Piece by Piece: Madison Watts Building Something Bigger at NAU

Snap. Place another one. Snap.
 
For Madison Watts, there is something satisfying about the sensory, auditory and even visual feedback of snapping a LEGO piece into place.
 
And no, this is not a story about basketball. We will get to that.
 
For Watts, building Legos started as a way to step away from basketball. During her first year at Loyola Marymount, she would make trips to Target, grab a set – usually Cars at first, then Marvel … and start building.
 
Her favorite is Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy, a set with a handle that makes the character dance when you turn it.
 
But somewhere along the way, Watts realized the hobby had more in common with basketball than she might have thought.
 
"It takes time and it's a process," Watts said. "With basketball, it's time and a process with everything. Just slow down and take your time. Then you can look back and see the progress completed."
 
Piece by piece. Layer by layer. That is a fitting way to describe Watts' college career, too.
 
A standout at Leuzinger High School in California, where her jersey is already retired and she earned a 4.0 GPA, Watts arrived at Loyola Marymount in 2024. She appeared in 18 games as a freshman, making one start.
 
She did not play as much as she wanted, but she watched. She learned and took notes, but most importantly, she stored away lessons.
 
"The game moves so, so fast," Watts said of the jump from high school to college basketball. "I didn't play a lot at Loyola Marymount, so I took that, and in practices and games, I just learned."
 
Then came a fresh start in the Dark Sky City.
 
Watts entered the transfer portal after her freshman season. Laura Dinkins, who had previously recruited her while at Grand Canyon, called. Watts did not need much convincing.
 
"I just knew she was a person I could trust," Watts said. "Her telling me, 'I have a plan for you if you come here,' that's all I needed to hear."
 
She verbally committed to Northern Arizona before ever visiting Flagstaff.
 
When she finally arrived, snow was falling. It was the first time Watts and her father had seen snow, and the two immediately started throwing snowballs at each other.

"It was a special moment I will never forget," said Watts.
 
The basketball transition proved just as memorable.
 
During the 2025-26 season, Watts started 21 of 27 games and averaged 10.4 points and a team-best 6.9 rebounds per game. In Big Sky play, her scoring climbed to 11.8 points per game. She recorded four double-doubles, including three straight in February, and shot 47.2% from the floor.
 
More important than the numbers, though, was what began to change internally.
 
Confidence.
 
"Coming to NAU, from my first year here to now going into my junior year, I just feel like I've grown tremendously," Watts said. "With my mature role, a leader role, just building connections with people off campus and on the basketball court. As a person, I feel like I've grown into who I'm supposed to be."
 
Dinkins saw it, too.
 
"Madison is a natural leader on and off the court for us," Dinkins said. "Last year you could visually see her confidence increase game after game. Her role has completely changed for us, and it will be different again this year than last year. She's up for the challenge both as a leader and a student-athlete."
 
That leadership is crucial on a roster featuring plenty of new faces. Watts is one of just four returners, which means leadership is no longer simply about production. It is about being available.
 
"I want to be a leader, but I also want to be somebody a teammate can come and talk to," Watts said.
 
Away from the court, she is still building.
 
Watts, a sociology major, is interested in real estate and has talked with her father about eventually buying property, flipping homes and exploring commercial real estate. A cousin who owns multiple properties and has her own LLC has helped fuel that interest.
 
For now, though, the construction project in front of Watts is NAU Women's Basketball. She wants the Lumberjacks to show what they began building during the summer, establish a standard, connect with fans and make a run at a Big Sky championship.
 
And when basketball occupies nearly every hour of the day, the Legos are there waiting.
 
"It's something to do to relax your mind rather than just being on the phone or TV or facing a screen," Watts said. "It's just something like a distraction from reality."
 
One piece. Then another.
 
No shortcuts. No rushing the process.
 
For Watts, whether it is a Lego set, a basketball career, a leadership role or perhaps one day a house, the philosophy remains remarkably similar.
 
Build it right, and see what it becomes.