#12 CATHERINE SWANSON
Year: Freshman
Position: Forward
Height: 6-0
Hometown: Laguna Niguel, Calif.
High School: Aliso Niguel HS
Major: Undeclared
 
 
Catherine Swanson comes from an athletic family with her mother being a swimmer and her father having played football, basketball and baseball. Her older sister also played water polo throughout high school.
 
Catherine followed in their footsteps and beyond as she tried her hand at swimming, water polo, softball, soccer and track, but there was something special about basketball.
 
"You feel every emotion when you're on the court," Catherine said. "I love the environment and culture of basketball. I also had great coaches growing up and I was lucky enough to have a really supportive high school team."
 
In middle school, Catherine's focus started to narrow in on her favorite sport. By the time she got to eighth grade, she started practicing more on her own and held herself accountable to the goals she set. That self-discipline, which stemmed from her parents encouraging her to work hard and be independent from a young age, helped her become a leader in her first year on the Aliso Niguel High School varsity girls' basketball team.
 
"I wasn't afraid to be a leader on the court, even as a freshman," Catherine said. "I think that made me better as a player because I was confident in that way with my teammates."
 
Catherine's leadership and hard work paid off immediately as she helped her team win three consecutive league titles and advance to the state playoffs her sophomore year. Individually, she was a four-time all-league selection, and finished her prep career as the school record holder in rebounds (868) and blocks (96).

But it wasn't always smooth sailing for Catherine. The summer before her junior year, she went through a lot with her mental health. That led to her wanting to experience a new environment and add a different challenge in her life, which came in the form of joining Aliso Niguel's cross country team. It was something she had wanted to pursue since her freshman year, but was steered away from in order to focus on basketball.
 
Although it was her first year running competitively at the high school level, she proved to herself she could handle the challenge as she ended up being one of the Wolverines' top runners, earning both team MVP and Newcomer of the Year honors.
 
"I was doing really well in cross country, but it didn't transfer over immediately to basketball," Catherine said. "Although I was in shape, my strength and confidence on the court dipped down. It was a lot, but even though I struggled my junior year, it made me stronger mentally and allowed me to make that transition into a stronger player physically my senior year."
 
In addition to working on her own mental and physical health, Catherine also benefited from a new coaching staff - head coach Brad Johnson and assistant coach Hana Qaqi - who helped her tremendously and made a huge impact on her senior season.
 
"They allowed me to become a more versatile player," Catherine said of both Johnson and Qaqi. "I played post all four years of high school, but I'm not very big and it never felt like I was a true post player. They helped me get stronger outside the paint and helped me expand my game."
 
The changes Catherine made over the summer led to her best season at Aliso Niguel as she averaged a career-high 11.7 points and 10.4 rebounds per game, earning her team MVP honors.
 
The versatility that Catherine displayed in her senior season is something that fifth-year UC Irvine women's basketball head coach Tamara Inoue utilizes in her system. The two connected at the Anteaters' summer camps and the relationship continued to grow from there, but for Catherine, it didn't take much more than a first impression to picture herself playing for Coach Inoue.
 
"When I was a freshman, I went to watch one of Coach T's first games as head coach at UCI," Catherine recalled. "I thought she was awesome and that image never really left me. I always loved her energy and intensity. I like to be pushed on the court so her energy definitely caught my eye."
 
In addition to the opportunity to play the sport she loves for a coach she admires, Catherine was also drawn to UC Irvine for its strong academics and how that could help set her up for success after college.
 
With the self-discipline and leadership Catherine has always displayed on the court, it is no surprise that she made a plan for herself off the court as well. While still in high school, Catherine was looking into possible careers and discovered an interest in emergency and crisis management.
 
"After college I would love to become a certified firefighter," Catherine said. "That would allow me to get a lot of experience working with people and different situations, and I would really love to take that experience into working internationally with an organization like FEMA."
 
While Catherine has her eyes on the big picture, for now, she is more than ready to lock in on what her freshman year has to offer.
 
"Because of the quarantine, I really missed having my teammates around and just that culture of being together all the time," Catherine said. "So, I am really looking forward to becoming closer with my teammates and just getting back out on the court this year."