Xavier University Athletics
Advancing into a new position: Matt Witte enters his first season as a Graduate Assistant for the Musketeers
12.17.25 | Women's Basketball
CINCINNATI - Discovering basketball at a young age, Graduate Assistant Matt Witte steps into his new role with the Xavier program after serving as a student manager as an undergrad. With aspirations to coach in the future, Witte has been surrounded by coaching mentors as long as he can remember.
"I played basketball growing up," Witte said. "It was something that has always been ingrained in my family. My parents actually met through coaching college basketball. My mom played four years of college basketball. So basketball has just been everything I've known since I was a kid."
Growing up in Wisconsin and immersed in AAU and high school basketball, Witte wanted an opportunity to stay involved with the sport. As a Xavier freshman, Witte was encouraged to serve as a practice player for the women's team.
"After being the practice player for one year, student manager for the next three years of undergrad here at Xavier, I was head manager for my junior and senior year," Witte said. "And once that experience had ended, I knew I wanted to become a graduate assistant, just more involved. I got with the team, being able to learn more things. I realized that basketball was something I wanted to be involved in."
Staying close to the program, Witte, without a doubt, wanted to continue to work with the team. Witte saw the GA position as an opportunity to learn more about working in Division I athletics, insight that he was unlikely to get from the outside.
"When Coach Chambers talked to me about [the position], it was another decision I didn't have to think twice about," Witte said. "I knew that I wanted to stay here. I love this school, this program, this team, and everyone involved with it. This place just feels like home, and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."
Typical responsibilities for Witte include managing gear, food orders, call sheets, jerseys, and other responsibilities provided by Assistant Athletic Director for Women's Basketball Kevin Hermansader. Once he finishes his graduate duties, Witte wants to pursue a career in coaching, similar to the path of his parents.
"I love being able to work with people and help them get better," Witte said. "It takes a special craft to be able to sacrifice a lot of your time to make other people good at what they do, and that's something I definitely want to help with, whether it's here, anywhere back home, at the end of the day, being a coach in basketball would be a dream come true."
In his time with the program so far, Witte is learning that the simple details are what win basketball games.
"It's like 'We want to stop this player from scoring their average in a game, but it's the little things of, how are you going to do that…," Witte said. "Our coaching staff does an amazing job of it, of emphasizing the little details that the players need to know, going into a scout, repping it in practice, having them watch film on their own time."
Those little things, Witte believes, are the aspects that go into a winning brand. Throughout his experience, Witte is excited by seeing the work that these players put into achieving success.
"I feel so lucky that I do get to see that daily grind. I get to see people struggle, see people succeed, and get to see people grow over the course of a season," Witte said. "That's the most rewarding thing, is that you get to go through that shared struggle and that shared sacrifice… that's really what makes a team complete, is being able to go through those hardships and find a way collectively to work your way out of it."
As the season moves forward, Witte is thankful for the opportunity to stay with the program, especially since there wasn't a spot for him initially. At Xavier, Witte can continue to absorb Coach Chambers' coaching style and take what he learns for future endeavors.
"Being able to stay at this school, with this staff, with this program, is something I'm very grateful for," Witte said. "And I'm hoping that all of our hard work that we've put in so far this year will continue to build on itself, and hopefully we can do everything we dream of doing this year."
"I played basketball growing up," Witte said. "It was something that has always been ingrained in my family. My parents actually met through coaching college basketball. My mom played four years of college basketball. So basketball has just been everything I've known since I was a kid."
Growing up in Wisconsin and immersed in AAU and high school basketball, Witte wanted an opportunity to stay involved with the sport. As a Xavier freshman, Witte was encouraged to serve as a practice player for the women's team.
"After being the practice player for one year, student manager for the next three years of undergrad here at Xavier, I was head manager for my junior and senior year," Witte said. "And once that experience had ended, I knew I wanted to become a graduate assistant, just more involved. I got with the team, being able to learn more things. I realized that basketball was something I wanted to be involved in."
Staying close to the program, Witte, without a doubt, wanted to continue to work with the team. Witte saw the GA position as an opportunity to learn more about working in Division I athletics, insight that he was unlikely to get from the outside.
"When Coach Chambers talked to me about [the position], it was another decision I didn't have to think twice about," Witte said. "I knew that I wanted to stay here. I love this school, this program, this team, and everyone involved with it. This place just feels like home, and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."
Typical responsibilities for Witte include managing gear, food orders, call sheets, jerseys, and other responsibilities provided by Assistant Athletic Director for Women's Basketball Kevin Hermansader. Once he finishes his graduate duties, Witte wants to pursue a career in coaching, similar to the path of his parents.
"I love being able to work with people and help them get better," Witte said. "It takes a special craft to be able to sacrifice a lot of your time to make other people good at what they do, and that's something I definitely want to help with, whether it's here, anywhere back home, at the end of the day, being a coach in basketball would be a dream come true."
In his time with the program so far, Witte is learning that the simple details are what win basketball games.
"It's like 'We want to stop this player from scoring their average in a game, but it's the little things of, how are you going to do that…," Witte said. "Our coaching staff does an amazing job of it, of emphasizing the little details that the players need to know, going into a scout, repping it in practice, having them watch film on their own time."
Those little things, Witte believes, are the aspects that go into a winning brand. Throughout his experience, Witte is excited by seeing the work that these players put into achieving success.
"I feel so lucky that I do get to see that daily grind. I get to see people struggle, see people succeed, and get to see people grow over the course of a season," Witte said. "That's the most rewarding thing, is that you get to go through that shared struggle and that shared sacrifice… that's really what makes a team complete, is being able to go through those hardships and find a way collectively to work your way out of it."
As the season moves forward, Witte is thankful for the opportunity to stay with the program, especially since there wasn't a spot for him initially. At Xavier, Witte can continue to absorb Coach Chambers' coaching style and take what he learns for future endeavors.
"Being able to stay at this school, with this staff, with this program, is something I'm very grateful for," Witte said. "And I'm hoping that all of our hard work that we've put in so far this year will continue to build on itself, and hopefully we can do everything we dream of doing this year."
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