Joey Batt steals NSIC conference title
As a kid Joey Batt hated basketball. She wanted to quit at a very young age.
Now in her senior year, the New Ulm native has cemented herself into Maverick history as one of the best to touch the court.
“I started in second grade and almost quit,” Batt said. “I thought it was the most boring thing ever.”
When her dad made her try out for an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team in seventh grade she was skeptical but did it anyway. That is when she ultimately found her love for the sport.
“I used to be really softball focused. Once I made the AAU team my focus changed and that’s when my passion and drive took off,” Batt said. “The coaches I had throughout high school helped a lot and made it a really fun environment for me.”
Batt is now the second-highest scorer in Maverick program history.
She has been the team’s captain for three straight years. She has been awarded All NSIC-First team twice, D2CCA All-Central Region Second Team, NSIC South Division Defensive Player of the Year, NSIC All-Freshman Team and NSIC All-Academic Team of Excellence three times.
She is the “heartbeat of the team” according to head coach Emilee Thiesse.
“She is an extension of me out there on the court,” Thiesse said. “She leads by example. She is vocal and she holds people accountable. She has embodied our entire identity of what our program is.She has a spark that lights a fire to the team. She impacts pretty much every single play on offense and defense.”
In her 125 games she has scored 1,750 points, assisted on 366 baskets and stolen the ball 339 times. In Saturday’s game versus Northern State she scored her single game career-high 33 points.
Batt earned these stats through their ruthless full-court press defense. She uses her speed to trap players as the opposing team brings the ball up the court. She capitalizes on their mistakes converting defense to offense.
Shooting 80.5% from the free throw line and 43.5% from the field adds to her success on the Mavs.
She is not only a leader to the team but she is a leader to the community according to Thiesse.
“Everybody wants to be Joey Batt,” said Thiesse. “All the little girls want to be her. My kids even worship her. It’s just the type of person she is. She is approachable, she is personable and she loves the community. I could go on for days about her,” Thiesse said.
Two home games remain before the NSIC Conference Playoffs begin. She says her biggest achievement as a Maverick was being a part of their NCAA playoff team last year; making it back to the dance this year is her goal.
Through all of her success she attributes it to her teammates and coaches.
“They pour their belief into me,” Batt said. “They push me in ways that I wouldn’t have ever imagined. They helped me get to this point and they have helped me earn all the success I’ve had.”
She’ll miss them the most after graduation.
“We are a very tight knit group,” Batt said. “It will be hard to all go our separate ways after college but we will still obviously be close. Not being able to walk to my teammates house and hang out with them everyday will be something I will really miss.”
After graduation she plans on using her major in Elementary Education in a bigger city. She says she’ll continue her hobbies of running, hanging out with friends and her newfound love of reading. Her recent favorite is a mystery thriller called “The Locked Door” by Frieda McFadden.
She still has basketball in the back of her mind and wants to eventually coach. She says she’s keeping an open mind to playing ball overseas as well.
Header Photo: Minnesota State guard Joey Batt (1) scored a career-high 33 points in Saturday’s loss to Northern State University. (Dylan Long/The Reporter)
Write to Luke Jackson at luke.jackson.2@mnsu.edu