From Walk-On to Captain: Katie Golbranson a Role Model at Navy

Katie Golbranson can distinctly remember her first career caused turnover — mostly because she paid the price to record her first-ever statistic as a Division I women’s lacrosse player.

It was Feb. 25, 2022. Then a sophomore, Golbranson was playing in her fourth career game after walking onto Cindy Timchal’s team as a freshman a year prior. She was a raw talent. Speed was her greatest asset.

“I had been in for like a minute and a half,” Golbranson said. “It was right before halftime. It was a loose ball, and I was on the ride. I picked it up and totally got trucked. I think the girl got a yellow card.”

Golbranson appeared just twice more in 2022. Timchal, as decorated a women’s coach as there is in college sports, can recognize talent. She knew Golbranson had untapped potential, especially with that next-level speed. All it took were more reps.

A math and economics major from Newport Beach, Calif., Golbranson grew up around sports — just not lacrosse. She played a lot of tennis and played baseball with her brothers. Lacrosse didn’t come into the picture until after her sophomore year when JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano added the sport. She joined her friends on the team.

“Why not?” she thought.

She loved it enough to join Aces Lacrosse, a popular club program on which she played with girls who were already committed to colleges across the country. She was behind in terms of recruiting. And then COVID-19 wiped out her senior season.

She applied to the Naval Academy and was accepted. Golbranson had “no idea” what she walking into during plebe summer, but she parlayed a positive experience into an email to Timchal asking to try out as a walk-on. Timchal isn’t one to turn away potential.

“Players reach out to you, whether it’s throughout the year or in the fall, to try out for the team,” Timchal said. “We embrace that as an opportunity to be really inclusive and not overlook players.”

It proved to be a sound decision by the head coach who has led programs since 1982. Golbranson, that once raw prospect, started all but one game in 2023 and was named a Navy captain along with Leelee Denton for the upcoming spring season.

Beloved by her teammates and respected by all for her hard work and ability to improve, Golbranson represents all that’s great about Navy women’s lacrosse, Timchal said. And Timchal said the coaching staff takes absolutely zero credit for Golbranson’s ascension into a top-notch defender.

“This is all Katie G,” Timchal said. “This is all her.”

Captain voting took place last May, just after Navy’s season wrapped without an NCAA tournament berth, extending a streak that began in 2017. Each team at Navy has a Naval officer assigned to it. Captain Joshua Sager met with the Mids and instructed everyone to email him with a vote for who captains should be.

A team banquet at the end of May was when Navy learned who would lead it in 2024. Golbranson couldn’t believe it. She cried.

“I think she was taken off guard and a little bit surprised,” sophomore midfielder Maggie DeFabio said. “It was funny because of course she was going to be a captain. She’s Katie. She’s an amazing leader.”

“Being named team captain was one of the most humbling things I’ve ever really felt,” Golbranson said. “Knowing that your teammates are all going to have your back and wanted Leelee and I to represent them makes you want to be the best person, the best leader, the best lacrosse player you can be.”

Timchal wasn’t the least bit surprised, especially after watching her grow as a player over the years.

“Katie has emerged as a signature player for Navy,” Timchal said. “She’s a tremendous defender who has been given more responsibilities on the draw circle or to run through the midfield like her hair’s on fire. All those things add up to one heck of a captain.”

As fast as Golbranson is on the field, she’s slow and intentional off it. She listens intently and intends to lead as a supportive, approachable captain.

And it comes naturally to her.

“Katie’s one of the most supportive people I’ve ever met,” DeFabio said. “She’s just really naturally someone that people look to. She leads by example.”

After the final lacrosse season of her career, Golbranson will shift her attention to Naval aviation. She’s found a home in the community and gets a rush when in the cockpit.

“All the officers that I’ve been fortunate enough to meet with on the yard really make you want to be like them,” Golbranson said. “I’ve looked up to them a lot in the last three years. Landing an aircraft on a boat in the middle of the ocean, I’m not sure if there are any things much cooler than that.”

Golbranson has her role models, and the Mids have theirs. She just so happens to be one of them.