Kent State’s Katie Shumate has proven to be a throwback of sorts, in an era where so many college athletes are entering the transfer portal looking for different opportunities.
Shumate’s loyalty to her program has been rewarded with a trip to the NCAA tournament, as #15 seeded Kent State prepares to take on #2 seed Notre Dame on Saturday at 2:15pm on ESPN from Purcell Pavilion in South Bend.
KSU Head Coach Todd Starkey was a guest with Ray Jeske on ESPN 990 Wednesday and praised the redshirt Senior from Newark.
“That’s a player in this transfer portal age that stayed loyal to playing at Kent State all five years,” Starkey said. “She could have gone in the portal last year and probably had her choice of a lot of power five or Big East type schools and wanted to be here and finish her career here. That’s a rare thing these days and she should be applauded for doing that.”
Kent State fans are glad she did as Shumate has made her mark in the history books of KSU women’s basketball, and has lead her program to their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2002.
Shumate became the first player in program history to earn all MAC honors in four different years, culminating with a 1st Team All-MAC selection this year. She will play her 143rd career game on Saturday, tying her for the program record.
She is one of three players in program history who rank in the top five in points scored (4th) and rebounds (4th). She is third in program history with 176 made three pointers and needs just four blocks to become the seventh player in KSU history with at least 100.
“We post her up as a guard as a mismatch,” Starkey said. “She can stretch you to the three point line. She’s really good in transition and she’s the best rebounding guard I’ve ever coached. She really has a nose for the ball and when she makes up her mind, it’s tough to keep her away from the ball.”
Shumate comes from a basketball rich family as her father was her high school coach, she has a sister who plays at Ohio State and brother J.T. starred at Toledo.
“We post her up as a guard as a mismatch. She can stretch you to the three point line. She’s really good in transition and she’s the best rebounding guard I’ve ever coached. She really has a nose for the ball and when she makes up her mind, it’s tough to keep her away from the ball,” Starkey said.
Katie Shumate’s loyalty to Kent State has helped lead the Flashes to the sport’s biggest stage, where women’s basketball has never had so many eyes on it. Starkey, her teammates and all Kent Staters are thankful for it.