Matt CampbellThu, November 27, 2025 at 5:46 PM UTC·9 min readFollowing Maddie Zimmer’s final game in purple and white, Tracey Fuchs openly stated that the midfielder should be in conversation to be the greatest Wildcat of all time. Not just regarding field hockey, but regarding ALL Northwestern athletes.
Now, it’s easy to dismiss this as Fuchs’ usual praise of her team captain who’s been riding the ‘Cats express with her for five full years, but when looking at Zimmer’s career through a macrocosmic lens, Fuchs has great evidence to dig up that’ll uphold her claim. Zimmer in undoubtedly one of the greatest collegiate field hockey players of all time, as she’s raked up a laundry list of accolades during her time in Evanston.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWhere does that rank her amongst the greatest to ever do it? Let’s dive into it.
The Resúme
Not many athletes can say they’ve made First Team All-Big Ten in their careers. Maddie Zimmer did it five times.
That’s right. Every. Single. Year. That puts her in elite company, amongst Big Ten legends like Caitlin Clark, and that only cracks the surface of what’s Zimmer has done.
After opening her career as conference Freshman of the Year, she’s brought her career in Evanston full-circle by winning back-to-back Big Ten Player of the Year honors, surely securing herself a second consecutive NFHCA Player of the Year award and another Honda Sport Award in 2025.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWhy? Because she’s led her team to a national title, of course.
When speaking about “needle-movers” in regards to a program, its history, and its trajectory, Zimmer is the quintessential definition of that term for a sports fan.
She’s not only been a part of all three of NU’s national title wins, but she’s been named Most Outstanding Player at every NCAA Tournament the ’Cats have come out on top of, logging a point in every title game appearance: she netted the dagger against Liberty to win in 2021, scored twice and assisted once in 2024 (including the first goal of the game six minutes in), and was the PC stick stopper for Ilse Tromp’s overtime decider in the title game just a week ago.
Not to mention, she’s raked in three silver medals and a bronze at the international stage playing for Team USA, earning herself a trip to the 2024 Paris Olympics as a member of the national team.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAlthough she doesn’t show up in many of field hockey’s ‘counting stats’, Zimmer’s excellence in the sport lies in the intangibles of intelligence and hustle. On the defensive end, she causes havoc in the passing lanes and creates crucial interceptions, using her experience to her advantage. She’s an invaluable defender to have on corner defense — a player a coach can trust to fly towards the ball and make life difficult for the shot taker. Offensively, Zimmer pushes the pace and frees up scoring threats like Ashley Sessa and Grace Schulze to get their opportunities to score, and can add depth to set pieces out of corners.
In short, Zimmer is field hockey’s ultimate “five tool player” who has lived up to the hype and her potential to create one of the most storied careers ever seen in college athletics.
The Competition
Izzy Scane, Lacrosse (2019-24)When defining the G.O.A.T. in Northwestern athletics, Izzy Scane one of the first names that come to mind when speaking of any athlete in the 21st century.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOne of the greatest collegiate lacrosse players of all time: Big Ten Freshman of the Year, three-time conference Attacker of the Year, three-time conference tournament MVP, two-time Tewaaraton winner, two-time Honda Sport Award winner and NCAA DI all-time goals leader.
61 total goals in her four appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including nine across both title games in 2023 and 2024 against Boston College, the former of which she won and was named tournament MVP of. She’d then become one of the founding members of the Women’s Lacrosse League (WLL), currently playing for my hometown New York Charging, which placed second in the inaugural WLL championship series.
Like Zimmer, Scane raised the bar of excellence at her position over the course of her time in Evanston — as the G.O.A.T should do. But the only blemish on her résumé, compared to Zimmer, comes in the national title game: only winning one in five years.
Not that it discredits her career, she did tear her ACL in 2022 and had to watch from the sidelines as North Carolina snuck by the ‘Cats in the National Championship, winning by one goal. A Scane appearance would probably change the outcome of that contest.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut, the facts are the facts, and Zimmer might have an edge on Division I lacrosse’s all-time leading scorer because of fate itself.
Otto Graham, Football, Basketball, Baseball (1941-44)The lore behind Otto Graham may warrant himself the label of the most interesting Northwestern graduate of all time.
