Fairmont Senior’s Washenitz help Mountaineers strike gold with commitment
FAIRMONT, W.Va. (BVM) — Marley Washenitz, a rising junior guard for Fairmont Senior High School girls basketball, will not have to travel too far when she plays for her next school. On Aug. 5, Washenitz verbally committed to West Virginia University through a social media video. As John Denver sang Take Me Home, Country Roads near the end of her video, it’s easy to see why Washenitz never considered leaving a state that’s “almost heaven.”
committed… @CoachShelby @CoachMikeCarey @CoachCraigWVU @CoachChrisWVU @WVUWBB pic.twitter.com/dmR856u3ut
— MARLEY WASHENITZ (@mwashenitz) August 5, 2020
Washenitz first got the attention of West Virginia, which is only about 30 minutes away from Fairmont, when she was only an eighth grader. Wanting to jump start her high school career, Washenitz would attend practices with the team, doing drill work and exercises, when Mountaineers women’s basketball coach Mike Carey first noticed the young player while at the school for another athlete.
“I was just in there working out and conditioning and (Carey) noticed my feet because we were playing a bit of five on five,” Washenitz said. “In ninth grade, they started coming to my high school games, they watched my AAU games, they were always calling me.”
Last summer when she was playing for her AAU team, the West Virginia Thunder 2022, Washenitz impressed enough to earn her first major Division I offer from the school in July. Washenitz had previously received an offer from Arkansas State before later picking up another big time offer from Virginia Tech. For Washenitz, who is ranked as the No. 1 basketball recruit in the state by Prep Girls Hoops, West Virginia became the obvious choice because of three key reasons: the coach, the style of play and the environment of the campus.
“(The coach’s) job is based off their players so they’re going to treat me like their daughters,” Washenitz said. “WVU’s guard play is really strong on the offense. They kind of base their offense around the guards making the decision and the plays. … Any time I stepped onto the campus at WVU, I always felt the atmosphere was something I never really experienced especially when sporting events would happen.”
While some athletes have pushed up their decisions due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Washenitz said her decision was more about the feel she had for the university than anything else.
“Throughout the whole recruitment process you’re looking for the best college that you can find that fits you and I found WVU and fell in love with it, and I wanted to play there and could see myself playing there, so I just felt why not commit because if I continue to wait I’m going to be waiting for the wrong thing,” Washenitz said.
As one of the leaders for the Polar Bears, Washenitz was able to establish herself on the recruiting radar early in her high school career. While averaging 15 points as a freshman, Washenitz helped lead Fairmont Senior to the 2019 Class AA state championship, the moment of her high school career she said she is most proud of so far. This past season, Washenitz contributed 24 points, 10 rebounds and six assists per game for the Polar Bears on their way to a 20-6 record and a No. 3 seed in the state playoff tournament. Unfortunately for Fairmont Senior, the team was upset by No. 6 PikeView, 59-55, in the state quarterfinals.
During both of her seasons, Washenitz garnered the attention of her peers as well as the media as she earned third team all-state as a freshman and first team all-state as a sophomore. Also during her sophomore campaign, Washenitz was named Times West Virginia’s girls basketball Player of the Year.
Congratulations to “OUR STAR OF THE STATE” AA 1st Team All-State! @mwashenitz pic.twitter.com/YFpO3EF42p
— Fairmont Senior Girls Basketball (@fairmont_girls) March 26, 2020
Though she excels in all aspects of the game, Washenitz mentioned her defense and hustle as her biggest advantages over some of her peers.
“A lot of kids I feel like overlook defense right now because they’re always worried about points,” Washenitz said. “I don’t really focus on points. I focus on rebounds, steals, assists, diving on the floor and showing hustle and effort. A really big part of my game is my defense and I take a lot of pride in that.”
Unlike many other athletes this year, Washenitz was able to finish her season before COVID-19 impacted the state, but the pandemic still had an impact on Washenitz’s progression. A typical spring for Washenitz is mostly composed of her AAU basketball team traveling to regional and national competitions, but this spring was different for the athlete because she had more time on her hands than she was used to. Instead of being complacent, Washenitz instead felt a desire to help those younger athletes who didn’t have the same resources she did to learn the skills of the game she loves.
Washenitz launched the “Lock In With Marley” virtual basketball workout series, utilizing Zoom to connect to interested players. Washenitz hosted the hour-long workouts three times a week, usually from the hoop in her backyard. Though the main draw for players was Washenitz, she was usually joined with a trainer for the videos that included former WVU standout and current Boston Celtics assistant coach Joe Mazzulla and former Fairmont State player and coach Shamgod Wells. The sessions garnered attention from all over the country and even the world with over 20 states and 12 countries being represented in her sessions.
“I’ve always been one to try to help the state grow into a more athletically grown state because I feel like a lot of kids get overlooked because we are from West Virginia and not very many people are heard from here,” Washenitz said. “When I first started it I didn’t think it would grow and be as big as it has become. … The whole reason I did it was to help kids get the opportunities I’ve had to be seen by coaches and get proper workouts from the proper trainers.”
click on the Zoom link below to join me live on Wednesday, April 1https://t.co/UdRKjHWa5c
Meeting ID: 936 048 1380 pic.twitter.com/7fX9RrdhbT— MARLEY WASHENITZ (@mwashenitz) March 29, 2020
Although she no longer does the Lock In With Marley sessions as her schedule has picked up, the program was taken in by EPlay, a basketball analytics platform that looks to help lesser-recruited players establish more interest from schools. This has helped further Washenitz’s goal to help those players who have less resources be able to grow their game and interest in the sport.
Although she’s the most recent commit, Marley will not be the only Washenitz that will suit up for a West Virginia program in the future. Marley’s brother, Trey, committed to continue his own collegiate basketball career at nearby Fairmont State where both Washenitz parents, Frank and Terri, once played basketball for the Fighting Falcons. Family has played an integral part in Marley’s recruiting as she was able to see her brother go through it while also asking for help from two parents who have also experienced it.
“It was really helpful (to have my parents) because very many kids are fortunate enough to have even one parent play in college and luckily I had two,” Marley said. “I was very thankful because they know what to expect and they always told me what I should be expecting. … They’re always pushing me and wanting me to do my best whether I want to or not they’re going to make me do something because they know it’s going to help me in the future.”
In recent weeks, Marley has returned to the West Virginia Thunder 2022 for their summer season as the state limitations on sports have slowly begun being lifted. In July, the team was able to advance to the championship game of the 16UAA ATL Summer Slam against the FGB Florida Travel Team. Now with Washenitz back on the basketball court, West Virginia fans can get their fill of highlights from the Mountaineers’ newest member, but with two years left to go at Fairmont Senior, Polar Bears fans can still enjoy her for a couple seasons before she makes her way to Morgantown.
“It’s been a fun journey,” Washenitz said. “It’s kind of a relief in the fact that I can enjoy the rest of my high school career and AAU career and not have to worry about finding the right college for me because I just found it.”
