McKaela Schmelzer Shines as Two-Sport Student-Athlete at Milwaukee
By Meghan Rominger
Sports Capital Journalism Program, IUPUI
Competing as an NCAA Division I student-athlete requires a fortitude and perseverance that are difficult to develop and even more difficult to maintain – it’s why only an estimated 2% of high school athletes nationwide successfully transition into Division I collegiate careers. For McKaela Schmelzer, however, those qualities are in abundant supply.
As a two-sport athlete at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Schmelzer has been the starting point guard for the Panthers women’s basketball team and a standout midfielder for the Panthers women’s soccer team, all while pursuing a degree in biomedical engineering. Though she plans to focus solely on basketball next year, her last year of eligibility for the team, Schmelzer’s success over the past four years as a two-sport student-athlete is something to marvel at. And despite the fact that she is clearly a rare talent – not an athlete that can easily be emulated or followed – her hard work and dedication send a message that is deeply relatable and inspiring: No goal or dream is really ever out of reach.
Schmelzer began her journey as a two-sport athlete at Milwaukee in the Fall of 2016, and she’s been an important part of the Milwaukee women’s basketball team since becoming the starting point guard at the beginning of the 2017 season. Head Coach Kyle Rechlicz explains that being a point guard is a natural fit for Schmelzer. “She’s one of those people you don’t have to worry about,” said Rechlicz. “You know that she’s going to find ways to get it done, and that’s why you can trust her so much with the ball in her hands.”
In her first three seasons as a member of the Panthers basketball team, Schmelzer has started 75 of the 86 games she’s played in, averaging 25.1 minutes per game, 2.7 rebounds per game and 3.2 assists per game. Aside from her admirable numbers and consistency on the court, she’s also become one of the team leaders in a way that stat sheets can’t quantify. According to Rechlicz, Schmelzer is always enthusiastically celebrating her teammates’ successes and achievements. Rechlicz also explains that, despite Schmelzer’s reserved nature, whenever she speaks she does so with a power that commands attention. For the remainder of the current season and throughout next season, her personal goal is to polish those leadership skills and help propel Milwaukee to what would be its first Horizon League Tournament Championship since 2006.
Along with her success on the basketball court, Schmelzer has also been a star midfielder on Milwaukee women’s soccer team for the past four years. According to Milwaukee women’s soccer head coach Troy Fabiano, Schmelzer’s competitive nature was on display from the beginning, and it has never wavered. “The challenge with McKaela is actually we had to pull her back sometimes,” said Fabiano, explaining that Schmelzer’s competitive drive sometimes forced her coaches to closely monitor her hours on the soccer field to ensure she didn’t become exhausted from the overlap of soccer and basketball.
Even as the intensity of college sports was new to her, Schmelzer made an immediate impact on the soccer field and was named to the Horizon League All-Freshman Team in 2016. Fabiano, explaining that one of the tenets of his program is to avoid micromanaging players, notes that Schmelzer is an athlete who doesn’t need to be spoon fed, even if the opportunity is available. Whereas some athletes might fall victim to the exciting and novel atmosphere of college, Schmelzer is a paragon at staying focused and on task. “I think the biggest thing we always get asked about is ‘How does she do it?’” says Fabiano, expressing that the wonderment surrounding her success is widespread. “It’s really her self-control and her discipline.”
The Milwaukee women’s soccer team has been consistently competitive in recent years, and Schmelzer has been an integral part of that success. In November of 2018, she helped her team capture the Horizon League Tournament Championship, propelling the Panthers to their first NCAA women’s Division I tournament since 2013. In 2019, she received the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year award, and she was once again a driving force that helped the Panthers claim consecutive Horizon League Tournament Championships and NCAA Division I tournament berths.
And though Fabiano describes her as an athlete who plays hard and doesn’t shy from contact, Schmelzer’s careful planning and awareness of her mental and physical health allowed her to avoid burnout and start every soccer match of her career, making her only the third player in Milwaukee history to ever achieve that feat.
Along with the many triumphs in her athletic endeavors
, it shouldn’t come as a shock that Schmelzer is also an outstanding student who thrives in the classroom. Majoring in biomedical engineering, she has a 3.58 grade-point average and has been named to the Horizon League Academic Honor Roll several times throughout her career. She hopes to land an internship this summer that will help her explore her goals and interests in the biomedical engineering landscape. Both of her coaches are confident that, regardless of the career path she chooses, her dedication and discipline will undoubtedly lead to a successful future.
Perhaps the most striking thing about Schmelzer, however, is her unwillingness to celebrate or aggrandize herself and her accomplishments. She doesn’t view herself as a role model – though she’s always willing to exchange emails with prospective athletes or speak with them after games – and doesn’t pay attention to her stats or personal achievements. She also believes that the people in her life deserve credit for their contributions to her success, and she revels in the opportunity to point the spotlight away from herself and onto the people who surround her.
When asked what’s kept her motivated to push through the failures and rough patches that have been sprinkled throughout an otherwise stellar career, Schmelzer’s answer is simple: It is, and always has been, her parents. She notes that her parents are always on the sidelines of her games, their physical presence serving as a constant reminder to remain focused on the task at hand. “[They’re] happy when I’m happy, they pick me up and cheer me on,” she said. “They do so much for me. And they’ve always been there.”
Schmelzer also recognizes how imperative it has been that her coaches, Rechlicz and Fabiano, have never hesitated to accept her personal and career goals and the workload that follows. “I do really appreciate the coaches here and their willingness to give me this opportunity and just believe and trust in me,” she said. “And they need to know that the sacrifices and everything they go through hasn’t gone unnoticed.”
So while it’s evident that there’s a laundry list of flattering words that can be used to describe Schmelzer’s drive and her intent to thrive at all costs, it’s even more evident that she’s a multi-faceted student-athlete who defies one-dimensional characterizations. Aside from being diligent, disciplined and focused, she’s also humble, charismatic and gracious.
The combination of all of these traits – the diligence and focus that make her a phenomenal competitor, the leadership and devotion that make her an ideal athlete to coach, and the humility and grace that make her a good friend and teammate — proves one thing for certain: McKaela Schmelzer is the quintessential student-athlete, and she’s a force to be reckoned with.