After spending all of her college career with the program, Oregon State University basketball guard AJ Marotte is stepping off the court.

This past season, Marotte served as a veteran for the Beavers, being the only player who had competed at OSU for four years.

“Because of this program … I found my confidence,” Marotte said in a statement after the season. “I found my voice.”

Marotte, who hails from Austin, Texas, was a four-star recruit and the 61st-ranked recruit overall by Prospects Nation coming out of high school. She was quick to become active with Oregon State and played in every game of her debut season. 

Marotte improved her game in nearly every metric from her freshman year to her sophomore year. Her averages in points, rebounds and assists all increased, as did her field goal percentage. Marotte started in 10 games her sophomore year.

As she went into her upperclassman years, Marotte continued to grow and became a team leader. 

Marotte was one of only two players in the 2023-2024 season to start in every game of the season, along with guard Talia Von Oelhoffen. Oregon State went on to become a No. 3 seed nationally and make a run to the Elite Eight in the March Madness tournament.

Following the dissolution of the Pac-12 conference after the tournament run in her junior year, Marotte was one of the few players who decided to stay. OSU was hit hard by the loss of eight players, who combined to score 81.8% of the team’s points in the prior year. Marotte took the opportunity to work harder and become much more of a leader for her final year.

“Oregon State women’s basketball didn’t just push me to be a better player, it made me a better person,” Marotte said. “A way cooler version of AJ that I was not yet familiar with.”

The 2024-2025 season was Marotte’s most productive season and her strongest year-over-year improvement. Among other metrics, her senior year saw career-highs in average points, rebounds and assists (11.4, 3.3 and 2.3, respectively). Notably, Marotte was almost always on the court. She averaged just shy of 35 minutes a game —  and has spent the second-most time on the floor in a single season for the school, behind only Sydney Wiese’s 2016-2017 season.

Using her knowledge and experience with the Beavers, Marotte helped lead her senior-year team through the WCC tournament and to a March Madness appearance. In her final year, she was OSU’s second-most productive scorer and had the second-most assists.

Marotte was named to the first team All-WCC in her senior year. Over her career at Oregon State, she scored more than 900 points and made over 300 rebounds.

“I’m leaving here with memories I’ll cherish forever,” Marotte said. “But more importantly, I’m leaving as someone I’m proud to be, and that’s because of Oregon State.”