Maddyn Greenway looks to leave her own legacy with Kentucky WBB
Maddyn Greenway looks to leave her own legacy with Kentucky WBB
Alaina Morris, Louisville Courier JournalTue, August 25, 2026 at 9:11 AM UTC
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When you walk into any Minnesota gym with "Greenway" across your back, there's automatically additional pressure. It's a well-known name around the state — one that was emblazoned on football jerseys for a long time.
The reputation is something that Kentucky freshman women's basketball player and McDonald's All-American Maddyn Greenway had to figure out.
Her father, Chad Greenway, played his entire 11-year NFL career as a linebacker for the Vikings. He racked up 760 tackles, 18 sacks, 11 interceptions, eight forced fumbles and even made his way to the end zone twice. The two-time Pro Bowler isn't someone people forget quickly.
Maddyn's mother, Jenni, ran track at the University of Iowa, where Chad also played football. Sports were cemented in the Greenway household from the beginning.
As a young couple in Minnesota, they enrolled Maddyn, the oldest of four girls, in a YMCA soccer league at age 3. Her talents became evident by the time she hit second grade and decided to pick up a basketball.
"You could tell right away she just loved to compete and loved the idea of scoring baskets," Chad Greenway told The Courier Journal. "Her competitive drive set her apart and she wanted to be really good."
How Maddyn developed her mindset
Three bags were always packed and ready to go by the front door. One loaded up for each sport made its way to the car that Maddyn Greenway would hop in to go practice her craft of the day.
As she continued to compete in soccer, basketball and track, Greenway knew there was a standard. She carried each backpack with sneakers, water bottles and an understanding that a certain mindset had to be adopted. It was how her parents reached the level they did.
If she, too, wanted to get there, she'd need to think the same way. But that wasn't going to happen without their help.
"With everything we do, just try to be the best," Maddyn told The Courier Journal. "I think that's shown through my different sports. My parents expected a lot out of me, but also are there for me whenever I need someone to talk to or somebody to get me through a tough moment. They're huge."
With that came a limit, though. Her father knew that there were things he'd be able to help her with, but there was also a line he wasn't going cross.
Some lessons Maddyn needed to learn on her own.
"As a parent, you want your kid to be successful," Chad said. "To be successful, you have to be willing to let them fail and not step in to protect them. I think that was something we always had in mind ... that good balance of how hard do you push her, how much motivation?"
Not only did her parents have a front-row seat on the sidelines, but they were there to coach her as well. Chad gave her direction on the court, and Jenni — whom Maddyn deemed the most competitive Greenway — guided her around the track.
Being in those roles was important to them, not just in terms of seeing her teams to wins or rallying them after losses, but also in watching her develop as a person.
"Making sure she loves the game, is a good teammate, and does all the right things the right way," Chad said of what he wanted to see from his daughter. "At the end of the day, that's what separates you in other ways."
She competed in the three sports until she couldn't anymore. There wasn't enough time in a day. She had to choose which one to pursue at the next level.
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Why Maddyn chose basketball
Greenway scored 218 goals in her high school soccer career but didn't want to play that sport in college. Track was "a little bit of a basketball break" to her. It was a place where she looked to get away — and also happened to break state records, individually in the 300-meter hurdles and as the anchor leg of the 4x400 relay team.
But basketball was her game. So, how would the 5-foot-8 freshman describe herself as a player?
"In AAU, I tried to play the true point guard role and pass first," Maddyn said.
Yes, a pass-first point guard who became the state of Minnesota’s all-time leading scorer in girls basketball with 5,621 points, passing national champion and No. 1 WNBA draft pick Paige Bueckers, with ease. Greenway also finished her six-year career with 1,186 assists and 1,100 rebounds.
When Greenway was in seventh grade, she made her varsity basketball debut at Providence Academy, where she compiled 504 points. In eighth grade, she received her first Division I offer from Minnesota. More offers followed.
With over 40 on the table, decisions had to be made. Her parents had gone through recruiting process, but they let Maddyn handle her experience.
"As athletes ourselves, we knew we needed to let her go out and and do her own thing," Chad said.
Why Maddyn came to Kentucky
Greenway narrowed her options to six: Iowa, UCLA, Stanford, Duke, Clemson and Kentucky.
When thinking about what she valued, she kept coming back to Kenny Brooks and the Wildcats. She saw things in Lexington that couldn't be replicated anywhere else.
"He's really the same person he is during recruiting, which ... I think you never see that in the recruiting process," Maddyn said. "I can go open his office and talk with him at any point, and that's something that I really look forward to."
They can chat about Washington Mystics point guard Georgia Amoore, a first-round pick who was developed by Brooks and became one of most accomplished college players in recent history.
The 5-foot-6 Australia native, who is listed two inches shorter than Greenway, finished her college career with 2,460 points, 869 assists and 408 3-pointers. Amoore spent three seasons alongside Brooks at Virginia Tech before following him to Lexington for her senior year and becoming the No. 6 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft.
"Not a lot of coaches like to have a smaller guard running their offense, but he really lives for that and can grow them into being great players and really huge offensive threats," Maddyn said of Brooks. "I just saw him and I was like, 'I can see what you can do with my game.'"
Now, her skillsets might require her to step into a starting spot. Tonie Morgan, who manned the point guard role last season, has moved onto the WNBA. While the other freshmen, McDonald's All-American's Emily McDonald and Savvy Swords, will make an impact this season, Greenway will have an immediate path to playing time.
With that, Maddyn will no longer be stepping into Minnesota gyms being recognized for her father.
She'll hit the court in Kentucky with Greenway on her back. Years from now, if her career can be crafted the way Brooks has done for others, she will leave a new legacy just like a Vikings player once did.
Reach sports trending writer Alaina Morris at amorris@gannett.com and follow her on X at @alainammorris.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Maddyn Greenway looks to leave her own legacy with Kentucky WBB
Source: “AOL Sports”
