A pair of brothers, junior Brady and freshman Kyle Rosenstock, enter the Charles E. Smith Center almost every day for women’s basketball practice — but they aren’t on the roster. 

The Rosenstocks are two of the women’s basketball team’s nine practice players who help them prepare for games by running drills and acting as scout players on a volunteer basis. Some of the practice players said they take on the specific role of an upcoming opponent to help the team prepare for the game and that they enjoy helping the team improve and cultivating connections with each other.

Head Coach Caroline McCombs said the nine practice players have developed their own team within the team. 

“As far as defensively, they’re able to be faster, be stronger, maybe than some people, or as good as the people that we’re going to play against all year, so they really do a great job in helping us become better offensive players,” McCombs said.

The players have a variety of previous experience playing basketball, from casual pickup to high school varsity. One practice player, junior Nico Schwartz, said he was brought in to play in front of the coaching staff to prove his skills were up to the task. Practice players for the women’s basketball team must be full-time GW students, a women’s basketball Instagram post states.

Brady said McCombs recruited him to become a practice player on the first day of classes his freshman year after he stopped by a table event where she was giving out donuts. He said McCombs said he was tall and asked if he had basketball experience.

Kyle said he decided to become a practice player as well upon arriving in Foggy Bottom after hearing positive feedback from his brother about his first two years with the program. 

“It’s my favorite thing about school,” Brady Rosenstock said. “You’re able to connect with a lot of people that have similar interests as you.”

The duo played competitive basketball in high school at Dayton High School in Springfield, New Jersey. Kyle averaged 7.9 points per game his last year of high school and Brady averaged 11.38 points per game in his senior season. The two overlapped on the same team when Brady was a senior and Kyle was a sophomore.

“Right now, doing it with Kyle is pretty cool, with my brother. But then also, feeling like you’re a part of the team is really great,” Brady Rosenstock said.

The practice players receive priority course registration so that they can schedule their classes around practices and attend as many practices as possible. Brady said they try to come to as many of the six weekly practices as possible.

On top of being a practice player, Brady served as team manager last season, which involved sitting on the sideline during games ready to set up stools for timeouts and traveling with the team to select away games. He said most of the practice players attend the home games, watching from the Smith Center balcony. 

One practice player this season is a recognizable face for the Revolutionaries, having her own spot on the roster last season.

Former women’s basketball player Maren Durant exercised her last year of eligibility as a graduate transfer last season but remains in the program as a practice player. She started 16 games, averaging 3.4 ppg in her lone season at GW. Durant now finds herself playing against her former teammates on a daily basis.

“I wasn’t sure what to expect, because I don’t know many people who graduate or are done with the program and then come back in a still active way, but it’s been a really great experience,” Durant said. 

At Boston University, where she played from 2019 through 2023, she became their first-ever women’s basketball player to earn conference All-Defensive team honors three times. 

Senior forward Maxine Engel, who played with Durant last season, said it’s nice to be able to have a familiar face in practice. 

“I think she’s a perfect player to play against because sometimes in the post you’re playing against a grown man, and you’re like ‘Wait, this isn’t super realistic’ but having Maren, who’s been through college basketball, makes it super realistic,” Engel said. 

Schwartz said as someone who has less basketball experience, the height advantage that he has as a male practice player makes it easier to play with the team. Schwartz was listed as 6 feet tall in 2022, still shorter than eight of 14 players on the women’s team.

He said during his freshman year, Assistant Coach Adam Call approached him on the street attempting to recruit him as the team was looking for more practice players, and Schwartz joined the team after playing in front of the coaching staff that fall. He said his only experience was playing pickup basketball in high school.

“Not only does it keep me in shape, I mean, I feel like I’m helping create something here,” Schwartz said. 

Ryan Jainchill contributed reporting.