CBU’s Grace Schmidt had been in an ongoing battle with tendinitis in her knees since her senior year of high school.
It was a battle that stopped at Christmas Break last season when she underwent surgery to address a partial patellar tendon tear. Six months later, the rejuvenated junior is eager to return and help a CBU side looking to defend their regular season and tournament championships of a season ago.
In August, just under 90 days before opening night, I spent some time with Schmidt via Zoom as we looked at her road back to basketball and the ‘24-’25 Lancers.
Grace, who picked up the game in first grade, took her longest break away from basketball as a result of the surgery and chose to look at the blessings of her time away.
“It was really hard to sit on the sidelines because of the season we were having and ended up with but God gave me a break when He knew I needed it,” Schmidt said. “I had gotten burned out and wasn’t sure if I could handle another two years of college basketball. The doctors also told me that if I had kept playing on it I’d fully rupture the tendon which becomes a year away instead of a few months.”
The time away gave Schmidt, an all-WAC second team selection as a freshman and preseason first team pick last year, a new appreciation for basketball.
“I learned how to be a better teammate and how to take joy in other people’s successes without being a direct part of it,” Schmidt added. “It also gave me an opportunity to work on being more coachable, which is something Jarrod (head coach Jarrod Olson) and associate head coach Brittany Chambers in particular, had wanted me to become better at.”
One of the things that recruiting experts encourage prospective student-athletes to do in picking out a school is imagine themselves there but without their sport.
“My faith is a really big part of this and having a coaching staff, professors, classmates, and teammates that are rooted in Christ was really big for me,” Schmidt said. “They were so wonderful in constantly reminding me that my identity isn’t in my sport but in my faith in Christ. I didn’t fully appreciate being on a Christian campus until five months ago when I was crutching around and people were offering to help me get food from the cafeteria among other things.”
Although CBU loses a lot with the departure of their big three in Player of the Year Chloe Webb, Nae Nae Calhoun, and Kinsley Barrington (who transferred to Clemson with her grad year) the Lancers will still be title contenders.
Schmidt, Khloe Lemon, Filipa Barros, Anaiyah Tu’ua, and Nhug Bosch Duran will lead the Lancer returners.
“Anaiyah and Nhug have done a great job of assuming the leadership mantle this season,” Schmidt said. “And even though opening day is still two plus months away Jarrod has already brought up the fact that we’ll be getting people’s best shots from day one as defending champions. We saw how excited Utah Valley and Abilene Christian were to beat us and know that’s what it’ll be like every night.”
This season also means that CBU will play their final four games against Seattle and GCU, who join the WCC in 2025.
“We’re going to embrace our last chances to play those programs, especially GCU who has become a rival, and make the most of it.” Schmidt said about the two departing programs.
Ten with Grace:
1. What’s your favorite off-campus dining spot? Tacos y Mas, which was one of the first places I visited when I met the team my Freshman year.
2. Have you mastered the art of sleeping on an airplane? Not yet, more on buses than airplanes.
3. What is on your Netflix/Hulu binge watching list? Avatar: The Last Airbender, Bojack Horseman, and Stranger Things.
4. Favorite Dessert? Tiramisu
5. Favorite Southern California beach? 1,000 Steps in Laguna Beach
6. Best and Worst subjects in school? Best: History & Worst: Sciences
7. Favorite Road Trip in the WAC? Seattle
8. Dream Vacation? Greece
9. If not basketball, What sport would you have played in college? Swimming, I definitely gained an appreciation for swimmers during my rehab.
10. What is one item that is on your sports fan bucket list? Attending an Indiana Fever vs Las Vegas Aces game.
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