The Cockburn Cougars are delighted to announce the signing of Oregon State alum and current top division German guard Kat Tudor as the final signing for the upcoming NBL1 West season.
Tudor comes to Cockburn fresh off an outstanding four-year college career with the Oregon State Beavers and she is currently playing in the German top division for Gottingen.
She is building her career as a combo guard who can both handle and distribute the ball, but who is also a standout knockdown shooter and all-round playmaker.
Tudor joins the Cougars along with fellow new signing Alina Hartmann who is currently playing in Spain along with fellow combo guard Jewel Williams who has made the move to Cockburn from the Kalamunda Eastern Suns.
With Jessie Edwards back as well and then an impressive mix of Cougars locals both youthful and experienced back for another season, and there is a lot to like about how the squad is coming together for the 2022 season.
Cougars NBL1 West Women’s head coach Tyrone Thwaites couldn’t be more excited at the announcement of Tudor’s signing for the 2022 season and what she’ll bring to the group.
“Kat comes to us as the final piece of our roster for 2022. We’ve been looking to really bolster our length to give us some defensive flexibility, but more importantly, she’s an elite scorer that just makes our spacing harder to guard,” Thwaites said.
“We’ve got the ability to have four shooters on the floor at all times with Jessie which means the D has to be completely switched on at all times, which is a good situation for us to be in.
“Having Alina, our guard rotation and now Kat all being able to shoot the ball gives us freedom to let Jewel create knowing she’s got offensive support at all angles.”
As for why she has decided firstly come down under to play in the NBL1 West competition, and then join the Cougars, Tudor simply couldn’t say no to the opportunity when it presented both for what it will provide on and off the court in terms of a life experience.
“I have always wanted to visit Australia, and when my agent called me with this opportunity I was very intrigued,” Tudor said.
“The Cockburn Cougars have a terrific fan base — which reminds me of my college experience. And then after speaking with Coach Thwaites, the culture and style of play seemed to just fit. I have heard the NBL1 League is a great competitive league.”
While this will be Tudor’s first chance to come to Australia herself, it’s long been somewhere she has wanted to visit even just for a holiday for a variety of reasons.
To now be able to tick that off her bucket list while also playing basketball and continuing to further her professional career is quite the added bonus.
“I have an older brother who played water polo for a summer in the Sydney area and he loved it!” she said.
“We also had two Australian baseball players stay with my family at our home for several weeks when I was younger.
“And of course, I had a good friend and teammate who I played with at Oregon State (current Adelaide Lightning WNBL player Morgan Yaeger), as well as competed against many Australians in the PAC-12. Australia has always been on my bucket list.”
Tudor had a standout college career at Oregon State where she completed her full four years with the Beavers with an impressive 8.6 points and 3.0 rebounds while shooting at over 40 per cent from three-point range and over 80 per cent from the foul line across 113 appearances.
She finished her career third in the history of Oregon State in three-pointers made and fourth in three-point percentage.
Tudor is now playing for German club Gottingen in the Damen Basketball Bundesliga which is the top division in Germany.
She will finish that season before joining the Cougars and it’s been quite the eye-opening experience for her in a lot of ways to begin her professional career on foreign soil.
“My experience in Göttingen has been amazing,” Tudor said.
“Living in a foreign country, not speaking the language and adapting to a new culture were all challenging, initially (not to mention learning how to ride a bike and navigate through German street signs in freezing cold and rain😂).
“But my teammates, the fans and the coaching staff were so supportive. I am going to miss everyone! The league that we play in is very competitive and has a lot of seasoned veterans.”
After her standout college career, Tudor wasn’t quite sure where life playing basketball professionally would take her, but she already feels she has grown so much as a player and a person in Germany, and can’t wait to continue that development when she arrives at Cockburn.
“This was my first professional basketball stint, and I learned a lot about myself, and have grown so much as both a player and a person,” Tudor said.
“I’ve always been known as a three-point shooter. But I have been able to really grow my game to another level. My defensive training at Oregon State has really helped with the transition into professional basketball, as well. I look forward to helping the Cougars in any way I can.”
