Chloe Marotta is Marquette basketball royalty.

In her six years playing for the Blue and Gold, Marotta made quite a legacy for herself. From All-Big East First Team in the 2022-2023 season, to Big East Sportsmanship Award in the 2021-2022 season, to passing her father in all-time rebounds at Marquette, her accomplishments are endless.

Her father Marc played for Marquette men’s basketball from 1980-1984 and is the only three-time First Team Academic All-American selection in program history. Her brother Cam and grandfather also played for the Golden Eagles.

This spring, her reign came to an end, at least at Marquette. After graduating in the spring, Chloe went on to spend her summer coaching Club 52, a girls club in Mequon. Now, she is overseas playing basketball for BGK Prima in the Hungary league.

The 5,000-mile difference between Milwaukee and Hungary does not hinder Marotta’s impact on the program.

“Chloe accomplished so much here, and she’s the epitome of every year getting better,” head coach Megan Duffy said. “She’s doing an incredible job overseas now. Her numbers are awesome, she’s loving it over there. So it’s fun to even just text with her and talk to her.”

Without Marotta, the Golden Eagles are utilizing their six returning players and six new faces. Enter graduate student guard/forward Frannie Hottinger.

“Frannie’s been a great addition as somebody that was an All-League Player of the Year in the Patriot League at Lehigh, just can score the basketball, she can rebound,” Duffy said. “She’s a workhorse, and is one of those players that said ‘I’ll do whatever you need me to do, whether that’s score, rebound, defend or make the assist.'”

One of Marotta’s greatest contributions to Marquette was her ability to rebound. Last season, she averaged a team-high nine rebounds per contest, while senior forward Liza Karlen grabbed 7.4 rebounds per game.

Losing monumental players is not an unfamiliar feeling for Karlen, who dealt with the loss of former forward Lauren Van Kleunen last season, but neither is stepping up to fill bigger shoes on the court.

“I have a lot of pieces around me to help me do that,” Karlen said. “You’re never gonna replace a Lauren Van Kleunen, you’re never gonna replace a Chloe Marotta, but I have a Frannie Hottinger this year and we’re very excited for her, and then we have some great freshman. I know it’s not gonna be all me, and I have the pieces in place to help me fill those shoes a little bit.” 

Replacing Marotta is not just finding someone to put up big numbers, but embracing her mentality that left such a huge impact on the program.

“One of the best things about Chloe was her commitment to this place and how that allowed her to just get better every single year,” associate head coach Justine Raterman said. “She didn’t come in even to her senior year thinking I’m going to be a first–team all–conference kid. It was just a gradual thing and it was whatever this team needs. That’s the biggest thing we’re looking to replace is more people like her and we have a lot of them.”

Sophomore forward Charia Smith said she is already taking steps forward in adopting this mentality.

“Chloe was just a tremendous leader, and she’s been here for so long, so I got to learn so much from her just in a little span of time,” Smith said. “What’s really important is the mindset of it all. She was the epitome of hard work beats out talent, and she’s proved that all of her career.”

However, with any player like Chloe, Duffy said some things just can’t be replaced.

“We knew we’re not gonna be able to replace one player like her and all the intangible things she did every single day of practice, in the locker room and on the court,” Duffy said. “What we’re trying to do is just have a collective effort, everybody rebound a little bit more, everybody step up and use their voice a little bit more.”

Losing Marotta is not a dead end for Marquette, but rather a new beginning for players like Frannie Hottinger to create their own legacy.

“Liza and Charia are doing a great job with the forward group of the leadership and mentality. They understand the expectations, they understand what it takes and that’s been huge,” Raterman said. I’m really excited about our new guys, bringing in somebody like Frannie who has many years of experience, and then two freshmen who are very talented.”

This story was written by Sofie Hanrahan. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @SofieHanrahanMU.