Layden-Zay leaves her mark in Purdue history

As her career comes to a close, Madison Layden-Zay is in a reflective mood. The fifth-year on the Purdue women’s basketball team is grateful for the opportunity and emphasizes the great experience of her last season.

Throughout this final year, Layden-Zay has become the program’s all-time leader in 3-point field goals and is now one of two players in Big Ten history to reach six different career statistical benchmarks. The other? Former Iowa superstar and current WNBA standout Caitlin Clark.

There’s an appreciation of what this season means to Layden-Zay, who left the program following the 2023-24 season, opting out of playing in the postseason that year. She returned for one last ride with her younger sister, McKenna, coach Katie Gearlds, and a team she calls her favorite during her Purdue career. She prefers more victories, but Layden-Zay has enjoyed the journey and soaking up the moments, both individually and team-related, knowing the end is in sight.

“I’m super grateful and just glad that I’m back,” Layden-Zay says. “I’ve told the coaches, and I’ve told the team too, this is my favorite team I’ve ever played with at Purdue. I love all of them and the coaches as well. No regrets coming back and being here with them. They’ve made it a great experience.”

However, the Purdue experience might not be over.

From a playing standpoint, Layden-Zay is out of eligibility as this season was an extra year following COVID. But Layden-Zay and Gearlds have discussed the possibility of adding the Kokomo native as a graduate assistant to the program. It makes sense. Layden-Zay brings a high basketball IQ, not only understanding her role but also knowing where others should be and seeing the big picture of the game.

Her mom, Kathie, is a five-time state-championship coach who won nearly 400 games at Tri-Central, Western, and Northwestern in Indiana. Her dad, Jeff, served as an assistant coach.

Her background equals a basketball coach. It’s a matter if Layden-Zay wants to act on it.

“She’s got a coach’s mind,” says Gearlds, who’s in her fifth season with the Boilermakers. “She understands how the game is supposed to be played. She’s done a really good job of leading a young group and trying to translate everything that I’m saying.

“She’s got a good demeanor. If she wanted to pursue coaching, and I think she goes back and forth, but some days I’ll tell her, ‘You’re crazy to chase this profession.’ I think she’d be really good at it.”

Layden-Zay does go back and forth, still undecided about what’s next after the season ends. She has another year remaining to finish her master’s program, but admitted she’s intrigued by the idea.

“It’s something that I’ve been interested in, and I’ve thought about it for a while now, and just still trying to figure it out,” Layden-Zay says.

“I’m back”

Her decision to leave the program at the end of the 2023-24 regular season was a surprise, with the post-athletic phase of her life on the horizon.

She was engaged to marry Rees Zay, a former practice player with the program. The wedding ceremony took place in September 2024. She began her new 8-to-5 routine and her personal responsibilities. The couple was living in Carmel, set to embark on life’s journey.

But she remained close to the program, attending games to watch McKenna play last season. The more she watched, the more the idea of playing basketball again rekindled a spark inside her.

After the season ended, McKenna Layden mentioned to Gearlds that her sister was interested in a possible return. How would Layden-Zay be received after leaving the program? Was there room on the roster, knowing Gearlds and the coaching staff needed to take another deep dive into the transfer portal following the departure of several players? Gearlds and Layden-Zay had several conversations trying to determine if coming back was the right move for her and the program.

On March 26, Layden-Zay made it official with a social media post: “I’m back.”

At Big Ten Media Day in October, Layden-Zay admitted that “I wish I had played” in the postseason tournament following the 2023-24 season. She wasn’t in the best “headspace at that time” and preferred the remaining players have the opportunity to grow and experience the postseason, knowing Layden-Zay wasn’t going to be part of the team the next season.

Once Layden-Zay decided to return, she had to get to work.

She started individual workouts on her own, focusing on shooting and lifting weights. She began working out at Compete Training Academy, owned and operated by Jordan and Courtney (Moses) Delks. Courtney played for the Boilermakers and scored over 1,600 points.

Gearlds summoned Layden-Zay to Cardinal Court, the team’s practice facility, to gauge her progress and determine whether this was going to work. Layden-Zay was under the microscope.

She was nervous going through a tryout with plenty of eyes watching her every move. Gearlds and the coaching staff liked what they saw and started the process of bringing Layden-Zay back.

On March 14, Layden-Zay submitted her name to the transfer portal. She started receiving interest from other programs. Nothing, though, was going to pull her away from the Boilermakers.

“I knew I wanted to be here, be with McKenna, and finish out the year better than what I did,” she says.

Layden-Zay didn’t know many of the players on the roster since there was a lot of turnover. Only her sister remained on the team since Layden-Zay last played. Lana McCarthy and Kendall Puryear signed with the program when Layden-Zay was on the team, but didn’t play together until this season.

