Versatile Katelynn Limardo Channels Drive into Success as a Bobcat Freshman

BOZEMAN, Montana – The first thing people will tell you about Katelynn Limardo is her drive to play basketball.

Not just the internal fire that animates every moment she spends on a basketball court, although that is obvious from the beginning. What people want to talk about is, literally, the drive.

"She played in a really, really competitive club program" based in Phoenix, Arizona, Montana State head coach Tricia Binford says of freshman forward Katelynn Limardo, who hails from Silver City, New Mexico. "Arizona Elite is a really prestigious club team, so it starts there with her commitment to the game of basketball. Her family was consistently driving multiple hours several times a week to get her to those practices."

Current Bobcat assistant coach Sunny Smallwood, who coached at the University of Arizona during Limardo's early years in high school, took notice of the lanky perimeter player when her team played at UA basketball's summer camps – "Her and I really hit it off," Smallwood says – and also on the AAU circuit. "They would drive four hours one direction (three) times a week, so the family really sacrificed a lot to provide that opportunity. She has an amazing family."

That 320 mile one-way drive, made three times a week for three years during the spring AAU season was evidence of Limardo's passion for basketball. "We'd drive Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays four hours to practice and four hours back, so I'd be going to bed at like two o'clock in the morning and getting up and going to school at 8 o'clock, so it was really crazy," Limardo said. "But I really wanted to play college basketball and it was worth it."

That passion for hoops has been on full display since she joined the Bobcat program. The 6-2 freshman forward has started all 20 games this season, and her 24.5 minutes per contest is third on the squad. She scores 6.3 points per game, fifth on the team, while her 4.2 rebounds is third, and she said that her ability to contribute came slowly to her.

"I think it was the Utah Valley game," she said of MSU's sixth game of the 2020-21 season, where "I saw that I can actually score the ball and I can work hard. But it's not all about the points. Coach Bin always focuses on boxing out and doing the little things so I've really tried to focus on that throughout this whole process. I focus on doing the little things and I know that will pay off."

Limardo's development has paid off in team success. The Bobcats arrived in Orem for the January 2 contest against Utah Valley with a 2-3 record. The 66-63 win at UVU sparked a run of 12 wins over 15 games, and has vaulted the Bobcats into the heat of contention for the Big Sky regular season championship. MSU is 11-3 in the conference after splitting a pair of games against league-leading Idaho State (12-2) last weekend. Idaho is also in contention at 13-3.

Part of the Bobcats' late-season burst comes from Limardo's ability to contribute in a variety of ways, a trait Binford saw when evaluating Limardo as a prep prospect. "For her high school team she'd bring up the ball, she broke presses, she'd hit a step-back threes, she played a little bit inside, kind of whatever was necessary," Binford said. "She was kind of that Swiss Army knife, did a little bit of everything, but I also think that made her a really versatile player, a really skilled player, a really fundamental player."

Those fundamentals were honed early, in the most personal way possible. "Ever since I was little I felt like I loved basketball," she said. "I've been around it, my mom coached middle school and she's started coaching high school, too. I've been around it my whole life and I knew that was what I wanted to do in college. I just fell in love with it." Limardo's mother Kristina played college basketball at NCAA Division II Adams State, while "my dad was a swimmer, he didn't play basketball," she said with a laugh. "He'll tell you that."

Growing up in Silver City, nestled in a southwest New Mexico mountain valley where frontier lawman Harvey Whitehall was the first to arrest Billy the Kid in 1874, was a strong positive for Limardo. "It's really an outdoorsy place so you have the mountains and you can drive two hours to go to a bigger city," she said. "Silver City's really, really small, we have maybe 20,000 in population, so there's not a lot of people, but the people are all super close and they all really support you. It's a really itty bitty town, but there's lots of stuff to do outdoors, four-wheeling and all that kind of stuff, so it's really fun."

