Sixty days ago, “recruitment” meant basketball courts, highlight reels, and campus visits, not corporate board rooms. But after a decade of living and breathing athletic recruiting as a player, teammate, and host for future recruits, I discovered a surprising truth: the same principles that land top athletes also land top executives.
In May 2025, I graduated from Benedictine College with degrees in marketing and management while serving as the point guard and captain for our women’s basketball team. Before that, I played and studied for two years at Newman University. A month after walking across the stage, I joined Cornerstone Executive Search in Kansas City as the Marketing Coordinator.
For the last decade, I have been immersed in recruitment. I watched my brothers get scouted, navigated my own recruitment process twice, and helped host recruits for my college team. I loved every part of it. What I did not expect was how much the lessons from athletic recruiting would mirror what I now see every day in executive search.
When I chose where to play basketball, my decision boiled down to three main things:
- Go where I am wanted and where it is the best fit for both parties.
- Money.
- The opportunity to compete, grow, and win.
Go where you are wanted, people want to be wanted
Everyone wants to be wanted, but not everyone will want you. Read that again. I learned that lesson early in my basketball journey, and it became the guiding principle that shaped how I made decisions. The choice always came down to relationships, how well I connected with the coaches, and whether we could trust each other. As a point guard and captain, I was the coach’s eyes, voice, and leader on the court. Without mutual trust, the team would not work.
There is a glaring parallel in the executive recruiting world. Clients have to trust us to find the right hire, candidates must decide if the opportunity fits their career, and we have to make both sides feel valued. Just like a college coach, we do not want to see our placements in the “transfer portal” after one season.
Money Matters
I would be lying if I said money did not play a huge role in my decision on where to play. At the end of the day, money matters. I quickly learned in executive recruiting that compensation is often the elephant in the room. Executives do not want to take a pay cut and disrupt the lifestyle they have built. In my first few interviews shadowing our team, I could feel the shift in the conversation the moment compensation came up. It is sensitive, but it is critical.
Where is my best opportunity for growth?
I have always loved competition. I thrive under pressure and want to earn every opportunity I get. Going into college, my goal was to become the best basketball player I could be, and I was never afraid to compete for that spot. But I also knew I needed a coach or mentor to guide and help me get there. I quickly learned that every coach has their own way of developing players, some far more successful than others.
The best coaches know how to pull greatness out of everyone on their roster. The great ones know exactly when to draw up the perfect play and when to step back and let their players lead. That is exactly what businesses are looking for when hiring executives, leaders who can pull greatness out of their teams.
In my first sixty days of listening, shadowing, and learning from my team, I have seen how rare those leaders truly are. Clients want the “Coach K’s” of the corporate world, but there is a reason they are few and far between. Great leaders are hard to find, and they will make or break your team.
Closing Thoughts
As I look back on my first sixty days, I realize that recruiting, whether for a college basketball team or a corporate leadership role, comes down to the same fundamentals: trust, value, and growth. The stakes may be different, but the human element never changes. People want to feel wanted. They want to be compensated fairly. And they want to know they can succeed in the role they are stepping into.
Basketball taught me how to read people, build relationships, and recognize potential. Executive search is giving me the chance to use those same skills to connect the right leaders with the right opportunities.
The court may have changed, but the game has not.
