Tayla Brazel's remarkable comeback from ACL horrors

After back-to-back ACL injuries, rising star for the Adelaide Lightning Tayla Brazel has finally made her return to the court.

Brazel was one of the top prospects as a South Australian junior - making her WNBL debut with the Lightning as a teenager during the 2021/22 season.

The last few months as a development player, Brazel attended an AIS camp (Australian Institute of Sport) in Canberra and suffered her first ACL injury in her left knee.

For the rest of 2022, Brazel stayed home in Adelaide, recovering from her first major injury in her career. Depsite the setback, her rehab led to her best NBL1 season ever, winning the NBL1 Central Best Defensive Player award and being a critical piece to the Sturt Sabres' undefeated regular season record and Grand Final appearance.

Her momentum continued, being selected for Australia's U19s World Cup team and playing for the Gems in Spain. Riding high, Brazel had a career season with the Lightning, averaging a career-high in minutes and starting several games throughout the 2023/24 season.

Following that season, tragedy struck again in NBL1, tearing her right knee during an individual workout in the middle of 2024.

In an interview with WNBL Media, Brazel explained how mentally challenging the second recovery was.

"That was pretty brutal, I didn't expect to do two ACLs," she said.

"I was lucky enough to have a lot of support here in Adelaide and a lot of places where I could rehab and whatnot."

With so many athletes currently recovering from similar injuries, like fellow young guards Georgia Amoore and Jayda Clark, Brazel said she couldn't adopt the "why me" mindset.

"I've learned so much through it, not just the first time, but the second time too. I've learnt a lot about the importance of working hard," she said.

"Just knowing other people have been through it and having a good support system. I've built a lot of resilience over those two years of rehab. I've learned a lot about myself that I probably wouldn't have learnt without going through this.

"I think it's only given me positive things now to take through the rest of my career... It's only going to benefit me."

Brazel shared her advice for any younger athletes who have suffered an injury of this magnitude.

"It's a long road ahead, and unfortunately, it's not a quick injury that you'll have for a couple of weeks and you're fine," she said.

"Try not to overwhelm yourself initially, take that time at the start to just get through those first few weeks - they're going to be the roughest. You'll learn how much you need to dedicate yourself to the gym, conditioning and rehab. I've just learnt how hard I need to work.

"You're going to have some days where you wake up and go 'I have to go do rehab again'. But once you get back out there for your first game, it honestly just feels amazing to know all the work you've done and to be back out there... Just don't give up."

At only 21 years old, the star in the making added that she didn't have the choice to quit either. With a possible 20-year career ahead of her, work and rehabilitation were her only options.

This has all led to her 2025 season debut with the Sturt Sabres on June 1st, where she played 18 minutes and scored seven points, four assists and three rebounds and steals in a close win over the rival Forestville Eagles.

Getting the rust off and then immediately having a long weekend bye in NBL1 Central, Brazel will now spend the rest of the winter competing for an elusive conference championship.

While winning a championship with her junior club is one of her main goals, she also said that representing Australia, playing for the Opals and playing in the WNBL for as long as she can all sit highly on her bucket list.

After recently re-signing with Adelaide, Brazel added how excited she is for the coming season. Explaining how important the new investment in the WNBL will be to not only her emerging career, but also all the women who will follow.

"I think it's awesome, it's so fresh and new and it's something that we needed," she said.

"We're going into a new era with the league right now. So I think it's very fitting, and it's a great time. It kind of motivates you a little bit more; it just makes you excited."