Wisconsin Badgers women’s basketball: UW adds Mary Ferrito to 2022 recruiting class

On Friday evening, the Wisconsin Badgers women’s basketball team received some good news on the recruiting trail as 2022 guard Mary Ferrito (Columbus, Ohio) out of Jonathan Alder (Plain City, Ohio) High School announced that she was committing to Marisa Moseley’s squad.

Standing at 5-foot-10, Ferrito can play both guard spots and was recently named to second-team All-Ohio for Division II (her future teammate, 2023 Wisconsin commit Tessa Grady, was named second-team for Division I). She averaged 18.3 points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game, 2.8 assists per game and 3.2 steals per game during her senior season. She shot 37.3% from deep and 45.5% from the field overall last season and finished as the runner-up for conference player of the year in her junior season.

Growing up, Ferrito always thought she’d end up in Madison for college. “Both my parents are UW alumni, so I grew up watching hoops at the Kohl Center and being in Madison, so I knew in my heart I would end up at Wisconsin one way or another,” she told us on Sunday morning.

Ferrito has a smooth stroke on her jumper and can take it to the rack and finish through contact. She also shows patience when dribbling the ball, waiting for a crease to open up and attack the rim. Her defensive ability is what will get her on the court early, however. She is active near the rim and can block some shots, but that won’t be her most positive contribution. At the point of attack, Ferrito is a nuisance. She harasses ball-handlers, tips passes and can straight up pick the pocket of the opposing team’s point guard.

Ferrito, who primarily played point guard in high school, sees herself as “a versatile player” that just wants to get on the floor and do whatever the team needs of her. “I’m always trying to expand my skill set to be able to play all around,” Ferrito said.

The option to play for the Badgers came late in her high school career, but she was getting looks from smaller schools in Wisconsin like Whitewater and Oshkosh and D1 spots like Wright State and Charleston Southern. When Kate Barnosky reached out about a walk-on spot in Madison, Ferrito jumped at the chance.

“I knew that I loved the sport but wanted to make a college decisions based on my education and my heart first and I was blessed to be given this opportunity.”