Sydney and Kylo Freeman
Raising Kylo: Sydney Freeman's Journey as a Mother and Division I Basketball Player
1/7/2025 1:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball
In October 2023, a six-pound, 12-ounce Kylo Drue Freeman was born five weeks early. From that moment, Sydney Freeman was a mom.
Freeman, who was 22 at the time, thought her college basketball career was over.
In the summer of 2023, Freeman found out she was four months pregnant. Counting back the weeks, she had been playing basketball for Dayton for about a month of her pregnancy.
Shortly after learning the news, Freeman had to make the difficult call to Dayton head coach Tamika Williams-Jeter, telling her that she would not be returning for her fifth year of college basketball. She didn't explain why. She kept that to herself for the time being.
"I had no intentions of ever playing again," Freeman said.
Come October, Freeman gave birth to a happy and healthy baby boy, despite being five weeks early.
Along with adjusting to life after college and working a full-time job for the first time, Freeman had a little one to keep on her mind.
"It was a lot," Freeman said. "I've had jobs before, but I've never had to have the money like that before, then having to care for another human being was crazy. It was really, really hard at first.
"But I had a ton of support, so it was a lot easier than it could've been."
After having Kylo, Freeman moved back in with her parents, Becky and Todd, who helped care for the newest member of the family.
She got a job working as a pharmacy technician, working at a pharmacy in Auburn, Indiana, just 30 minutes outside of her hometown of Albion.
But… this wasn't the plan, and it wasn't going great.
"Life was really hard for a while."
She spent a lot of time over the first few months of Kylo's life attending church and building her faith. There came a day when she needed a change.
"I don't know what to do," Freeman said to God. "I can't keep working this job and living with my parents. I can't be here forever. I need something, show me what to do."
On February 11, 2024, she made a simple post on Instagram of herself in her car. Williams-Jeter, her former coach at Dayton, commented with the fire emoji and a "miss you".
A day later at work, someone asked her to reach up to the top shelf to grab something for her. Freeman did as she was told, and was asked a question that set the next year of her life in motion.
"You have really long arms, do you play basketball?"
With two instances of her former life popping up in as many days, Freeman realized something was missing. There's got to be a path back to the court.
Freeman explored an extra year at Dayton, but logistically would be next to impossible since Kylo would be coming with her.
She looked into professional basketball overseas, but got no interest because she had no film since the birth.
Finally, the Division I program right down the road became a reality. Purdue Fort Wayne women's basketball head coach Maria Marchesano had recruited Freeman in high school and became an obvious fit for Freeman's final year of college ball.
It was a perfect fit for Kylo, too. He got to be with his mom and be near his grandparents and the rest of his support system. Not to mention he got an entirely new loving family in the Purdue Fort Wayne women's basketball team.
"The team loves Kylo," Freeman said. "A bunch of them came to his birthday party and got him an electric toy car. My roomies buy stuff for him all the time."
Kylo and the now 24-year-old Sydney live with Jordan Reid and Ella Riggs, who also transferred onto the Mastodon roster. While they spend the most time together, Kylo does come to practice on occasion and games when possible.
While she was able to put the job on hold temporarily, Freeman's adjustment back into college was not easy.
"At first it was really, really hard," Freeman said. "I was trying to do it all on my own and for myself at first. That was the problem."
In the fall semester, Freeman had all online classes, which helped balance her schedule compared to the summer sessions. Now it's as simple as dropping him off wherever he needs to be, going to practice, then pick him up.
Being in Fort Wayne, her family in Albion is within an hour drive. Her parents, her sister Courtney, and "second mama" Susie are some of the biggest contributors to keeping Kylo happy and healthy.
Of course, that doesn't mean it's easy. He's still a baby after all.
"He'll either sleep all the way through the night or wake up at like 2 a.m. and not go back to sleep."
Unfortunately, that doesn't stop practice from starting every morning, but Freeman can always bank on her teammates to help pull her through.
"When I go into the locker room, everyone is very supportive," Freeman said. "Everyone has their own stuff going on. Sometimes it doesn't feel like I'm doing such a big thing. It's just another part of me."
The Mastodons' trip to Italy in July helped Freeman bond with her team more quickly than most teams, but also put Kylo's absence at the forefront of her mind.
"At first, it was great having no stress and not having to worry about him," Freeman said. "But by that third day, I really missed him."
FaceTime calls kept the two close despite being almost 5,000 miles away, but the trip home was not ideal. It was the longest Sydney and Kylo had been apart, and the Mastodons nearly missed their connecting flight from JFK to Indianapolis after a delay in Milan.
But after running through the airport Home Alone style, Freeman and the 'Dons made it home.
A few months later, Kylo turned 1 and the basketball season was right around the corner. More notably, the youngest Mastodon was starting to develop his personality.
"He's crazy," Freeman said. "Very high energy, always playing, climbing on stuff, and he eats all the time."
He loves playing with basketballs, and the hope of course is that he grows up to play the sport that Freeman loves.
In her last year of college ball, Freeman is averaging 10.4 points, 2.6 assists, and 2.2 rebounds per game and led the Mastodons to a 11-5 start. She hopes to continue playing basketball overseas after her time at Purdue Fort Wayne.
