« Women’s Basketball 2013-14

Cassie Harberts

School
USC
Position
Forward
Major
Human Performance
PPG
16.4
RPG
7.8
APG
2

Classroom

Harberts is majoring in human performance and minoring in nutrition and health promotion. She is a two-time Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention recipient and holds a 3.23 GPA. Last season, Harberts was a candidate for CoSIDA Academic All-American honors.

Character

This will be Harberts’ third season as a team captain, and she has shown a knack for leadership on and off the court throughout her career. A caring and devoted teammate, she is constantly encouraging her team during games and practices. She never missed a game throughout her career, starting every single one of USC’s games since she arrived as a freshman, and often plays the most minutes in a game. Willing to put the team on her back when necessary, she still remains wholly humble and supportive of her teammates and coaches. Even during her busy summer of training and travel with the United States World University Games Team, Cassie continued to work as an intern at the Champions Quest youth training center. The summer prior, Cassie also shared time between her own training and work as a summer camp leader for a sports academy in Irvine.

Community

One of Cassie’s goals after graduation is to travel to Africa and serve as a volunteer or missionary either at a hospital or orphanage. She’s already been active in numerous local charity organizations, and is a regular participant in the Swim With Mike program, which is a scholarship fund for physically challenged athletes. With Swim With Mike, she has helped create activities that encourage children to express themselves artistically. Cassie also is involved with work at the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, providing support in the rehabilitation center for children undergoing medical treatment, and engaging children in stress-relieving activities during their treatment. She and her family are also big supporters of Ronald McDonald House, where they spent a lot of time when Cassie was young while her older brother was undergoing treatment for cancer. They also remain involved with Orange County Foundation for Oncology, Children and Families.

Competition

Harberts is the centerpiece of the USC team and has established herself as on of USC’s top players all-time. She enters her senior season ranked No. 16 all-time in scoring with 1,293 career points, having scored her 1,000th point during her junior season. As a freshman, she tallied a 31-point game, which was the most points scored by a Trojan freshman since 1981. Last season, the 2013 All-Pac-12 selection led the Trojans in almost every major statistical category and ranked third in the Pac-12 in scoring (18.0 ppg) and sixth in rebounding (8.2 rpg). During her USC career to date she has earned 2011 Pac-10 All-Tournament Team and 2011 Pac-10 All-Freshman Team honors, 2012 All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention, and 2013 All-Pac-12 Team and Pac-12 Player of the Week awards to go along with her consistent academic accolades. She has recorded 17 double-doubles in her career, and in her junior season she became USC’s all-time record holder for free throws made (207) and attempted (298) in a single season. This past summer, Harberts won a gold medal as a member of the United States’ World University Games team.