As Mason Whittaker stood on the court at Bender Arena, watching his teammates lift the trophy, cut down the nets and punch their ticket to March Madness, he took a moment to soak it all in. Just a year earlier, this moment felt out of reach.
A torn ACL, multiple knee surgeries and an endless cycle of rehabilitation once threatened to define Whittaker’s college career. But on this night, as the senior forward celebrated a Patriot League Championship with his teammates, he proved his resilience could change the narrative.
Long before he became a champion, Whittaker was just a kid in Cust, New Zealand, chasing a dream so big it spanned continents. Basketball wasn’t the country’s biggest sport, but from the time he was six years old, he set his sights on one goal: playing college basketball in the United States.
“Being from New Zealand, you always look to America as the pinnacle of basketball,” he said.
Basketball wasn’t just Whittaker’s dream, it was the family blueprint. Growing up in a small town with a limited basketball scene, he leaned on his sisters, Charlotte and Lauren, for support.
“We had a common goal, and we enjoyed supporting each other,” he said.
His older sister, Charlotte, led the way, leaving Cust to play at the University of Colorado, where she built a successful career in the Pac-12 Conference. Watching her navigate the recruiting process and find success in American basketball showed Whittaker what was possible.
“To see my older sister do her thing and go through the process of recruitment and coming to the States, it felt like a natural progression of what I was going to do,” he said.
But getting noticed across the Pacific wasn’t easy. Whittaker’s path to American University wasn’t the result of a flashy recruitment process or elite exposure camps; it was done through spreadsheets and emails.
“I had a few coaches who helped me with recruiting, but I mainly did the majority by myself,” he said. “It was a bit unorthodox. But it worked out.”
He eventually built a connection with American’s coaching staff, particularly former associate head coach Scott Greenman. When Whittaker received an offer from the Eagles, he took the opportunity to make his collegiate dreams come true.
In 2021, Whittaker arrived in Washington, D.C., finally achieving the goal he’d spent his life working for. But the transition wasn’t as easy as he’d hoped.
The adjustment on the court proved just as challenging as the one off it. He expected to keep pace with American basketball but quickly realized how different the game felt.
“I thought I had it down pat,” he said. “Basketball in New Zealand is a lot more physical, but it’s way slower. I came over here and the pace of the players was just so quick.”
Though his coaches initially saw him fitting into a perimeter forward role, Whittaker struggled to stay in front of faster players. He wasn’t ready yet for that level of play. But even in those early growing pains, he found motivation.
“My freshman year was beneficial in the way that I knew what the next step was,” he said. “I knew what I needed to work on. It was a good learning experience.”
But just as he was preparing for that next step, the real setback hit.
Before he arrived at American, Whittaker was already playing catch-up . During his junior year of high school, a knee injury sidelined him for months. He spent his senior year trying to rebuild, then took a gap year to get back into playing shape with his local pro team.
Though he’d recovered once before, the road ahead would prove even harder.
While back home at the end of his freshman year, Whittaker hyperextended his knee going for a rebound. It only hurt for a few seconds, so he kept playing on it, even doing a workout that night. But the pain came back, and when he returned to D.C. for summer workouts, it only got worse.
“I’m also not the best at communicating pain,” he said. “So I did the whole summer of workouts on it. I would do the workout, and then I just wouldn’t move for the rest of the day. I was in so much pain.”
Eventually, he got a diagnosis: a torn ACL.
Just like that, his entire sophomore season was gone. And just as he began to rebuild, his junior year brought another setback: a torn meniscus and another surgery.
“It was a lot of weathering the storm, in terms of not knowing what my career was going to look like,” Whittaker said.
The arrival of head coach Duane Simpkins and a new coaching staff before Whittaker’s junior year gave him a new opportunity and renewed hope for his career. The staff emphasized patience, consistency and long-term health.
“The coaching staff had done a really good job of setting the tone,” Whittaker said. “I think for my case, the best outcome they wanted for me was to be healthy and fit and at least participating in practice.”
But the progress was anything but linear.
“For a while, my junior year just felt like Groundhog Day,” Whittaker said. “I kept working to get better, and then I was back to square one. I’d practice for two, three days, and my knee would swell up again.”
Assistant coach Isaiah Tate saw it firsthand.
“Mason’s the toughest player we’ve got,” Tate said. “His ability to not even make it through a full Monday through Sunday practice, and still find a way to contribute — that’s rare.”
By midseason, the tide began to turn. He didn’t feel perfect, but Whittaker started to believe he could contribute, even if in short bursts. After a conversation with strength coach Asia McCants and the coaching staff, he was cleared for limited minutes.
After being sidelined for so long, Whittaker had to retrain his mind as much as his body. Overcoming that mental block was one of the hardest parts of his comeback.
“Once I actually got out there, it was such a foreign feeling being out so long,” he said. “But finally, that made it feel like it was possible to get back to where I was.”
His first official action came during a game against Holy Cross. It was brief, just an inbound play followed by a quick foul, just seconds of live action, but to Whittaker it was a meaningful step. He was back on the court.
By his senior season, Whittaker wasn’t just healthy, he was contributing. He stepped in off the bench, often subbing in for forward Matt Rogers, and brought energy in critical stretches.
