Danielle (DeWitt) Matthews
UW-Stout Graduation year – 2011
Major(s) – Dietetics
Sport – Basketball
Years Played – 2006-10
Hometown (High School) – Green Bay, Wis. (Bay Port)
Currently Reside – Eagan, Minn.
Jerrel Enerson-Matthews
UW-Stout Graduation Year - 2010
Major- Vocational Rehabilitation-Criminal Justice, minor in Psychology
Sports - Basketball and Baseball
Years played - Basketball, four seasons, Baseball, one season, 2006-2010
Hometown (High School) – Anoka, Minn. (Andover)
Currently Reside - Eagan, Minn.
Give us a brief synopsis of your life since graduating from UW-Stout, include job and family.
Danielle: I've been working at the Minneapolis VA - Medical Center for eight years, working in clinical informatics. Married the love of my life, Jerrel Enerson-Matthews (former Stout men's basketball player) in 2016. No children as of yet, but we have our fur child Nova (8), a pit bull-Doberman mix. In my spare time, I enjoy photography, yoga, basketball, volleyball, and traveling.
Jerrel: Since graduating from Stout, I first spent a little less than a year working with high risk juveniles in Dakota County, Minn., where I acted as a high-risk juvenile probation officer intern. This led me to my current employer (Companion Housing Programs Inc.) working with adults with intellectual disabilities and mental illness. During this time, I also married the love of my life in 2016, former UW Stout women's basketball player, then Danielle DeWitt.
Why did you choose to be a collegiate student-athlete at UW-Stout?
Danielle: I chose Stout for the Dietetics program, in addition I liked the size of the campus. Erin (Crank) Sullivan recruited me for women's basketball and made me feel like family right away.
Jerrel: I chose to be a collegiate student-athlete at Stout largely in part of the coaching staff that was present at the time (Eddie Andrist, Lionel Jones, Mike Kraft and our team manager Allen Scheer), as well as the incredible Stout campus. I remember taking a tour while in high school and knew it was the choice for me. Being from The Cities, it was far enough where my family wouldn't just show up, but also close enough to hit the highway and be home in an hour twenty.
What did you like most about competing in collegiate athletics?
Danielle: The entire grind, workouts, film sessions, practice, weight training, game day, the whole thing and knowing that you're in it together, step-by-step with your teammates.
Jerrel: The best part of competing in collegiate athletics was game days, being with my teammates, the coaches and the life-long friendships that were built from spending many hours in the gym, weight room and library (yes we had to study).
How did you get together? My guess is that it had something to with basketball?
Danielle: Yes as you guessed, we connected through basketball. We were incoming freshman in the fall of 2006 for the men's and women's basketball teams. After our glory days of playing college basketball, we were very involved with recreation basketball leagues in the Twin Cities playing almost 2-3 times a week, Gus Macker tournaments in Eau Claire.
As basketball athletes, have you been able to continue to be involved in basketball after your college days?
Jerrel: I spent a couple years coaching youth basketball teams in the Twin Cities. Currently we are not playing as much basketball compared to the early years of post college, with the recent quarantine times we still get out to the park and play shooting games, and yes we keep track of who is winning, always. We try to make it back to Menomonie as much as we can for the UW-Stout women's & men's alumni weekends. It's always a humble reminder of how out of shape we are. :-)
What is the greatest lesson you learned from being a collegiate student-athlete?
Danielle: Lots of life lessons, but the thing that sticks out the most is mental toughness.
Jerrel: Greatest lesson learned - be on time.
Who was the most influential person in your athletic career and why?
Danielle: Most influential person in my career would have to be my Mother, she has supported & cheered me on in my entire athletic career. She has instilled in me what good work ethic looks like.
Jerrel: My parents. They got me into organized athletics at a young age and always encouraged me throughout my life.
What is your most memorable or favorite sports moment at UW-Stout?
Danielle: I have too many! Going to the NCAA tournament my freshman year (2006-07), winter break trips out of state, Megan Maslowski hitting the game-winning shot over Platteville (Jan. 9, 2010), and (now husband) Jerrel hitting a game-winning shot over Platteville.
Jerrel: WIAC conference tourney against Platteville, I hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to advance us to the next round. (Feb. 23, 2010 in Johnson Fieldhouse)
How would your teammates describe you as a person and a student-athlete?
Danielle: I think my teammates would describe me as bubbly, fun, yet hardworking.
Jerrel: Depends on which ones you ask, ha. I'd say they would describe me as a leader and someone they would go to battle with, whether it be life or sports.
Nova, the Matthews' 8-year-old fur child.
Are you in contact with any former Blue Devil student-athletes? (If so, who?)
Danielle: Yes! A ton, our women's basketball family is tight knit, and we usually have a good turnout for our alumni weekends, I won't list all the names, but as far as keeping in touch with people from my years of playing that would be, Megan Maslowski, Julia Hirssig, Kim Stokke, Lindsey & Brittany Gerber, As far as the other they know who they are ;-)
Jerrel: I keep up with several former players as does my wife
Outside of athletics, what other activities were you involved in at UW-Stout?
Danielle: I was on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC)
Jerrel: Diversity committee
