Why Carter McCray chose Wisconsin and what she can bring to Badgers basketball (2024)

MADISON – Size. Rebounding. An added inside presence.

The Wisconsin women’s basketball team has a lot of needs this offseason. Carter McCray fills a handful of them.

Tuesday the 6-foot-1 forward who was the Horizon League’s freshman season of the year at Northern Kentucky announced her commitment to the Badgers Tuesday. Wednesday UW coach Marisa Moseley announced McCray’s signing.

The press release said in part.

"Carter brings a tenacity and determination to the floor that will no doubt impact the game on both ends!,” Moseley said. “She adds a special dimension to our front line and will immediately make her presence known.”

McCray is the third recruit Moseley has signed at UW from the transfer portal. The coach picked up one of her former players at Boston University, Katie Nelson, for her first season, 2021-22, and Avery LaBarbera, another point guard, for the 2022-23 campaign.

The Journal Sentinel caught up with McCray after her announcement. She shared her thoughts on how she might help the Badgers, how she was able to make such a big impact as a freshman and why she was overlooked by recruiters coming out of high school.

Carter McCray recorded 17 double-doubles as a freshman

McCray averaged 15.7 points and 11.7 rebounds per game for the Norse. Her rebounding average led the conference by 3.7 per contest. She also ranked second in the conference with a .563 field goal percentage and her 170 free throw attempts ranked third.

In conference play her 16.3 points per game ranked fourth and her 11 boards per contest were 3.1 better than the No. 2 performer. Her .598 field goal percentage was tops in the league.

Her 17 double-doubles were the most for a freshman in the country and tied for 17th best overall.

In addition to freshman of the year distinction, she was a second-team all-conference pick.

She feels her strength and conditioning served her well this season.

“That is a big thing for me,” she said. “When I’m conditioned I feel like I can produce more on the court but also working on things like counter moves and really adjusting to how college basketball is played, the speed of the game (was key). I think I just adjusted pretty well.”

McCray had only one Division I offer in high school

McCray received so much interest after entering the portal last month that she had a tough time quantifying it. The experience was the opposite of what she received heading into her senior year at Elyria Catholic High School in northeast Ohio.

She said Northern Kentucky was her only Division I offer. She said she also had offers from NAIA programs and that a couple of Division II schools that contacted her.

Given her production as a freshman, it’s safe to say she slipped through cracks when it came to recruiting.

“I only played one year of AAU basketball,” she said. “I played my junior year of AAU, so I feel like because of that I didn’t have as much exposure. But at the same time I feel like l can get better as I play more and I feel like that is what happened in college. I was just able to adjust to the game.”

A potential tandem with Serah Williams in the paint

The Badgers had a lot of success with players working out of the high and low post last season and with Brooke Schramek having completed her eligibility the team will need someone to share the post with Serah Williams.

McCray has the tools to help in that regard. This past season she showed the ability to free herself with a few dribbles as well as absorb contact and still make shots.

Here is what she had to say about how she could fit in at Wisconsin.

“Really I think they want to play me with Serah, still having me at the four and not the five and taking advantage of matchups at the four (where) I might be a little more physical than they are. Basically working on more of the four responsibilities, which is my mid-range shot and some passing and being able to play on the perimeter. I think rebounding with Serah I think we can be a pretty good duo.”

Why McCray chose Wisconsin

McCray helped Northern Kentucky go 11-20 overall and post an 8-12 mark in the Horizon League that tied for eighth place.

She visited Georgetown, George Washington, UNLV and Bowling Green before her trip to UW. She was on campus last weekend.

In addition to the chance to play in the Big Ten, McCray said the appeal of coming to Wisconsin was the chance have a more traditional college experience after spending a year at NKU.

“NKU is kind of like a commuter school so not a lot of people stay on campus and most people leave after class and go home on the weekends and stuff like that. And we don’t have a lot of people that show up to games. We did have support but just not support like they have a Wisconsin, just being somewhere where I can enjoy my college experience more and built new and some good relationships.