Freeman has a simple message to all mothers that she has made it clear that she lives by.
"Being a mom doesn't stop you from living your life."
Freeman, who was 22 at the time, thought her college basketball career was over.
In the summer of 2023, Freeman found out she was four months pregnant. Counting back the weeks, she had been playing basketball for Dayton for about a month of her pregnancy.
Shortly after learning the news, Freeman had to make the difficult call to Dayton head coach Tamika Williams-Jeter, telling her that she would not be returning for her fifth year of college basketball. She didn't explain why. She kept that to herself for the time being.
"I had no intentions of ever playing again," Freeman said.
Come October, Freeman gave birth to a happy and healthy baby boy, despite being five weeks early.
Along with adjusting to life after college and working a full-time job for the first time, Freeman had a little one to keep on her mind.
"It was a lot," Freeman said. "I've had jobs before, but I've never had to have the money like that before, then having to care for another human being was crazy. It was really, really hard at first.
"But I had a ton of support, so it was a lot easier than it could've been."
After having Kylo, Freeman moved back in with her parents, Becky and Todd, who helped care for the newest member of the family.
She got a job working as a pharmacy technician, working at a pharmacy in Auburn, Indiana, just 30 minutes outside of her hometown of Albion.
But… this wasn't the plan, and it wasn't going great.
"Life was really hard for a while."
She spent a lot of time over the first few months of Kylo's life attending church and building her faith. There came a day when she needed a change.
"I don't know what to do," Freeman said to God. "I can't keep working this job and living with my parents. I can't be here forever. I need something, show me what to do."
On February 11, 2024, she made a simple post on Instagram of herself in her car. Williams-Jeter, her former coach at Dayton, commented with the fire emoji and a "miss you".
A day later at work, someone asked her to reach up to the top shelf to grab something for her. Freeman did as she was told, and was asked a question that set the next year of her life in motion.
"You have really long arms, do you play basketball?"
With two instances of her former life popping up in as many days, Freeman realized something was missing. There's got to be a path back to the court.
Freeman explored an extra year at Dayton, but logistically would be next to impossible since Kylo would be coming with her.
She looked into professional basketball overseas, but got no interest because she had no film since the birth.
Finally, the Division I program right down the road became a reality. Purdue Fort Wayne women's basketball head coach Maria Marchesano had recruited Freeman in high school and became an obvious fit for Freeman's final year of college ball.
It was a perfect fit for Kylo, too. He got to be with his mom and be near his grandparents and the rest of his support system. Not to mention he got an entirely new loving family in the Purdue Fort Wayne women's basketball team.
"The team loves Kylo," Freeman said. "A bunch of them came to his birthday party and got him an electric toy car. My roomies buy stuff for him all the time."
Kylo and the now 24-year-old Sydney live with Jordan Reid and Ella Riggs, who also transferred onto the Mastodon roster. While they spend the most time together, Kylo does come to practice on occasion and games when possible.
While she was able to put the job on hold temporarily, Freeman's adjustment back into college was not easy.
"At first it was really, really hard," Freeman said. "I was trying to do it all on my own and for myself at first. That was the problem."
In the fall semester, Freeman had all online classes, which helped balance her schedule compared to the summer sessions. Now it's as simple as dropping him off wherever he needs to be, going to practice, then pick him up.
Being in Fort Wayne, her family in Albion is within an hour drive. Her parents, her sister Courtney, and "second mama" Susie are some of the biggest contributors to keeping Kylo happy and healthy.
Of course, that doesn't mean it's easy. He's still a baby after all.
"He'll either sleep all the way through the night or wake up at like 2 a.m. and not go back to sleep."
Unfortunately, that doesn't stop practice from starting every morning, but Freeman can always bank on her teammates to help pull her through.
"When I go into the locker room, everyone is very supportive," Freeman said. "Everyone has their own stuff going on. Sometimes it doesn't feel like I'm doing such a big thing. It's just another part of me."
The Mastodons' trip to Italy in July helped Freeman bond with her team more quickly than most teams, but also put Kylo's absence at the forefront of her mind.
"At first, it was great having no stress and not having to worry about him," Freeman said. "But by that third day, I really missed him."
FaceTime calls kept the two close despite being almost 5,000 miles away, but the trip home was not ideal. It was the longest Sydney and Kylo had been apart, and the Mastodons nearly missed their connecting flight from JFK to Indianapolis after a delay in Milan.
But after running through the airport Home Alone style, Freeman and the 'Dons made it home.
A few months later, Kylo turned 1 and the basketball season was right around the corner. More notably, the youngest Mastodon was starting to develop his personality.
"He's crazy," Freeman said. "Very high energy, always playing, climbing on stuff, and he eats all the time."
He loves playing with basketballs, and the hope of course is that he grows up to play the sport that Freeman loves.
In her last year of college ball, Freeman is averaging 10.4 points, 2.6 assists, and 2.2 rebounds per game and led the Mastodons to a 11-5 start. She hopes to continue playing basketball overseas after her time at Purdue Fort Wayne.
Freeman has a simple message to all mothers that she has made it clear that she lives by.
"Being a mom doesn't stop you from living your life."
~ Feel the Rumble ~
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