One father, four daughters, and a shared legacy of basketball excellence have made the Murphy name synonymous with Wartburg pride

One father, four daughters, and a shared legacy of basketball excellence have made the Murphy name synonymous with Wartburg pride

By the time Jaedon Murphy ’25 was ready to pick a college, the answer was nearly a foregone conclusion. Still, she went through the motions of visiting schools and testing the waters at Division I universities outside of Iowa. But in the end, the Murphy family bleeds orange and black, and Jaedon chose to follow in her dad and sisters’ footsteps at Wartburg.

“Deep down, I always knew Wartburg was where I wanted to go. Seeing the success and experiences my sisters had, I always knew I wanted that as well,” Jaedon said.

The Murphy family legacy started in the ’80s when Mike Murphy ’89 was drawn to Wartburg by the late — and legendary — Buzz Levick. His teams secured conference championships in 1987 and 1989 and advanced to the Elite Eight in 1987. He finished his Wartburg career with 1,409 career points and was second on the career leader list for blocked shots.

His daughters, who also include twins Miranda Murphy Gerdes ’18 and Megan Murphy Logan ’18 and Riley Murphy ’21, are just as impressive. The twins went to the NCAA Tournament twice, including a run to the Final Four in 2017-18 when Riley was playing with them.

“I greatly valued the opportunity to be on the court alongside Miranda all of those years playing, but senior year where it was the three of us was beyond special,” Megan said. “Getting to be a part of watching Riley meet her friends and build her community at Wartburg that year was almost like I didn’t have to close the Wartburg chapter after passing the baton to her.”

Riley’s teams saw postseason action two more times during her Wartburg career. Jaedon, who played one year with Riley, also made two postseason runs, including another trip to the Final Four in 2023-24. Miranda amassed 1,121 career points, while Jaedon, who stayed at Wartburg for a fifth year because of COVID-19, racked up 1,921 points and earned conference MVP honors, just like her dad.

“My dad coached me all the way through middle school and taught me so much. He would always go out on the driveway and shoot with all of us,” she said. “It’s cool that I get to share that honor with him. I look up to him a lot, and I hope I can continue to be as successful as he is in other areas, like his business. That is always something I strive for.”

For Mike, who has watched the girls’ basketball careers from the beginning, the
ending is bittersweet.

“I had always hoped all four of them would be able to experience Wartburg in the same way I did, and they did. I am so very proud of how hard they worked to get to that point. It’s phenomenal what they got to see and experience because of basketball at Wartburg,” he said. In addition to deep postseason runs that took them across the U.S., both Miranda and Jaedon were part of USA DIII Select Teams that played in Brazil in 2017 and 2022, respectively. “It was a lot of fun to watch them together and with their friends.”

Now, as the youngest Murphy adjusts to life after Wartburg and the family begins to look toward the future, they know one thing will always be true.

“Wartburg will always be in our blood, and we will continue to cheer on the Wartburg Knights every opportunity we can,” Miranda said.