Coach Tate pointed to games where, by halftime or during a media timeout, it was clear that Mason had made the plays that would end up winning it for them.
“It was huge in terms of confidence,” Whittaker said. “I think you lose a bit of touch of what it means to be on a team when you’re not out there contributing.”
Whittaker’s impact didn’t go unnoticed, especially by his teammates.
“He made plays this year, big plays during critical times, that changed the trajectory of our season,” graduate student guard Lincoln Ball said. “He was so happy just to be out there, and it was so rewarding for all of us to see him healthy and available.”
Whittaker appeared in the Patriot League Championship game and in American’s NCAA Tournament matchup against Mount St. Mary’s, moments that would have seemed unthinkable just a year earlier.
“To finally play meaningfully meant the world,” Whittaker said. “Because it’s all that hard work I’d been putting in finally going to something. And the team could finally reap the benefits of it.”
For the coaching staff, seeing Whittaker's perseverance finally pay off was just as meaningful.
“I’m super proud of everybody on our team, but Mason, he’s one of those guys that we are extremely proud of because it’s hard — It’s hard to deal with injuries and process that your career might be done before you even got started,” assistant coach Jackie Manuel said. “To see him really fight for what he wanted and to see him accomplish that was awesome.”
Senior in the College of Arts and Sciences Shane Gardner, who closely followed the team’s season, echoed the high praise of Whittaker.
“Mason is all hustle,” Gardner said. “He does what the team needs him to do. When AU’s games are close, that’s what you need.”
Gardner added, “For a lot of Division I players, all they know is basketball. But something I really respect about Mason is that he has other passions off the court, like his photography.”
Those around him agree: Whittaker’s legacy is about more than just basketball. He is equally committed to his craft as a photography major, earning a reputation as a deeply thoughtful artist.
He didn’t always know photography would be part of his journey. Whittaker started at AU as a history major, then shifted to the School of Communication and College of Arts and Sciences Department of Art after taking an introductory photo course.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t come to the States at first to play basketball,” he said. “But as I progressed, photography has become something that’s just as important and has been fantastic.”
He credits the program, and its people, for helping him find a new sense of purpose.
“The head of photography, Leena Jayaswal, has been so supportive not only of my basketball but of my work in the photo program,” Whittaker said. “Shaun Schroth, the whole program, the people in it are fantastic. They’re just so supportive in terms of wanting to see everyone succeed.”
That support, both in and out of the classroom, hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“Stories like his are fantastic because it helps to normalize the artistic side that athletes have that sometimes they’re not allowed to share,” Director of the Photography BA Leena Jayaswal said.
Whittaker’s senior capstone, “Seen: Over the Shoulder,” features portraits of teammate Lincoln Ball and reflects the same introspection he’s brought to the court.
Jayaswal said Whittaker’s presence bridges two worlds.
“The work he does is not typical,” Jayaswal said. “He actually does wonderful portraiture and landscape work. He’s not like, ‘I play basketball, so I’m going to shoot sports.’”
Schroth agreed. “You want to see anyone succeed in something that they’re interested in. It doesn’t matter what their background is. He’s an exception, because it’s not often we get the athlete. But at the end of the day, anyone can do whatever they want if they really want to do it. I think Mason is a great example of that.”
As graduation approaches, Whittaker is reflecting on what the past four years have meant, and what comes next. He plans to embark on a solo bike trip across the country, starting in Virginia and ending in Oregon.
“I feel this is the perfect time in my life to be doing something like that,” he said. “After graduating college it’ll be the first time I’m really independent on my own.”
He’s considering playing professionally in New Zealand or Australia but isn’t rushing the decision.
“I’m open to a lot of things,” Whittaker said. “I think I’ll be playing — I just don’t know when.”
While his next move remains undecided, what he takes with him from AU is clear: “The relationships I’ve made,” Whittaker said. “Basketball will be done one day and the only thing that will really remain is the memories and the friendships. I’ve met some fantastic people who’ve had such an impact on my life and changed the trajectory of my basketball career, but also what I thought was possible in my life.”
Whittaker said American will always be part of him.
“I’ve had such a good time at AU and a lot of important times of my life have happened here, so it will always feel like an extension of home,” Whittaker said. “It goes back to the people I’ve met and the relationships I’ve created. I’m forever in debt to AU, and to think of it ending is bittersweet.”
Whittaker’s final season may have been his first healthy one, but it was far from his only meaningful one. Through injuries, setbacks and self-discovery, he created a college experience that was bigger than basketball.
He found his voice. Not just as a player, but as an artist and a teammate. The wins mattered — but so did the losses, the lessons and the people who shaped him along the way.
Now, as he prepares for life beyond AU, whether on a bike trail across the country or a professional court back home, Whittaker carries more than just the memories. He carries proof of what’s possible.
“I think the takeaway is that you can do whatever you put your mind to,” Manuel said. “A lot of people say that, but Mason actually lived it. There’s no one who can tell him what he can’t do.”
This article was edited by Jack Stashower, Penelope Jennings, and Walker Whalen. Copy editing done by Olivia Citarella.
