Oregon State women’s basketball’s Kennedie Shuler blossoming in sophomore season

Published 3:22 pm Wednesday, January 22, 2025

When the dust settled on Oregon State women’s basketball’s Elite Eight run just a season ago, the proverbial toy chest of all-conference players, all-Americans and WBNA hopefuls was tipped over for the transfer portal to rummage through.

After being a surprise heavyweight in the talented Pac-12, the Beavers suddenly found themselves picking up the pieces instead of pocketing confetti as they transitioned into West Coast Conference membership.

While the roster was picked over, head coach Scott Rueck was able to retain a few key pieces. The towering post presence of Sela Heide, the behind-the-scenes leadership of AJ Marotte, the length and outside shooting presence of Kelsey Rees as well as the extra year of development Susana Yepes got during her redshirt season.

But perhaps the most impactful returner came from the 2023-24 team’s reserve point guard Kennedie Shuler. In her words, Rueck didn’t need to recruit Shuler again, she wasn’t going anywhere.

“(Rueck) didn’t really have to give me a pitch,” Shuler said. “I told him I was going to stay… I’ve made some of my best friends here, I love the coaching staff, the culture is amazing. It just felt right.”

A rebuild year was in store for Rueck’s squad as they filtered in seven new players, but retaining an underclassman point guard with a year in the system under her belt was a big win for the Beavers — even if it meant adding significantly more responsibility to Shuler’s plate.

“With a relatively young and inexperienced team, it’s just put so much more importance on her role,” Rueck said. “She’s carrying the burden of ball control, communication, being the quarterback (and) basically keeping everybody on the same page.”

The big expectations came with struggles as the Beavers got the season underway, losing five of their first six games. In those early weeks, Shuler had games with nearly as many turnovers as points.

“It’s been tough at times,” Shuler said of the heavy press defense and turnovers. “But my mindset is to be tough now so it’s easier later on.”

Things have gotten easier as time has gone on, with the Beavers finding a grove with five wins over their last seven games. Shuler has turned the ball over more than four times just once in the stretch while producing a positive assist-to-turnover ratio.

The Barlow High School product’s resiliency hasn’t gone unnoticed, with Rueck routinely demonstrating his confidence in Shuler with his starting five. Of 19 games played so far, Shuler joins Marotte as the only player to start all 19.

“(I’m) so proud of (Shuler),” Rueck said following Oregon State’s 86-61 loss to Portland. “She just rises to the challenge, no matter what it is… (Her) will to win and desire to compete is just so infectious. I’m just really proud of her for sticking with it.

“(Shuler) went through a few phases where she was doubting herself and missing some shots was getting to her and now it’s like, next play. It’s the type of leadership we need on the floor, the type of leader she is.”

Rueck’s comments came just after a 13-point, eight-rebound performance from Shuler, also adding a pair of assists and a steal despite the loss.

It marked the first time in her career where the sophomore had finished back-to-back games with double-digit points, scoring 16 with the game-winning layup against Santa Clara in overtime two nights earlier.

Rueck went on to say that he first started to notice the shift in Shuler’s on-court play against Gonzaga, another overtime road win for the Beavers in December. Shuler scored 16 against the Zags, recording eight assists and four rebounds en route to Oregon State’s 71-67 win.

A big piece of that has been the game slowing down for her.

As she’s continued to get more comfortable with running the floor for the Beavers, there’s been less hesitation in her laundry list of decisions to make.

“Making sure my team doesn’t go on (scoring) droughts, being disciplined, knowing our scouts, the personnel we’re playing,” Shuler said explaining all the things she has to be aware of when on the court. “Those are just a few.”

The next step will be improving as a shooter. To this point, Shuler has been a 40.8% career shooter from the field and a 12.8% shooter from behind the arc, but she says she’s been getting shots up as often as possible.

“(I want to) be able to score from all three levels,” Shuler said. “That’s what I’m still working on today, just building confidence in my 3-point shot. I feel like I’ve built a lot of confidence with my mid-range, but now it’s just knocking down that 3-point shot.”

If her improvements running the floor in recent weeks are any indication, Shuler will come around as a scorer now that she isn’t drinking from a firehose of ball control and play-calling.

Shuler and the Beavers will be back in action at 6 p.m. Jan. 30 at home against Pepperdine.