Top WV girls basketball player Marley Washenitz reopens recruitment
FAIRMONT, W.Va. (BVM) – Despite the COVID-19 pandemic starting nearly two years ago, its repercussions on the landscape of college athletics is still quite prevalent. Things such as COVID pauses, postponements and even cancellations in sports are still commonplace as are the impacts of the pandemic on recruiting of athletes. With many current college athletes given an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA due to the lost year of 2020 competition, programs have had to deal with a larger influx of scholarship players with limited roster spots to account for them.
This situation hit particularly close to home for Fairmont Senior High School senior basketball player Marley Washenitz. As the top ranked recruit in the Class of 2022 by PrepGirlsHoops, Washenitz long had her college decision made, committing to in-state West Virginia University all the way back in August 2020. However, Washenitz plans came crashing down when she was contacted by West Virginia and was told that due to fifth-year seniors coming back, her scholarship spot was taken up thus there was no scholarship available to her.
“It’s not what you want to have your senior season with only a couple of months left until I report to college. Definitely shocking and kind of hit me blindsided,” Washenitz said. “But one thing I always stood by and still stand by is everything happens for a reason and I think God does has a plan for everyone. There’s a reason things happen and you may not always understand why, but that’s not your problem, but God’s reasoning and his purpose for you.”
Unfortunately due to COVID and 5th year athletes coming back i no longer have the opportunity to be a Mountaineer. i’ve decided to reopen my recruiting process. ALL contacts should be filtered through me or @Scottejohnson12 I looked forward to finding a new home!
— MARLEY WASHENITZ (@mwashenitz) January 18, 2022
The situation is a difficult one for Washenitz, who had long wanted to represent her home state at its biggest institution and program. Although it is tough, Washenitz doesn’t blame the school nor the coaching staff for the move as she knows it’s just part of the game.
“I wish Coach [Mike] Carey and the WVU women’s basketball team nothing but the best and will be rooting for them, as long as I’m not playing against them,” Washenitz said. “I love the state of West Virginia and it will always be my home, but for now I’ll have to find a new one.”
Thankfully, Washenitz has the skills to be able to impress a number of other programs with her talents which will likely keep her from dropping off of the Division I level.
“I don’t think I genuinely got hit by a bunch of emotions because I knew there’s more, it’s not just my life is over, my future is over, basketball is done for me,” Washenitz said. “I knew that there was more and I know that there’s more to life in general. As one door closes another opens.”
As a junior last year, Washenitz played like the state’s best player for the Polar Bears. The 5-foot-10 guard averaged 20.1 points, 10 assists, nine rebounds, seven steals and 1.3 blocks during the season while leading Fairmont Senior to an 18-1 record, with their lone loss coming in the Class AAA state title game. Her contributions helped Washenitz earn multiple statewide recognitions including her second first team all-state honor, being named a co-recipient of the 2021 Mary Ostrowski Award given to the state’s top girls basketball player and being named the state’s Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year, the first in program history.
Washenitz is once again leading her team to a strong start of the season. The Polar Bears find themselves again at the top of the Class AAA with the No. 1 ranking in state polls while beginning their year with a 12-0 record. Washenitz is again the leader of the team averaging more than 30 points, with 11 rebounds, seven steals and six assists. Her teammates Emily Starn, a Fairmont State commit, and Meredith Maier, a Marshall University commit, round out a trio of starters who all play key roles and will take their talents to the next level.
“[Winning a state championship] is obviously the goal every year in my program and that’s going to be the goal up until I graduate,” Washenitz said. “Winning a state championship while also putting up the right numbers is definitely my goal and will drive me more. It would definitely be the cherry on top.”
Senior Year Highlights @mwashenitz pic.twitter.com/14lzkzO0Yn
— Terri Washenitz (@washenitz) January 18, 2022
Washenitz should have plenty of opportunities at the next level also. Prior to her commitment to WVU, Washenitz received attention from Arkansas State, Boston College and Virginia Tech, among others. News of her reopened recruiting spread fast, so fast in fact that within an hour of her public announcement she had received an offer from University of Pittsburgh.
“After I reopened my recruitment, I’ve got to show other schools now why I deserve to be on their team and why I deserve that scholarship and I think I have,” Washenitz said. “Even when I was committed there was talk among coaches, ‘Whose No. 30? What’s her deal?’ There were still coaches talking about me and wanting me but they couldn’t make the offer or were hesitant because I have WVU and I was committed.”
blessed to receive an offer from @Pitt_WBB thank u @Pitt_CoachWhite for a great conversation and the opportunity to possibly be a panther!!💛💙 pic.twitter.com/F1TgZvWyne
— MARLEY WASHENITZ (@mwashenitz) January 18, 2022
For Washenitz, this recruitment cycle is unlike her previous one. When she was 15 and got the offer from West Virginia, that was that. She visited, committed and wrapped up her recruitment early, so early in fact that many schools took her off their radars. Now, with her unexpected availability, Washenitz has found herself in high demand and will get to experience some of the things she missed out on her first time around such as visiting more schools, learning about more programs and really embracing the entire process in a deeper way.
“My day’s been pretty packed. It’s overwhelming, but it’s good overwhelming because it’s not something I’m overwhelmed with and can’t handle,” Washenitz said. “It’s something that’s for my future and there’s so many options that I’m overwhelmed with that it’s an advantage and I’m thankful and grateful to have all these opportunities…It’s just great to see that there’s not just one school that wanted me or there’s not just one school that had faith and saw potential in me succeeding in life and in their program.”
With more offers expected to come in the coming days, weeks and months, Washenitz will certainly find a home at the Division I level. Washenitz is just taking her time and evaluating all options so she doesn’t have a solid timeframe of when she’ll commit, though it will happen prior to her graduation.
“I don’t think I have a specific time; this is going to be a long but fast process,” Washenitz said. “No one is really applying pressure on me because they know the situation I’m in and the hurt, pain and distraught emotions I’m going through. It’s a slow but fast process and I don’t have a designated time. I think I’ll know personally when I find where I want to go.”
Though finding a new home may not fully heal the sting of losing out on her program of choice, Washenitz will get the opportunity to prove what the Mountaineers are missing out on while showing her doubters that her game is still good enough for the top level.
“I’m sure a lot of people are going to say, ‘I wasn’t good enough to play at WVU’ or ‘She could have never played there’ whatever it is, but I think by me after I put out the tweet and having multiple schools call me daily, I think that proves that that’s false,” Washenitz said. “When people make comments like that to me it only drives me and motivates me more to kind of stick it in their face and be like I can do whatever I set my mind to.”
