Stephanie Karcz

Classroom

Karcz is a Dean’s List student who holds a 3.552 GPA while majoring in elementary education (special education minor). Her major requires a full-time semester internship, so she is spending this fall student teaching at Lakeland Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore. She teaches there throughout the school day before returning back to campus for practice and games. Lakeland is the fourth school that she has assisted at in the Baltimore area during her time at Loyola. An academic standout throughout her collegiate career, Karcz was one of six WBB student-athletes selected to the Patriot League All-Academic Team in 2017-18, an honor which recognizes those who excel both athletically and academically. She is also an active member of Loyola’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Character

Karcz is unique among student-athletes who choose to major in education, as she is on track to graduate in four years. With the full-time semester internship requirement, most wait until their athletic eligibility is exhausted and stay on for an extra semester, but Karcz has taken on the immense time requirement this fall to be both a full-time teacher and collegiate athlete. She is additionally a member of Loyola’s Leadership Academy and is a two-year team captain. While working at Lakeland Elementary/Middle School, she has created a pen pal program between students and Loyola student-athletes and ran a sweatshirt drive to donate college sweatshirts to Lakeland students.

Community

Karcz has been involved in several community service activities in the Baltimore area. She took part in Rebuilding Baltimore, renovating an area home and working with others to build flower beds for display in a local park. She has volunteered at Beans and Bread, serving over 100 homeless individuals a full meal in a restaurant-style setting which allows an opportunity for greater interaction with the families. Karcz also served as a Baltimore Youth volunteer, teaching basketball skills to special needs children (aged 6-12), and she volunteered at a Light the Night event to help raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Within her major, she holds a Community Builder position through TeachersConnect, an online educators tool which allows teachers to bounce ideas off each other and provide a wide variety of support.

Competition

A four-year starter, Karcz has been among Loyola’s top performers on the court throughout her time on campus. She is the Division I active leader in steals and ranks in the top 25 all-time with over 400 career thefts. She is on pace to become the fourth player in team history to reach 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her career, and is the only active player in Division I with over 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 350 steals and 300 assists. She excels on both sides of the court, earning Patriot League All-Defensive Team accolades in each of her first three seasons and being recognized as the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year in 2017-18. Karcz was also a first team All-Patriot League performer in 2017-18 after averaging a double-double (14.2 ppg, 10.6 rpg), leading the conference in steals per game (3.7), and ranking second in assists per game (4.1). Karcz has ranked fourth in Division I in steals per game in each of the last two seasons, setting a new Loyola single-season record with 123 steals (4.2 per game) as a junior in 2018-19. On the glass, Karcz set a new Loyola and conference record with 22 rebounds in Loyola’s Patriot League first round victory over Navy last March. As of mid-January, she has 26 career double-doubles and four triple-doubles (two this season). Karcz has received seven All-Patriot League honors overall (3x All-Defensive Team, 2x All-Patriot League, Defensive Player of the Year, All-Rookie Team).