Greensburg Salem grad Megan Kallock finds right fit with Grove City women's basketball team

When Megan Kallock transferred from Saint Vincent to Grove City halfway through the 2020-21 academic year, it was equal parts inopportune and perfect.

The down side: The Greensburg Salem grad got to campus in the middle of the covid-19 pandemic and started with a three-week quarantine over Christmas break.

“I was a little nervous being by myself with some girls I really didn’t know yet,” she said.

On the flipside, it was ideal for easing her into the culture of the women’s basketball team and coach Chelle Fuss’ system. The Wolverines, at that time, were laden with seniors, so Kallock got to study under their tutelage for the final two months of the basketball season.

And Fuss got Kallock minutes here and there — 8.5 per game — to further her adaptation.

This season, Kallock has hit the ground running for the Wolverines (3-1, 1-0 Presidents’ Athletic Conference). She has scored in double figures in all four games, and in GCC’s two games during the week of Nov. 15, she had 19 and 26 points to earn PAC Player of the Week honors.

She leads the Wolverines at 18.5 points per game.

“I adjusted very well,” Kallock, who plays shooting guard, said. “The girls welcomed me in like family. They’re wonderful. I have great teammates. Once I got to this year, (Fuss) has given me a chance. … We all play the exact same way. It’s a fast pace, kind of up-in-your-face press, transition. We just work really well together.”

Kallock was far from a stranger to Fuss and her staff. Kallock was one of their top recruiting targets two years ago.

“We knew her well as a player and a person,” said Fuss, in her eighth year at the helm for the Wolverines. “We already had a relationship when we started. We’re excited with what Megan has been able to do. She’s a very skilled basketball player and a great leader. She’s a great person to coach.”

During her one season at Saint Vincent, Kallock saw limited minutes. She said, despite the friendships she made on the team and the respect she has for coach Jimmy Petruska, she felt like Saint Vincent wasn’t the right fit.

Kallock said she has no ill will toward Saint Vincent and keeps in touch with some of her former Bearcats teammates.

She faced her old team in March, compiling two points, two steals and a rebound in seven minutes as Saint Vincent won 78-74 in overtime. As strange as that experience was, Kallock is comfortable with her decision to transfer.

“I had some great friendships, but, basketball-wise, I just wasn’t seeing what I wanted,” she said. “I was (considering) Grove City my senior year of high school. It was between there, W&J and Saint Vincent. I just loved coach Fuss’ style of play, and their program seemed to fit me a little better than Saint Vincent.”

Kallock is scheduled to see her old team twice this season and possibly a third time in the PAC Tournament. Grove City was picked to finish third in the conference, so the Wolverines figure to be in the mix and Kallock is confident they can have a say in the PAC title.

“I think we might be a little doubted because of how young we are,” she said. “We’re fast, and I’m not sure how many teams might be able to hang with our press, so I think our team is young, quick and fast and I think we can hang with anybody.”