Ally Schimel got the best holiday present ever from the women’s basketball team: a full-ride scholarship as a freshman. 

On New Year’s Day, the walk-on was awarded a scholarship during a holiday party for her performance with the Beavers this season. Schimel has played in every game of the season so far, giving ample time to prove herself.

“Ally’s started a couple games for us this year and played some huge minutes already,” said head coach Scott Rueck, noting her high amount of time on the court. 

Schimel has played for at least half the game time of seven games, with a peak of 29 minutes against the Portland Pilots on Dec. 30, 2024, resulting in an overtime 76-72 win. 

“She’s been a very disruptive defender, and she’s very accurate in our offense,” Rueck said.

Schimel has scored an impressive 24 rebounds, three blocks and 10 steals over the course of the season so far. Her skills on the offense also have shone, notably when she sunk a pair of three-pointers against Gonzaga.

When recruiting Schimel, Rueck had only seen her play against 3A high school girls and gave her the opportunity to walk on for the Beavers, saying, “Let’s try it.”

After she received the award, Rueck told her that she more than proved that she could play at the D1 level. “It’s an honor to do that for you, but you’ve made it easy for us,” he told her at the team’s holiday party.

The Oregon School Activities Association classifies the state’s high schools into six categories, 1A-6A, with 6A schools having the most students. 3A schools, like Schimel’s, have between 146 and 310 students.

In her career at Corbett High School, Schimel made it to the 3A state championship game three times, winning as a senior in 2024 with an undefeated squad. In the same year, she was named the Oregon 3A State Player of the Year and the 3A State Tournament MVP. 

She scored more than 1,500 points throughout her high school career, becoming Corbett’s all-time scoring leader.

Despite targeting 19 different schools and garnering interest from a variety of coaches, Schimel knew that Oregon State University was the right fit for her. 

“The moment I came on campus and I met the coaching staff and the team I just knew that this place was special and that this was the biggest opportunity, and that I was just so grateful to have a spot here,” Schimel said.. 

Schimel got her first collegiate start on Nov. 12, 2024, against Northwest Nazarene. 

Before arriving and starting the season, Schimel mentioned not being concerned about how much playing time she would have as a walk-on freshman. 

“I was just thinking about improving overall and just giving everything I have working hard, like, I didn’t have any expectations, I just wanted to do whatever I could for the team,” Schimel said. 

This is only the second time that a walk-on freshman has earned a scholarship under Rueck, who has been the head coach of the program since 2010. In 2021, Noelle Mannen was awarded a scholarship after two seasons with the team, making Schimel the quickest to receive a scholarship. 

Now on scholarship, Rueck believes in his players and has high hopes for Schimel’s continued success and improvement.

“It’s a great message … if you get an opportunity, what are you going to do with it? And if you do the most with it, you’ll be rewarded for it,” Rueck said.