The 1,200 miles between Silver City and Bozeman was a concern as Limardo began the process of narrowing down her college choice, but there was an overriding factor. "It was really something that was one of the deciding factors, how far I wanted to go," she said. "I knew if I had good coaches the distance wouldn't matter, so that's why I felt like going away and going to a new place where I didn't know anyone except for the coaches would be eye-opening and challenging, but that's what I wanted. Definitely having the coaches' support here is what made me choose here."

That process wasn't without its bumps. Binford said the distance "was a concern on our end," but laughs that Limardo's ability to overcome adversity on her recruiting visit was a positive sign. "When she came out for (her recruiting) visit there was a (Bobcat) football game, and she was not dressed for football weather. We had some sleet that day and she was in slide shoes, so I was a little concerned. Fortunately relationships trumped the weather."

That weekend provided Kristina Limardo the opportunity to impart a lesson that Katelynn continues to carry with her. "I think we flew in on a Thursday or something and it was completely sunny, 50 degrees, and I was like, I can easily go here," Limardo says with a laugh. "The next day there were like four inches of snow on the ground and I was like, 'Oh my gosh, Mom, I don't think I can do this.' She told me, 'God's prepared you for something bigger than this and I don't think the weather should stop you, so even if you're not dressed appropriately it might be a big scare but you can always bundle up.'"

While Limardo's height may suggest that she played on the inside growing up, her slight build made the perimeter a more natural position early on. Her first coach played her at guard, but emphasized being open to other roles.

"My mom always told me I would be a guard because I've always been super skinny, but she told me I should have post moves because I could always be matched up on a guard," Limardo said. "Throughout high school and club ball I was a four or five, but usually even if I was a post they'd have me switching to the wing, fading out to the wing. I knew I had to have a post game to play college basketball, so it was definitely something I had to add to my game. Sometimes I don't really like battling inside, but our posts here are really strong and they're fun to play around and definitely they make me better so that's the best part."

As a four the Bobcats are able to use Limardo's perimeter shooting – her 25 three-pointers is second-most on the team – to stretch defenses, while taking advantage of passing and ball-handling skills unusual for a post or even a stretch-four forward. But just as she'd settled into that role, a change arrived suddenly in mid-December that Limardo called "an eye-opening event."

A starter for all 14 games this season, Limardo was transitioned to the three position by the Bobcat coaching staff before MSU's fourth game, which meant she'd play even more on the perimeter. "She initially started for us at the four," Binford said, "then we moved her to the three. I think early on, even all summer long, she spent all of her reps at the four, so that transition took a little bit of time."

Even Limardo was surprised by the degree of that jolt. "The first game I played the three was at the University of Portland. That was a really rough game, I was really upset with myself after that game because I expect so much of myself. Really not being prepared, it was an instant switch. So I felt like I was just thrown in there, it wasn't anyone's fault, it's just how the tables turned, but that was an eye-opening event. I either could dwell on that or I can move on, so I've focused on what I can do in the moment and just progressing. I've really tried to keep my mind set on that and I feel it's paid off."

The versatility that came from learning both roles, even if it was on the fly, benefits the Bobcats. "Depending on matchups it's nice to have her as an option for both" the three and four positions, Binford said. "She has a great handle, so it's nice to have her as a four in case you need somebody to break the press with her ability to handle the ball and also stretch the defenses out because she's pretty explosive off the bounce. But it's also nice to have her as a really long three to help improve our length on the perimeter and then you have a really tenacious defensive lineup."

But Limardo's ability to slide outside and man a three spot also positions the team for a more long-term goal. "Our whole thought process is signing kids that can take us to the next level of winning a first round game in the (NCAA) Tournament," Binford said, "so we've gotten longer, we've gotten a little more athletic, and when we moved her from the four to the three in that game she was able to get to the rim and rip it. So the three is also a good fit for her, but her getting comfortable moving back and forth (between the three and four) will just take a little time."

Moving back and forth was anything but comfortable at first. "The first game that I had to play the three I was so nervous and so scared because I was mainly playing the four and in an instant moment I was playing the three," she said. "It was really hard trying to adjust, but as the season has continued I've really grown to love (playing) the three because that's where I've grown the most. Just being able to contribute more at the three than I was at the four, I've really liked that."