“Honestly, I’ve never played with anyone like her,” McCarthy says. “She’s not only skilled with her shooting and her defense, but I feel like it’s a lot of her knowledge of the game. She is always making the right pass, making the right calls, drawing up the right play. She is such a leader. I think that brings so much.”

Program record, milestone moment

The 3-point record was well within reach at the start of the season.

Layden-Zay needed 39 to pass Karissa McLaughlin’s total of 244. She moved to the top of the list in January during an overtime victory over Washington, which was ranked No. 23 at the time.

Career 3-pointer No. 245 started a late-game surge that put the Boilermakers in position to knock off the Huskies, ending the program’s 23-game losing streak against ranked teams. Setting the record and helping her team earn a much-needed victory fulfilled two objectives.

Breaking the record was one thing, but sharing the moment with McKenna and seeing her family in Mackey Arena added another layer of emotion.

“It’s obviously super special and being here with McKenna and to have her on the team as well, breaking a record at a school like Purdue, it’s awesome,” Layden-Zay says. “To have my whole family be there and support me, and just the whole taking a year off and coming back, and obviously it’s not normal. I’m just super grateful for the coaches allowing me to do that.”

But her achievement of joining Clark as one of two Big Ten players with at least 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists, 200 steals, 200 3-pointers, and 50 blocks speaks to her ability to impact the game in different areas.

Layden-Zay has never been a one-dimensional player, relying on her skill set to hurt opponents beyond scoring. The overall contributions became part of who Layden-Zay is as a player.

“I didn’t want to be so offensive-minded,” she says. “I also wanted to be defensive-minded and get the stops and get the steals. I had to be that way because I was guarding so many great players and didn’t want them to have an easy night or an easy game against us. I felt like I had to go out there and do it all and just try my best.”

Her final numbers will put Layden-Zay’s name prominently throughout the program’s record book. Along with holding the No. 1 spot in career 3-pointers, Layden-Zay ranks in the top five in minutes played, top 10 in assist-turnover ratio, top 15 in steals, top 20 in assists, and top 25 in points.

Beyond the statistics, her leadership skills continue to grow.

She learned from teammates Cassidy Hardin, Abbey Ellis, and Jeanae Terry before assuming a bigger role after older players left the program. Layden-Zay has taken on a bigger role this season, with numerous transfers and many new faces on the roster.

“I think about her sophomore year, and how we tried to really empower her to take over, but she just wasn’t quite ready for it,” Gearlds says. “She was in a really good spot because she had Cass to really lean on. And Janae and Abbey were older people, so she didn’t have to lead.

“Now, to watch her and take ownership of that, whether it’s in conversations with us, or me, or her team, everybody looks to Madison. It’s no secret; when Madison is having a really good day, it lifts everybody’s spirits.”

Layden-Zay has tried to express herself more vocally and take on a bigger leadership role this season, compared to the past, when she preferred her actions set the example.

“I still lead by example, but I would say I’m more vocal and try to show more expressions that I have in the past and be more excited for things,” she says. “I think that’s really where I’ve grown.”

“Cool to watch her grow”

Before the season, Gearlds saw a different vibe around Layden-Zay. Whether it’s maturity, being now married, or just her years of experience showing through, Layden-Zay brought a different level of confidence back to the program. That has stayed consistent throughout this season.

There’s been no regret in returning for her last season.

Along with the record and the significant milestone, it’s been a special year, knowing this is the last time she and McKenna will play on the same basketball team.

They lived together two years ago before Layden-Zay married Rees. But they usually travel to practice, occasionally eat dinner together, and are roommates when the Boilermakers are on the road, creating memories that will last forever.

“It’s just really special,” Layden-Zay says. “When I was away and deciding to come back, that was a big factor, and just realizing that I’ll never have this opportunity, especially with her.

“I wanted to do it with her one more time and just be with her because it’s not going to be like this forever.”

For Gearlds, the moment etched in her memory of Layden-Zay is of her holding the Purdue-Indiana Barn Burner trophy. It was the first time the three-decades-old wooden plaque, a symbol of the in-state rivalry, had been back in the program’s hands since 2016.

On a day Gearlds celebrated career coaching victory No. 300 between Purdue and Marian University, watching Layden-Zay hold the trophy and enjoy the moment with her teammates will never fade, calling it “one of the coolest moments I’ve ever experienced.”

More than 10 days later, Gearlds summed up Layden-Zay’s return and career with similar words.

“It’s been really cool to watch her grow, watch her have joy, watch her love the game of basketball again,” Gearlds says. “Forget the wins and losses. Honestly, it’s been one of the coolest things that I’ve ever experienced standing on the sidelines.”

Written by Mike Carmin, who has covered Purdue women’s basketball for 36 years.