire, Brown stressed that she would love to play professional basketball as long as possible and hopes her opportunity in Iceland is just the start.
“I love playing basketball,” she said. “My goal is to go out there do my best, have fun, play the way I play and whatever happens, happens. It would be really good for me to show what I can do on a professional level. So when I come back I'm hoping for even more opportunities.”