While scoring has ebbed and flowed during her freshman season, Limardo's broad base of skills allows her to contribute whether her shot is falling or even if she isn't getting many shots in a given game. And not getting enough shots led to a critical point that provided growth and a good laugh for everyone involved.

"The Eastern Washington game is fresh in the memory as far as (Limardo) being in the zone from the perimeter," Binford said. "Coach (Geoff) Golden told her before that game, 'I'm going to stop rebounding for you (after practice) if you don't shoot the ball.' She literally gets in thousands of reps between Coach Sunny, Coach Golden, Coach (Blaire) Braxton, she's asked me to get in there with her, and yet she passes up good rhythm looks. So that game she really came through as far as being shot ready."

The results were stark. Two days after scoring eight points in a road win at Eastern Washington, Limardo responded with a season-high 17-point effort. He hit all six of her shots, including five from behind the three-point line. She also snared three rebounds with two steals.

"Sometimes I get so lost in trying to find open players and not looking for my own shot, so the joke was that if I didn't shoot the ball Coach Geoff and Coach Sunny were not going to be shooting with me," Limardo said. "So it was, 'You'd better shoot the ball or you're not going to be able to shoot (extra) after practice.' It was funny but I think it worked."

Limardo is well-known in the Bobcat program for her intensity. "I think KJ's work ethic impresses everyone the most," said teammate Tori Martell, a senior guard. "She works so hard day in and day out, and always is the first one in the gym, last one to get out. How tough she is on herself shows how much she cares about the game and about winning and about being the best she can be."

The intensity Limardo brings to the court is masked by a stoic demeanor. "With KJ, you won't see a whole lot of change in her body language," Binford said. "She's very serious, she's very intense."

That intensity and inner drive can sometimes be to Limardo's detriment. "KJ has a lot of similarities to Maddie Jackson as far as putting it all out there and wearing her body down because of how hard she goes," Binford said. "And she goes that hard every single practice. She's one of those kids that's going to be first in the gym, last to leave. Right from the start we knew we'd have to cut her back because from the beginning she wants to be in the gym too much."

Her relentlessness on the court is deeply rooted, Smallwood said. "She has a standard of excellence in everything in her life. She wants to be the best in everything she does. She's very organized, and that to me plays to the total package student-athlete. She's somebody that's going to get in the gym whether she's with a coach or not, she's continuing to work on her game."

While her drive to be successful has landed her 1,200 miles from home and in the middle of the pursuit for a Big Sky Championship, she traces her personal success to those drives through rural New Mexico and Arizona. That trek provides a glimpse into Limardo's thirst for success, but also gave her memories she cherishes on her current journey.

"I remember having really good talks with my mom and my dad," she said. "That's where really good memories were shared, on the road, getting Chick-fil-A and stuff like that. It was really fun to be able to share those times with them, I know those times can be taken for granted and I wanted to spend that quality time with my parents and they were so willing. They did whatever they could so I was able to play college basketball, and I really appreciate them for that."

Limardo's first season as a Bobcat has teased future success, but she truly enjoys the present. "Definitely being around my teammates" is the best part of her time as a Bobcat so far, she says, breaking into a wide smile. "They definitely make the journey better, and I feel like if you don't have good people surrounding you it's not going to be fun. Being able to play the game I love with people I love has been a blast."

Her teammates reciprocate that love. "She's very competitive and really likes to win," Martell says with a laugh, "but she's so fun to be around. She's a super nice, kind girl, and it's been really fun to have her on the team this year. She brings a lot to the team on and off the court."

Her success has certainly been a blast for Bobcat fans and teammates, but for Smallwood it all begins with her drive – and not the hundreds of hours she spent commuting from the mountains of Silver City through the desert to Phoenix, although that remains emblematic of what the veteran coach is addressing. "That's definitely a gift," Smallwood says. "No matter how big or small somebody is, or what position they play, they have to have that innate, ingrained drive. And she's got it."

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Versatile Katelynn Limardo Channels Drive into Success as a Bobcat Freshman

Players Mentioned

Tori Martell

Katelynn Martin

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