Wonder No More: Delaney Ott has Made the Jump from WLCA to Division I

Delaney Ott is not unlike many athletes who ask themselves, “I wonder if I could?”

Junior varsity players wonder if they will be good enough to join the high school varsity team. College players naturally wonder how they measure up against athletes at the top of the Division I ladder.

Ott, who spent the past four years as a college club goalie at the University of Georgia, is getting a chance to answer the question. After graduating in May with a degree in Applied Mathematics, she is now a graduate transfer at Duke and competing for playing time as a member of the Blue Devils, a perennial Division I Top 20 contender.

“I know that this doesn’t happen very often, so I feel very lucky to have this opportunity,” said Ott, who is also pursuing a master’s degree in Duke’s Fuqua School of Business.

As one of seven graduate transfers at Duke this season, Ott and the others arrived in Durham in July to begin workouts and the process of getting acclimated. In total, the Blue Devils’ roster features 11 fifth-year players taking advantage of the NCAA’s extra year of eligibility offered because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was great to have the summer together before the rest of the team arrived in August,” Ott said. “We all bonded very quickly and have become great friends.”

Coming out of Severna Park (Md.) High School in 2019, Ott had initially committed to a Division I program before deciding to attend Georgia and join their highly competitive Women’s Collegiate Lacrosse Associates (WCLA) club program. It’s a decision she doesn’t regret.

“I loved playing at Georgia alongside some incredible girls,” said Ott, who unfortunately missed most of 2020 and 2021 college seasons due to the widespread COVID shutdowns.

When Georgia finally returned to action in 2022, Ott emerged as a star. She earned WCLA All-America honors in both her junior and senior seasons and was recognized as the national goalie of the year in both 2022 and 2023. Georgia advanced to the WCLA national championship game in each of her last two seasons.

Ironically, the same “I wonder” thoughts that began circling through Ott’s head following her junior season were also whirling about in her father’s mind. Chuck Ott suggested to his daughter that she may want to consider using her fifth year at a Division I school.

“At first, I thought he was crazy, but then I reached out to several schools and started looking at their academic offerings,” Ott said. “Duke really is the dream school for me based on the combination of athletics and academics.”

Ott received her acceptance to Duke last March while she was in the midst of serving as Georgia’s club president and leading the Bulldogs to a seventh straight Southeastern Women’s Lacrosse League title.

She also received an invitation to join Duke’s varsity team from head coach Kerstin Kimel, who has piloted the Blue Devils’ program since its inception in 1996.

“I had a chance to watch some of her game film from Georgia, and when you find kids who are willing to make the commitment to get in the goal and have players fire shots at them, you keep an open mind,” Kimel said. “She deserves this opportunity.”

Due in part to a profusion of injuries to its goalies last spring, Duke experienced just its fourth losing season in Kimel’s 28 years at the helm, finishing with an 8-10 record.

“We wanted to be fortified in goal with multiple options this year,” Kimel said.

Now in the midst of Fall Ball, Ott is adjusting to the quicker pace of the Division I game. She soaks up the feedback being given to her by the coaches — a luxury she didn’t have at Georgia since most club programs are player coached — and keeps working on improving.

After opening the fall slate with games against Davidson and High Point earlier this month, the Blue Devils are back on the field this weekend with matchups against Richmond and ACC rival North Carolina.

“Every player at this level is so skilled,” said Ott, who continues to fine-tune her game. “I’m working my hardest so that I can help this team in any way that I can.”

Ott is one of five goalies on Duke’s fall roster. Kimel says there is no clear frontrunner yet.

“She’s very fit and athletic and very active both inside and outside the crease,” Kimel said. “She’s got a great work ethic and provides a different look for our players in practice every day.”

Kimel also points to Ott’s maturity, shaped in part by her leadership of Georgia’s club program, as a valuable asset.

“She brings a good perspective to our team,” Kimel said. “Club players have to do a lot of the planning and organizing for their team. They don’t have other people taking care of all the details for them. There’s a lot of maturity that comes from handling those responsibilities.”

Regardless of what role Ott eventually plays for the Blue Devils in 2024 and how her journey from club player to Division I varsity athlete turns out, she already knows how she will define the experience. The wondering is over.

“When it’s all done, I will walk away feeling happy with what I accomplished,” Ott said. “I made it here and achieved my dream.”