UConn’s Molly Bent excited for the next phase life’s calling

Molly Bent had a dream. This spring, the former UConn women's basketball guard accepted a two-year position as a FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) missionary. She will be assigned to a college or university.

It only figures her dream placed her at Notre Dame.

“It was a dream that I had while I was sleeping, not a dream that I necessarily want to have happen,” Bent said with a laugh.

Bent will actually learn her destination sometime in the next few weeks. Whether it's South Bend or elsewhere, she hopes to be a positive influence on another college athlete like the missionaries she met at UConn were on her.

“I am excited to work with them and walk with them as they pursue excellence, not just on and off the court or field, but in their faith,” Bent said. “I'm excited for all the ways Jesus desires to work through me, to reach these students through me. There are times when it seems all that matters is how successful you are in your sport. FOCUS helped me find a deeper meaning through my faith, and it made me so much more joyful and full of life, despite any crosses I was carrying in basketball and school.”

Faith has always been a big part of her life.

When she was in high school and at home in Centerville, Massachusetts, she would go to Mass each day with her father. She continued to do that daily when she arrived at UConn, whenever her schedules allowed. She was then approached by one of the Varsity Catholic missionaries at the school, Katie Dulek, who played volleyball at Drake in Des Moines, Iowa.

“I got involved in Katie's bible studies through the parish on campus, St. Thomas Aquinas,” Bent said. “I attended those my first three years of college, but didn't really get involved with much else. To be honest, I thought my faith was important, but it still took a back seat to basketball and school.”

As she attended bible studies, Bent also excelled in the classroom. She earned Dean's List status all six of the semesters including five with a perfect 4.0 grade point average.

On the court it was a different story. She played behind WNBA draft picks Saniya Chong, Kia Nurse, and

Crystal Dangerfield as a freshman, Nurse and Dangerfield as a sophomore, and Dangerfield and Christyn Williams as a junior. She could never carve a niche off the Huskies' bench. And while UConn did advance to the NCAA Final Four all three years, it lost in the semifinals each time.

“It was really, really heartbreaking my first three years of basketball because I thought that I wasn't living up to expectations and what I thought I could do,” Bent said. “I thought of my time as a failure, honestly. It was tough going back my senior year. I was thinking of Saniya and what she did her senior year after her first three seasons and I thought that maybe that could be me. So I made that my goal. I wanted to stay positive.

“I loved my teammates and coaches and it was a great experience playing for Coach (Geno) Auriemma. But I wasn't as successful as I hoped I'd be on the court and I hadn't achieved the goals I'd set for myself.”

But when she returned to campus for her last fall semester, she received an invitation to go to a Mass off campus and had breakfast with the UConn FOCUS missionaries and other students. She had received many similar invitations her first three years but never accepted, fearful of taking time away from basketball and academics.

It was then that she met Erinn Black, the new VC missionary and a former soccer player at George Mason. She entered into discipleship, which Bent described as a “mentoring program between a missionary and a student that helps you grow in your relationship with Jesus and equips you to then go out and help others.”

“When I accepted that invitation I found a joy in them and a love for life and a passion I had not seen in any other group of people,” Bent said.

“That community of people helped me grow and helped me put basketball in perspective. There were times I felt that I had made a mistake going to UConn. But getting deeper into my faith and growing in that relationship made me understand it really was all part of God's plan for me. FOCUS changed my life and my outlook on it.

“Honestly, it was right there in front of me and I didn't know it until my final year.”

Bent had her most productive season as a senior. She played in 27 of the Huskies' 32 games and averaged 1.9 points, 0.9 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 9.3 minutes. She made three starts, two early when Dangerfield was injured, and a third with her classmates on Senior Day in February.

The Huskies swept the American Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles and were set to play in their 32nd straight NCAA Tournament appearance. But their season and Bent's career came to an end when the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Basketball's been my life since kindergarten and I've always loved it,” Bent said. “There was always a joy in being part of something that's bigger than yourself. I'm grateful for the experiences, some not many get to have, that I had in AAU, high school, and at UConn. It's humbling.

“I'm so grateful for my time at UConn, learning and being a part of Coach's program. I'm grateful for FOCUS at UConn and the time that the missionaries invested in me. They could have easily given up on me when I continued to place basketball and school ahead of my faith my first three years but they kept at it and cared for me throughout my time there.”

Bent graduated from UConn a week ago with a bachelor's degree in mathematics major with a double minor in statistics and English.

Her final GPA was a robust 3.94.