Northwestern Lacrosse Star Inspired by Golden State Warriors Guard

The All-American defender will be playing basketball this winter after four years on Northwestern's lacrosse team.

Northwestern Wildcats lacrosse defender Sammy White in a game against the Ohio State Buckeyes on April 19, 2025. | Photo: Northwestern Athletics

Shortly after winning the 2019 Tewaaraton Award, given to the best men's and women's NCAA lacrosse player, Pat Spencer made the unprecedented decision to switch sports.

The four-time All-American attacker at Loyola used his graduate year of eligibility to transfer and play basketball at Northwestern during the 2019-20 season, despite not having competed in the sport since high school. Following stints in Germany and the G League, Spencer has now worked his way up to the NBA and earned playoff minutes this spring for the Golden State Warriors.

Six years later, Sammy White is looking to follow in Spencer's footsteps. The former Northwestern lacrosse player, who won the 2023 National Championship with the Wildcats and was a two-time All-American defender, is exchanging her stick for a pair of sneakers this fall. Like Spencer, White will suit up as a guard for the 'Cats and last played basketball in high school.

In a recent interview with USA Lacrosse Magazine, White acknowledged how Spencer had paved the way for her to make the transition and return to the game she grew up playing.

"[Pat] was one of the first ones to do it," White told writer Matt Hamilton. "I was like, 'I didn’t even know that was a thing.' He was the real deal in lacrosse. Seeing him being able to do it so seamlessly and with a coaching staff that was so willing to incorporate him, it gave me the reassurance that it could actually happen."

White entered the basketball transfer portal in the fall of 2024, and after head lacrosse coach Kelly Amonte Hiller connected her with head women's basketball coach Joe McKeown, White eventually decided to stay at Northwestern.

"Northwestern has done so much for me as a school that there’s no other place that I honestly would rather be playing basketball," White said. "I’m grateful that I’m going to have my lacrosse teammates and everyone there to support me because they’re even more excited than me. They made me realize this was the right decision."

White's first season of Big Ten basketball is also going to be McKeown's last, as the longtime Wildcat head coach is retiring at the end of next season. While it will almost certainly take her some time to adjust, Northwestern will hope White's talents can turn around a 'Cats team that hasn't won double-digit games since 2022.