‘I wanted to put this program on the national stage’: Krystal Leger-Walker wraps up transformative college career as Washington State great

Krystal Leger-Walker heard the same pitch twice. She accepted both offers, and rose to the occasion twice.

Years before Leger-Walker played an integral role in rebuilding Washington State’s basketball team under coach Kamie Ethridge, the point guard made a similar impact at Northern Colorado, where she’d been recruited by Ethridge to help change the program’s trajectory.

“She told me she needed a leader, a floor general,” Leger-Walker recalled of her first meeting with Ethridge, the Cougs’ fourth-year coach who previously spent four years guiding a turnaround at Northern Colorado, a Big Sky program that hadn’t experienced much success beforehand.

“When she re-recruited me to come to Washington State, it was the point again: We need a floor general, we need a leader. She said, ‘We need you to grow our culture, give some belief to this team and try to repeat what we did at Northern Colorado.’ ”

Leger-Walker’s collegiate career concluded with WSU’s 50-40 loss to Kansas State on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Raleigh, North Carolina. She wasn’t able to secure a win in three tries at March Madness, but she leaves her mark as a transformative player and a WSU legend.

“She changed our program at Northern,” Ethridge said. “And look what she’s done here.

“We’ve been really fortunate to watch her grow. … She’s just been so key for us in this rebuild.”

Coming from a New Zealand basketball family, Leger-Walker shipped off to America in 2016 in search of a challenge. She found one at Northern Colorado, choosing the Bears over several other suitors after a two-week whirlwind of visits. Ethridge’s grindstone coaching style and vision appealed to her.

“Her mother (Leanne Walker) is an unbelievable coach and a tough coach, and a fiery competitor,” Ethridge said of the former New Zealand National Team standout and assistant. “I think (Krystal) has been around coaches like that her whole career.

“I love that family. They’re such good people, such great competitors. They want to win. They love what we’re trying to do at Washington State. They’re kinda gritty people that have a chip on their shoulder. … I’m grateful to know that family and getting to do this thing together.”

Leger-Walker captured starting duties immediately in Greeley, Colorado, and provided a stabilizing presence as a sophomore for the Bears during their run in 2018 to their first Big Sky title and NCAA Tournament appearance. They fell to Michigan in the first round.

“When she walked in the door at Northern, she was not a complete player yet or a complete leader,” Ethridge said. “But she had a will to her. She has a will and an IQ and a toughness, and that came with her the first day she got there.”

After Northern Colorado’s breakthrough season, Ethridge was hired away to take the reins at WSU, another underachiever in the college hoops world which hadn’t qualified for the Big Dance in 30 years.

Leger-Walker hung around in Colorado for another season, then sought another test for herself: competing at a higher level and establishing a winning tradition at a power-conference school.

“I wanted to put this program on the national stage and have us in all of those conversations,” Leger-Walker said. “(Ethridge) had high expectations for me and I had high expectations for this program and our potential.”

NCAA transfer rules forced her to sit out a season in Pullman, but she used the time wisely, adjusting to the speed and size of Pac-12 play, further developing her leadership traits and getting into major-conference shape. She roomed with and learned from all-time WSU scoring leader Borislava Hristova and went one-on-one at practice against former Coug star point guard Chanelle Molina.

“They were big transitional mentors for me,” she said.

Her year off proved beneficial for more than just individual growth; it allowed Leger-Walker to play alongside her sister, shooting guard Charlisse – who is four years younger than Krystal.

Owning the distinction of being the youngest player ever to suit up for her home country’s national team, Charlisse was already a sensational talent in New Zealand. While at Northern Colorado, Ethridge had her eyes on the young Kiwi, but knew it’d be impossible to lure her to a mid-major program.

Krystal’s decision to transfer to WSU opened the door and expedited the rebuild.

“Thankfully, I think the previous relationship really helped us,” Ethridge said. “Charlisse had an opportunity to go pretty much anywhere she wanted. Just a game-changer for our program.”

Considering the age gap, the Leger-Walker sisters never imagined that they’d share a court at the college level. As it turned out, they played two seasons together – starting 54 games side by side in the Cougars’ backcourt during what was easily the most successful two-year stretch for WSU women’s hoops. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted the NCAA to extend a free year of eligibility to college athletes.

“(Krystal) comes in, sits a year, trains, rededicates herself, changes her body and now all of a sudden her voice is in the gym and it’s loud, and it’s contagious,” Ethridge said. “Then you add Charlisse. I honestly believe it was like multiplication. It wasn’t just adding two players – they multiplied. Whatever those two players were, it was like everybody in the gym became way better.

“They’re self-aware people and self-aware athletes,” Ethridge continued of the fan-favorite sibling duo. “They’re not afraid of criticism or coaching. They want to be challenged at the highest level. They’re all-in in every way. They’re great communicators, never say a wrong word to the team or in a locker room. When you get those kinds of leaders, only good things can happen.”

The sisters emerged fast as Pac-12 standouts and lifted the Cougars to an NCAA tourney berth last season.

Last season, after the Cougs nearly knocked off No. 7 Oregon in Pullman on Dec. 21, a Ducks player turned to WSU forward Ula Motuga and asked, “What the heck happened to you guys?”

“(Ula) just said, ‘The sisters,’ ” Ethridge recalled.

They followed that landmark campaign up with one better.

Krystal led the league in assists in both of her two seasons and played more minutes than all of her Pac-12 peers in that span. She averaged 8.9 points, 4.5 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals in her Coug career, earning two All-Pac-12 defensive team honorable mentions and an all-conference honorable mention this year. Her numbers are notable, but her coach and teammates are quick to point out that Krystal’s importance transcends statistical production.

“She’s our on-court coach,” Charlisse said. “She calls the shots. She’s the hardest working person out there, and that’s going to be really hard to replace.”

Charlisse, a first-team all-conference pick the past two seasons, dazzled at this level right away, and there’s more yet to come.

After WSU’s loss to K-State, the sisters took a moment to reflect on their shared time in crimson and gray.

“Just a lot of emotions,” Krystal said. “I’m so proud, not just of how Charlisse has come into the program, but all of our young players and how they stepped up and really made a mark. I think that’s always been my goal and a goal of the team – as I’ve been saying over and over, we want to be in conversations on the national stage.

“I’m really proud of (WSU’s rise), definitely sad I couldn’t help our team get to the next stage and that I won’t be here, but I trust Charlisse with anything and I know she and all the other girls will be back.”

Expect the Leger-Walkers to reunite and lead the New Zealand women’s team in the near future.

“Me and Charlisse will play together down the road, so we’re not worried about it. It’s not like I’m never going to see her again,” Krystal said.