Not many people can claim that they’ve played two positions in college. Travis Hunter and Koi Perich hold that distinct honor today, but 95 years ago, Graham was the Swiss army knife of college football, being an All-American halfback while breaking every Big Ten passing record during his career.
The 1943 conference MVP finished third in Heisman voting that season, then went on to piece together another All-American season on the hardwood.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementDid we mention that Graham was a career-.300 hitter as well? Oh yeah, he did that too, spending the springs of 1942-44 on the diamond for the ‘Cats.
What made Graham such an anomaly was that he proved himself to be the best QB in the Big Ten immediately. In his first year of college football, he led the ‘Cats to a 14-7 upset win over Ohio State — a team on a 37 game win-streak at the time.
Graham’s true legacy lies in his NFL career, leading the Browns to 10 straight championship games, seven of which he’d win. He was named an All-Pro QB every year of his pro career and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1956, only one year after retirement. He was named to the NFL’s 75th anniversary team, joining names like Joe Montana and Johnny Unitas at the quarterback position.
And, just for fun, he took a detour during his career, venturing to the NBA and winning a championship with the Rochester Royals.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementInsanity is the only term to describe this career arc, and it does make Zimmer’s look quite small in comparison. However, her professional career is yet to begin and the professional opportunities in American field hockey outside of international competition are limited — making this comparison a bit unfair for now. Five years from now, we should definitely revisit this tale of the tape, as Graham may very well be the strongest contender for the G.O.A.T. title.
Veronica Burton, Women’s Basketball (2018-22)A three-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, First Team All-B1G, a conference champion and a WNBA first-round pick. It would be a disservice to exclude Veronica Burton’s name from this conversation.
Every year, Burton proved to be one of the best perimeter defenders in the country, leading the conference in steals in her first two seasons.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAlthough defense was at the core of what Burton brought to the table, she was also a phenomenal passer and ball handler, leading the squad in assists and opening up the offense for names like Lindsey Pulliam to shoot the lights out.
Burton is similar to Zimmer in terms of her intangible impact: making her teammates better. To this day, she’s a player that’s not afraid to be gritty and scrappy, playing a smaller role for the greater good of the team.
That’s the hallmark of a great athlete. If one is able to elevate the play of those around her, they become invaluable to the team. That is Veronica Burton to a tee, and it perfectly encapsulates Maddie Zimmer’s playstyle as well.
Matt Grevers, Swimming (2003-07)Quite literally the best swimmer to ever don the Northwestern purple.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementA six-time Olympic medalist (four gold, two silver), Grevers excelled at the backstroke and freestyle, competing in the 100 in both events, and earning himself a spot on the 2012 4×100 medley relay team with Michael Phelps.
Grevers’ name is all over the record wall inside Norris Aquatics Center, posting venue-bests in the 50 free, 100 free, 100 back, 200 back, 100 fly, 200 IM (all of which he holds the school record for), 200, 400 and 800 free relays and the 400 medley relay. The Lake Forest native hauled in four Big Ten titles: three in the backstroke and one in the aforementioned 400 medley relay, and was Northwestern’s first three-time individual NCAA champion in over 70 years.
Grevers’ resúme is LOADED with individual achievements, but that’s where the discrepancy comes in. Zimmer’s success stemmed from her role as a supporting pillar of her team, while Grevers found his success in focusing on his own performance.
Facilitating team success is a bit more difficult than excelling individually, because the added dimension of being a teammate creates a mental game within the game itself.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe nature of swimming might be the reason Grevers falls short of Zimmer in terms of “greatness” or “impact”, but the one edge he has over the midfielder is a gold medal. However, that might just change in three years if Zimmer is selected to represent the U.S in Los Angeles.
And…a laundry list of names we couldn’t get toAnchua Browne Sanders, Joe Girardi, Tim McGarigle, Boo Buie, Brooks Barnhizer, J.A. Happ, Madison Taylor…we could go on and on about all the athletes that have had legendary careers in purple and white, and they all have a case to be considered the best athlete to ever pass through Evanston. This conversation will definitely need to be revisited in the future, with names like Nick Martinelli and Juliana Boon slowly pushing their way into the vast conversation.
However, when going toe-to-toe with other athletes, Maddie Zimmer doesn’t give up much, if anything at all, to any other legendary ‘Cat. Does that warrant her a seat at the top of the mountain?
Well, that’s for you, ‘Cats faithful, to debate.
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