MONROE — When she was a little girl, Natalie fell in love with the game of basketball and idolized Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant. She strove to play like Bryant, whose nickname was the “Black Mamba”. She even had a senior picture taken of her laying on the court with the basketball as a pillow, with the same pose as an earlier photo of Bryant photoshopped in.
The Monroe native went to high school at nearby Black Hawk and became a star as a freshman. She led the program to state as a sophomore and the program’s first state title the next year as a junior in 2019. As a senior, her shot at defending the title was muzzled by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Leuzinger graduated as Black Hawk’s all-time leading scorer and took up the University of Wisconsin on a preferred walk-on opportunity, becoming the second NCAA Division I women’s basketball player to come out of the school, and joining two other Monroe natives on the Badger’s roster at the time.
While she wasn’t an immediate star for the Badgers, she kept her nose to the grind stone, working hard every day at practice and trying to make the most of the limited minutes on the court she received her first two years. Now a junior, Leuzinger is one of veterans of the program. Her continued drive, training and leadership was noticed by the coaches.
The hard work and dedication paid off, when, on Aug. 25, Wisconsin coach Marisa Moseley made a surprise announcement to the team during an offseason Zoom call: Leuzinger was no longer a preferred walk-on — she was now on a full-ride scholarship.
“Coach Mo texted everyone in the team group chat that we were having a team check-in meeting before everyone starts moving back to Madison for the school year. I did not think anything of it and this wasn’t something out of the ordinary,” Leuzinger said. “When the meeting started, she started talking about “someone on our team.” She was addressing their attitude throughout the last 5-6 months as well as their work ethic …”
Moseley described this player has having a “mamba mentality” attitude. Leuzinger had a light bulb go off in her brain in anticipation of the announcement, but stayed reserved.
“As soon as she said that, I had a feeling she was talking about me, but again, I did not think anything of it. But at the end, she announced that I got a full scholarship and I was completely surprised and started crying as I was not expecting that at all,” Leuzinger said.
Her teammates joined her in shock and joy, as every player, coach and program staff member had a different expression on their face when they heard the news. Those expressions were caught on screenshots by one of those on the call, which was then shared widely across social media circles.
“The definition of what it means to be a Badger!! So proud of Nat and honored to coach her!!” tweeted Moseley.
Praise came in from those that know her and helped her on her path.
“I’m so incredibly excited to share that Natalie has earned a full athletic scholarship!” said Kari Leuzinger, Natalie’s mother in a Facebook post. “She earned this by putting in the work and will continue to work hard for the team she loves!!! Go Badgers!”
“Have not been on Twitter for a while. Nice work, @leuzinger24 Proud of (sic) you!” former Black Hawk coach Mike Flanagan shared on Twitter.
“The definition of a hard worker and great teammate … so excited for you nat!!” Wisconsin guard Halle Douglass wrote on Twitter.
“A picture is worth a thousand words and that’s still not enough for how much @leuzinger24 deserves this,” tweeted Caroline Doty, UW assistant coach.
Leuzinger said that she knew that as a preferred walk-on, there was a potential chance that one day she’d become a scholarship player, but she kept it out of her mind so-as to not ruin her focus.
“I was not expecting to get one,” Leuzinger said. “I know that all of my hard work is finally starting to pay off but this will only continue to drive me to work harder and continue to be a good teammate.”
Wisconsin’s program has been in flux over the past decade. The Badgers haven’t posted a winning season since 2010-11, when they went 18-15 overall and 11-6 in the Big Ten. Moseley took over before last season, and the team finished 8-21 overall and 5-13 in conference. This year, eight new players with loads of potential join the program, including seven freshmen. That could mean more growing pains, but it could also mean the long-awaited pivot to trend the program upward has finally arrived.
“I am excited for this upcoming season. We had a great summer session. I cannot wait to get back on campus and get back to work,” Leuzinger said.
