By Minnie Cooper

Katie Nelson is getting used to change. A year after the COVID-19 pandemic curtailed her fourth season at Boston University, the point guard found herself asking her former head coach for a spot on the women’s basketball team at UW. This was never part of her plan.

Nelson started every game of her freshman season and ranked second on the team in average points per game, setting herself up for a promising college career. Her family lived about an hour away and frequently came to Boston to watch her play. With one season under her belt, she felt like she had everything pretty much figured out. 

During her sophomore season, however, she would forge a connection that would change the course of her career. In 2018, Marisa Moseley returned to her alma mater to take over the Boston University women’s basketball program. With the coaching change came uncertainty for Nelson, and a new challenge. Moseley saw a potential for leadership in her, and pushed her to operate beyond her comfort zone. “I would say I can be a bit of an introvert at times and I feel like she knew that,” Nelson said. 

Moseley led by example, quickly becoming a role model for Nelson. “She definitely helped me to find my own leadership style, and that doesn’t necessarily mean being the loudest in the room,” she told me. “You can lead in other ways.” For example, Nelson strived to connect with her teammates off the court in order to understand what drives them, which she then used as motivation during games and practice. 

Nelson left her mark during her time at BU, as a leader and a player. She started all 103 of her games as a Terrier and led her team in minutes and assists throughout all four seasons. During her last season, which was cut short by COVID, she still managed to excel, leading her team in points per game. Even amidst the disappointment and uncertainty brought by the pandemic, Nelson remained focused on her goals. She decided she would come back for a fifth year with Coach Mo, as she is affectionately known by her players, and earn her master’s degree at BU while she was at it. 

In early 2021, as the pandemic was winding down and college sports picked up again, Nelson encountered another huge change that even she couldn’t plan for. Coach Moseley announced that she would be leaving Boston to serve as the head coach for the University of Wisconsin women’s basketball team. “It took everyone by surprise,” Nelson remarked. 

Nelson had a choice to make, between sticking to the plan and taking a leap of faith. She decided to ask Moseley if she had a spot on the roster for her in Madison. She did. 

After four years of developing a rapport with her teammates at BU, Nelson was thrust into an entirely new and unfamiliar environment. The leadership skills she acquired under Moseley’s direction in Boston became invaluable to her as she sought to find her footing as a newcomer. “Katie came onto our team and was an immediate leader,” sophomore guard Halle Douglass told me. Freshman guard Maty Wilke echoed that sentiment, saying, “It is crazy to me that I can call Katie our team’s best leader but also one of the closest friends I have ever had. She can have a good relationship with everyone.” Moseley’s influence on Nelson’s leadership style clearly paid off. 

Both Moseley and Nelson value a steadfast commitment to team culture and professionalism, on and off the court. What might seem trivial to an outsider, such as asking all players to keep their jerseys tucked in for the sake of uniformity, has actually helped to foster a sense of community and bond the players. By serving as a sort of liaison between the coaches and players, Nelson was able to assist in implementing these changes. “I think one advantage I had was knowing Coach Moseley and some of the staff, but mainly her system. So I think that the team really looked to me to kind of relieve some anxiety,” Nelson said. “I was able to kind of help with expectations, which was huge.”

Meanwhile, Nelson is also pursuing a master’s degree in educational leadership and policy analysis with a concentration in sports leadership. As she wraps up her studies at UW-Madison, she is also preparing to finish her time as a student-athlete. But she’s not ready to step off the Kohl Center floor just yet. In the fall, she plans to return to the Badger women’s basketball program as a graduate assistant and will start her coaching career under the guidance of her mentor. “That [pandemic] made me take a step back and really appreciate basketball and realize there’s going to be a time when I have to hang up my shoes and I’m not going to be part of the team,” Nelson said. “It made me realize that this is something that I’m really passionate about and I can see a future in and I just didn’t want to experience life without basketball.” 

Despite all the uncertainty and constant change, Nelson managed to stay centered, relying on her relationships with coaches and teammates to guide her. “The unknown is scary,” she admitted, but even when the path ahead looked unclear, Nelson did what leaders do: forge ahead.