Taylor Brown became a late addition to Western Kentucky’s freshman class at the end of last summer.

Now the 6-foot forward has taken an early departure from the program.

Brown has left the Lady Topper program, coach Michelle Clark-Heard told the Daily News on Wednesday.

The Paterson, N.J., native hadn’t been with the team since the Conference USA Tournament. Brown wasn’t on the WKU bench for any of the team’ four WNIT games last month.

Heard said after the Lady Toppers’ WNIT win against Dayton on March 17 that Brown was away from the team dealing with “personal issues.”

“I think for her wanting to get back closer to home, I think that’s something that she’s decided she wants to do,” Heard said. “I think that’s why she was going through (personal issues), trying to figure out what she wanted to do.”

Brown didn’t immediately return a message from the Daily News seeking comment.

Brown was ranked as a top-100 recruit by multiple outlets and a three-star, No. 16-ranked post player by ESPN.com. She was named New Jersey Player of the Year as a junior at Eastside High School and NJ.com Big North Player of the Year as a senior.

Brown originally signed with Clemson but didn’t qualify academically. Tigers assistant and former WKU assistant Margaret Richards then recommended Heard take a look at the forward.

Brown visited and signed with WKU in late August, enrolling in classes just in time to be eligible for the 2015-16 season.

Brown played in 30 games as a freshman, coming off the bench in all of them. She averaged 4.8 points and 3.6 rebounds per contest, also finishing with 11 assists, four blocks and 18 steals against 24 turnovers.

Brown totaled 11 points with five rebounds in 22 minutes in the Lady Toppers’ 66-63 C-USA Tournament loss to Marshall on March 10. That proved to be her last game in a WKU uniform.

Brown’s absence left the Lady Toppers with eight players on their active roster for the WNIT.

Heard said losing a player with Brown’s talent was “definitely disappointing.”

“But at the end of the day, like I’ve always said, we want players that feel like this is a great fit and a great place for them no matter what the circumstances are,” Heard said. “I think her situation was different.

“We went out on a limb. We really didn’t know Taylor and to her credit, she didn’t really know us.

“When you go through that and you have an opportunity to pick up a kid that has that much talent and can play, you want to have a chance to put her in the best possible situation. I think that was just something where she decided she needed to be closer to her family.”

Brown is the fourth WKU player to leave the program since the beginning of the 2015 fall semester.

Junior forward Bria Gaines left before the 2015-16 season began, while junior forward Kayla Styles – a Spalding University transfer – and freshman forward Simone Goods left during the season.

Heard said the number of player departures is emblematic of a larger trend across college basketball.

Heard also said she doesn’t anticipate any more departures from the Lady Topper roster between now and next season.

“Sometimes players, just the way they think these days, that’s the way it goes,” Heard said. “What I want to always focus on – and I never want any players to leave here – but in recruiting, everything that you do, sometimes you don’t really know at times what you’re getting no matter what. At the end of the day it’s about what’s a fit for yourself, your program and that player.

“As a student-athlete you want them to be happy across the board – in school and on the floor. I think that’s the most important thing. Both of them coincide with each other.

“If you’re not doing well off the floor then you’re going to struggle on the floor, especially in women’s basketball. Girls are very emotional when it comes to those different things and they tie those things in together.”

-Follow Daily News sports reporter Brad Stephens on Twitter @Stephens_Brad or visit bgdailynews.com.