By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
Amy Nduka isn’t just a rising star in Seattle basketball—she’s already making her mark as one of the most dominant young players in the state. Standing at 6’4”, the Eastside Catholic freshman center played a crucial role in leading her team to the 2025 Metro League championship, proving that she thrives under pressure. In a hard-fought battle against four-time defending state champion Garfield, Nduka’s presence on both ends of the court helped propel the Crusaders to a 52-47 victory at Seattle Pacific University. With eight points, 11 rebounds, and an undeniable impact in the paint, she was instrumental in securing the program’s first Metro League title in years.
For Nduka and the Crusaders, the championship win was the culmination of months of hard work, resilience, and growth. Eastside Catholic faced an uphill battle all season, starting with a 2-4 record and closing the regular season with losses in four of their last six games. But when the postseason arrived, the Crusaders flipped the script, knocking off the No. 3 seed Seattle Prep in the opening round before upsetting the No. 2 seed Lakeside in the semifinals and defeating the No. 4 seed Garfield in the Metro League championship game.
“Honestly, it felt really, really good [beating Lakeside]. I think that everyone was just super happy that we beat Lakeside just because they are one of the top teams in our conference,” said Nduka. “So, beating them feels like a huge accomplishment for our team because it shows that what we are doing is going to work.”
“I think at the start of the season, we were still figuring things out,” Nduka said. “It took time to adjust to new players and different playing styles, but we knew we had potential. Now, we’ve started to understand each other better and are working together more as a team, and that’s helped us get to this point.”
Nduka, who has been playing basketball since kindergarten, has been on the national radar for a while. Ranked among the top 25 players in the country for the Class of 2028, she received Division I scholarship offers from schools like Stanford, Cal Berkeley, Oakland, Providence, Dartmouth, UNLV, Pittsburgh, and Maryland—all before she even played a high school game. Even with high expectations, she has fully embraced the everyday grind of improving her game.
“I’ve worked really hard for all of them, so now that the results are starting to show, it’s really nice to see,” Nduka said. “But I know there’s still a lot of work to do, and I want to keep getting better every day.”
“My strength resides on the offensive side,” added Nduka. “I love to attack, draw fouls, rebound, and score. But I know that I need to grow and work on finding my open shot, being a more defensive player, and finding a way to maintain my person a little bit better.”
Her mother, Rosemary Nduka, says that her daughter has always had a deep love for basketball and has developed a strong passion for the game over the years.
“She started very young. She picked up that ball and hasn’t dropped it since then,” Rosemary said. “Amy is a very caring, friendly person who is really fond of her friends and teammates and has found a love for basketball as well. This is something that she finds as a passion, not just a hobby, and it shows.”
Despite a very busy athletic schedule that includes AAU tournaments, college camps, and training outside of the high school season, Nduka is very serious when it comes to her academics as well.
“She is a 4.0 student,” said her mother, Rosemary, with pride. “She has really good time management skills that have allowed her to go to basketball practices and trainings but still get all of her work done. I noticed that was something she started earlier in middle school, but she has carried it on to high school.”
Now, as she and the Crusaders prepare for the next step in their season with district and state championship aspirations, Nduka is ready to take on even bigger challenges. With her blend of size, skill, and work ethic, she’s already proving that she’s not just part of the future of Eastside Catholic basketball—she’s an integral part of the present.
Eastside Catholic head girls’ basketball coach Darnelia Russell said that as they finish out the season, she is hopeful that Nduka and the team will carry their confidence into the district and state games.
“I am just hoping, not just Amy, but all of the girls, that they go out there and give 110% and work together toward winning. We have had a lot of very close losses this season, so we know we were there, but it is just about them finding that confidence within themselves and trusting us as coaches,” Russell said. “I think that is something that I feel we could take forward through the rest of the season.”
Russell said that above anything else, Nduka wants to do what is best for her team to succeed and win.
“Amy is bubbly, always smiling, works hard, and is always trying to encourage her teammates and build. Amy just wants to win, and she will do whatever it takes for her team to win,” Russell said. “At first, I feel like she felt like she was going to have to do it all by herself, but she has grown a lot by putting way more trust in her teammates, and that has been helping us succeed.”
Nduka admires Russell for being more than just a basketball coach, but instead, a woman who genuinely cares about her as a person outside of sports.
“I really like how we are pushed to be the best version of ourselves. Coach Darnelia and the other coaches care a lot about us as people, not only as players,” said Nduka. “They all really, really care, and it is a good feeling.”
Looking ahead to the next three years, Rosemary is optimistic that her daughter will achieve all the personal goals she’s set for herself. Witnessing Nduka earn college offers at such a young age has been incredible for Rosemary, though she acknowledges that there’s still work to be done to secure even more opportunities.
“She has grown defensively as a player, and that is one thing I am super proud of because she has always shown her skills as an offensive player. I know she has a lot of goals for herself, so I tell her she needs to continue to be focused and look at her short- and long-term goals,” said Rosemary. “Even as a child that has so many offers, she still has some things to work on, but I know she will achieve them all and use it as motivation to keep going.”
Comments
Post a Comment