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The Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association has announced Tyler Eaton of Hayward and Olivia Olson of Cuba City as the 2025 student recipients of the Legacy Leadership Award. 

The award was established in 2019 to honor the legacy, leadership, and lives of WBCA Executive Board members John Cary (former MACC Fund director), Jerry Petitgoue (state's winningest coach & WBCA Executive Director), and David Royston (founder of JustAGame Fieldhouse) in recognition of their leadership qualities, characteristics in interpersonal relationships, and achievement as Board members.

The WBCA-MACC Fund Legacy Award will be given annually to an Executive Board member and senior student who demonstrates the exemplary qualities of Character, Courage, and Service. Joan Petitgoue of Cuba City was previously selected as the Executive Board recipient of the award this year.

The supporting information provided by the coaches of Eaton and Olson can be found below.

Supporting information from Hayward coach Curtis DeCora:

Tyler is a Senior on the Hayward Hurricanes Boys Basketball team, and a three year varsity letter winner. Tyler carries a 3.63 cumulative GPA and volunteers his free time to non-profit organizations like Fishing Has No Boundaries, an organization that provides angling opportunities for all people regardless of disability. The American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation provides events and activities for year-round healthy and active lifestyles, and Tyler volunteers for all events, including; The American Birkie which sees 12,000+ skiers each year, and the Fat Bike Birkie which brings 5,000 riders. Tyler also volunteers at the local Stone Lake Cranberry Festival to help set up, organize and run the annual small town harvest festival. Additionally, Tyler volunteers for the local Musky Festival and Fall Festival sponsored by the Hayward Area Chamber of Commerce. 

As a kid, Tyler participated in the Local 4H chapter for 12 years, and became a team lead and liaison for the younger groups. 

In a leadership capacity, Tyler is a delegate for the Youth Conservation Congress of Wisconsin which focuses on giving young people under the age of 18 a voice and instill a sense of ownership, civic pride and advocacy in these future stewards of our state's natural resources. Tyler serves on the Student Leadership team for the Northern Waters charter school while also serving on the Youth Ministries Leadership team with his church. These leadership characteristics made him a prime candidate for Team Captain with the Hayward Boys Basketball team. 

As a Senior Capstone project, Tyler proposed to the school board a school trip to North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota. The school trip included taking 17 students on a 4 day, 3 night trip to tour the North Dakota State University campus. The trip included getting approval from the school board to go Waterfowl Hunting. Tyler conducted various fundraising activities to cover the total cost of $6,300 which included food, lodging, and travel for 17 students, 1 teacher and 2 chaperones. Additional activities included wildlife tracking, a youth hunt and fishing segment, and a campus tour. 

Tyler also participates in wetland restoration projects, local prairie restoration, and building sustainable biking and hiking trails. 

Tyler will pursue a degree in Natural Resource Management to become a Wildlife Biologist. 

Supporting information from Cuba City coach Jason Derby:

If you want to know what a coach hopes their program stands for, look no further than Olivia Olson. I've had the pleasure of getting to coach and teach Olivia the last four years and believe she embodies the characteristics that the Leadership Legacy Award was created for: courage, character, and service. 

Every teenage athlete has moments where he/she is courageous. However, what's impressive about Olivia is the variety of ways she has shown courage. As a freshman, she decided to go through our captain's training. All other participants were upperclassmen, but that did not stop (or even bother) Olivia. It quickly became clear that it was not a choice made for a future résumé or social status. She wanted to lead, and she was equipped to do so. She continued as the starting varsity point guard as a freshman and worked through the ups and downs of that season with her first year head coach (me). She remains the only freshman who has gone through captain's training for us. 

Olivia's approach to basketball (and elsewhere in life) is that challenges are opportunities rather than threats. Playing the best competition she can find is what she looks for in practices, games, and even her decision to play Division 1 in college. She has also done this in school, taking challenging AP or college-level classes in both Science and English. These are all opportunities for her to improve rather than threats to her status as a basketball player, student, or person. While it comes naturally to her, this is courage. 

One reason Olivia's leadership is unique is that she's a vocal leader. While many players lead quietly by example, Olivia stands out as a rare vocal leader. She sets the tone, holds teammates accountable, and earns their respect because of her character. They see the work she puts in every day, her unwavering passion, and, most importantly, how deeply she cares about them—win or lose. 

These character traits carry over outside of basketball. One of the fun parts about teaching at the school where I coach is seeing and interacting with our kids off the court. I’ve gotten to see the way Olivia treats people of all social groups, ages, and statuses in our school. While the shared stories and jokes may change from person to person, the respect she has for people is consistent. 

Like many high school students, Olivia has completed hundreds of service hours. The part that’s special to me is the real impact of those hours. Olivia has been the subject of “Who do you want to be like when you grow up?” projects from elementary students. She is immediately swarmed with attention when our youth girls see her at any basketball event (assuming they aren’t too star-struck). We’ve even found evidence that the real reason behind the increase in black and yellow Caitlin Clark jerseys being worn at Cuba City Elementary School is that 22 is actually Olivia Olson’s number. The best part of all this is the fact that the parents of these girls also get to point out how their daughters’ idol acts when she succeeds and when she fails, how she treats people the right way, how her name keeps showing up on the honor roll, and so many other qualities parents (and coaches) hope their kids grow up to have. 

Last but not least, I've watched the last nine months as Olivia has recovered from a torn ACL. With one wrong step, her basketball career was put on hold. During that time, she’s found new ways to lead. Sometimes, it was the major changes that were impressive. Instead of a player, she turned into a coach and cheerleader for her teammates: whichever one they needed at the time. Instead of getting an extra shooting workout in, hard work meant completing physical therapy exercises religiously. Other times, it was the complete lack of change that was special. Despite plenty of reasons to have bad days, the way Olivia treated people never changed. Her engagement and interest in practices and games never changed despite the fact that she didn’t get to actually do the fun part: play. Her interest in working with our youth players never wavered. She has been on a focused mission to get healthy while still treating others well and serving those around her. 

Olivia’s impact on our team, school, and community is undeniable, and it will continue for years to come. It is an absolute privilege to teach, coach, and know her, and she has my highest recommendation for the WBCA Legacy Leadership Award.

Travis Wilson serves as the WisSports.net General Manager, Football Editor, and contributing writer for other parts of the site. Wilson was selected as part of the Sports 40 Under 40 list by Coach & AD Magazine and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association for 2019. The Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) named Travis the 2015 recipient of the Dave McClain Distinguished Service Award. He currently serves on the WFCA Executive Board and is a member of the Executive Board of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. A graduate of Richland Center High School and Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Travis was a three-sport athlete in high school (football, baseball, basketball), inducted to the Richland Center High School Hall of Fame in 2023, and currently resides in Reedsburg. You can follow him on Twitter at @travisWSN.