Photo By Cpl. Earik Barton | U.S. Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Sydne Watts, a budget officer with Headquarters Battalion,...... read more read more
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U.S. Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Sydne Watts, a budget officer with Headquarters Battalion, 1st Marine Division, grew up playing basketball. Eventually she played at a level that gave her the opportunity to compete at the highest collegiate level: Division 1-NCAA.
“I got some offers throughout high school. I chose the Naval Academy because I wanted to go somewhere that has a higher purpose and a bigger reason for going to play basketball, than just dribbling up and down the court.” said Watts, a Georgia native.
After four years of college basketball, Watts thought her time on the court was over as she transitioned to a full-time career in the Marine Corps.
“Once I graduated, I thought, ‘okay, the balls stopped bouncing. It's time to lace up the boots and get to hiking’” said Watts.
With the lack of official outlets to participate in basketball, Watts took several months off of training until an old friend from her basketball team at the Naval Academy informed her about the Military Basketball Association; which hosts both men's and women's teams at any military installation, with enough participants to make a team.
Despite the demands of her regular duties, Watts quickly picked up where she had left off on the court. While at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Watts and a handful of other Marines joined the closest team in the Women's Military Basketball Association, a mostly U.S. Army team based out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The mixed Army and Marine Corps team would soon find themselves in the Eastern Region Championships.
“I think my favorite memory was myself, and three other Marines playing with Fort Bragg, in a tournament. It was the East Coast Conference Championships, and we were playing against an Army team” Watts said. “We went down a couple points, and it was the fourth quarter.”
Watts recalled looking around the floor to see all four of the Marines on the Fort Bragg team on the floor.
“The coach looked over at his Army girls because he was an Army guy, he was an Army coach,” she said. “He looked over at us and he said, ‘I'll tell you what, the Marines know how to fight.’”
With all four of the Marines playing out the end of the game, the Fort Bragg team came back to win the game, becoming the Eastern Region Champions.
For her individual performance, Watts, who scored 29 points in the final game, was awarded MVP of the tournament.
“The best feeling was being right next to the Marines and knowing that, yes, the Army can bring a fight and the Army is awesome. We love playing with them and getting the chance to,” said Watts. “But at the end of the day, at the end of the fight, the Marines were in it, and that's what brought home the championship,”
Watts is on a mission to bring awareness to the accessibility of all female sports in the Marine Corps and has been raising basketball attendance for many Marines.
“Marines can still play athletics and still practice in whatever sport they still have a passion for,” she said. “I feel like since I've started playing with the Military Basketball Association, there've been a lot more athletes that have reached out and Marines that have reached out saying, ‘I didn't know we had a women's basketball team,’ or ‘I didn't know we did all Marine Corps sports.’”
Despite Watts’ initial thought that her basketball career would be over after leaving college, she has continued to pursue her passion for basketball through the Military Basketball Association. Not only was she able to find a way to pursue that passion but has also found a community, a community of women in the military with the same passion of her own.
“These girls want to play basketball and play for the Marine Corps, which is pretty awesome,” said Watts.
Watts not only found a community and opportunity to continue to play basketball, but she also discovered a desire to share the opportunities she has discovered. She takes any chance she has to share with the Marines around her that there are programs available for Marines to get involved in sports while actively serving in the Marine Corps.
| Date Taken: | 07.30.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 07.30.2025 23:14 |
| Story ID: | 544328 |
| Location: | CAMP PENDLETON, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 520 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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