Help is on the way for Northwestern women’s basketball.
Four years removed from their last NCAA Tournament appearance, the Wildcats have a combined record of 18-42 over the past two seasons, including just six wins over Big Ten conference opponents.
Despite the lackluster results in recent seasons, coach Joe McKeown’s squad is confident that they have the pieces in place to bounce back in the 2024-25 season.
A main source of that optimism is NU’s four-player freshman recruiting class of guard Claire Keswick, guard Kat Righeimer, forward Tayla Thomas and guard Xamiya Walton, a class which ESPN HoopGurlz ranked the 25th best in the nation.
Thomas and Walton headline the group as top-60 recruits nationally with four-star ratings from ESPN.
Walton’s high school career was closely monitored by the ’Cats, as she played locally for Butler College Prep in Chicago.
During her time at Butler, Walton won a state title, was a three-time First Team All-State player, scored over 2,000 points in her first three years and set the Illinois record for three-pointers made in a game with 15. Her sharpshooting ability has already caught McKeown’s attention and will be an asset for the ’Cats this season.
“(Xamiya was) the best player in Illinois last year,” McKeown said. “She’s got deep range and is a smart, tough kid.”
Walton is listed at 5-foot-7 and is used to being the smallest player on the court. Her smaller stature did not stop her from averaging over 23 points, four rebounds and five steals per game in high school and becoming the highest-ranked recruit in Illinois in her class.
Walton believes that heart trumps height and relies on her fearless mentality as a scorer to make up for her relative lack of size.
“There are a lot of positive quotes about being little, like ‘It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog,’” Walton said. “We are all here to do one thing: to put the ball in the basket.”
Walton’s father, Xaver Walton, has been a basketball coach since before she was born and has coached her from youth through high school. He noticed early in her life that she was ahead of her peers as a basketball player.
When Xamiya Walton was 6 years old, her father wrote her a letter expressing his admiration for her already apparent determination and encouraging her to follow her dreams.
“She grew up in the gym at 2 years old dribbling a ball,” Xaver Walton said. “She always had a basketball with her growing up. The impact of me being a coach and her growing up around it helped her tremendously because (being around) the game at a young age, things make sense sooner on the court.”
Along with her accomplishments on the court, Xamiya Walton was a four-year captain at Butler and graduated as her class valedictorian. Her father said he is proud to have watched her grow as a student-athlete and believes that her goal-oriented mindset will translate to NU.
“She will bring a competitive attitude and spirit with hard work,” Xaver Walton said. “The thing about Xamiya is she has always been a leader by example.”
Thomas joins the ’Cats after finishing her high school career at IMG Academy, one of the nation’s most renowned athletic preparatory programs. The 6-foot-3 forward also averaged 18 points and 16 rebounds per game in 2022 as a co-team captain for Montclair Immaculate in New Jersey.
Thomas and Walton both cited NU’s academic reputation as a key factor in their decisions to join the ’Cats. Thomas is confident in the team McKeown has built and was drawn to the program’s culture.
“You get the best of both worlds,” Thomas said. “You get the best academics and great basketball. You can’t get this environment everywhere you go. I felt an immediate bond with the girls on my visit and I felt like this was the right place for me.”
Keswick played for Tabor Academy, winning the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council title in 2022 and serving as a team captain as a senior. Righeimer won a California state championship for Sage Hill School in 2022 and, like Walton, was a four-year varsity captain in high school.
Thomas immediately recognized the pedigree that the freshman class brings to the program. She noted their intensity and commitment to a winning culture to push NU back to success.
“Everybody’s competitive and came here willing to work,” Thomas said. “Nobody looks at each other as lower than the other. We all came in with the same mindset ready to turn this program around.”
Walton recalls attending NU games growing up. Outside of the last two seasons, the ’Cats have had solid success in the last decade. They have been ranked in the AP Top 25 in four of the past ten years, including a 26-win season that led to a No. 11 finish in 2020.
Walton and the freshman class hope to build off the program’s recent history and achieve new heights during their time in Evanston.
“This is our chance to win and put Northwestern basketball back on the map,” Xamiya Walton said.
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