Hall of Fame
Katie Bray Swartzell was an integral member of two NCAA Tournament-qualifying women’s basketball teams and one PSAC Championship and East Regional Championship squad during a four-year run at Shippensburg University from 2000-04.
Swartzell led the team in minutes played in all four seasons, including her freshman season (2000-01) after which she was named the 2001 PSAC Western Division Rookie of the Year competing for a Shippensburg squad that reached the NCAA Final Four with a 28-5 record. She finished all four seasons making at least 100 field goals, grabbing at least 100 rebounds, scoring at least 300 points and handing out at least 80 assists.
For her career, Swartzell totaled 1,440 points, 12th-most in school history, along with 158 three-pointers, which ranks seventh in school history. Her 39.7 percent accuracy from three-point range is second among Raider annals, while her 361 assists rank fifth. She also finished with 511 rebounds and 122 steals.
Swartzell also finished with a 46.9 field-goal percentage despite attempting more than 1,000 shots in her career – a mark that is especially impressive considering her role as a guard.
As a senior, Swartzell was named to the 2003-04 PSAC West First Team after posting career highs in points (419), scoring (14.0), free throws (81) and three-pointers (56). SU lost to rival California, the eventual 2004 NCAA Champions, in the PSAC Championship game, but the Raiders handed the Vulcans their only loss of the whole year during the regular season, with Swartzell scoring a team-high 18 points in that game.
Following her sophomore season, Swartzell was named to the All-PSAC West Second Team after averaging 11.6 points per game and recording career highs of 101 assists, 47 steals, 141 rebounds and 21 blocks. She shot 47 percent from the field, including 39 percent from three-point range, while averaging 36 minutes per game and starting all 29 contests.
Academically, Swartzell was a PSAC Scholar Athlete. She graduated in 2004 with a degree in computer science and a minor in mathematics.
After graduation, Katie worked as a software engineer with Raytheon Company in State College for more than eight years. She is married to husband Ken Swartzell '04/'07M, and the couple has two children: Kenneth, 3, and Hope, 10 Months. After having lived in Ellicott City, Maryland for three years as a software engineer with ACES, Inc., Katie and her family have moved back to Reedsville, Pennsylvania, and she is again employed as a software engineer with Raytheon Company.
