General | 7/1/2025 3:40:00 PM

When browsing the Wartburg's men's and women's basketball record books, the last name Murphy frequently appears. Mike played for the Knights from 1985-89 and all four of his daughters also donned the Orange and Black. There has been a Murphy on the women's basketball roster for the past 11-straight years (2014-25). Miranda Gerdes and Megan Logan, twins, played from 2014-18, Riley from 2017-21 and Jaedon from 2020-25.



During Mike's career, Wartburg won conference titles in 1986-87 and 1988-89. In 88-89, the Knights advanced to the final eight teams of the National Tournament that season, which is still the furthest in program history. Back then, only 32 teams made the bracket, unlike the 64 today.

The Murphy daughters each contributed to Wartburg's three Final Four appearances, and all played under head coach Bob Amsberry.

The interesting notes about this family don't stop there. Mike was named Conference MVP for 1988-89, and Jaedon earned the honor for the 2023-24 season, becoming the first father-daughter duo in Wartburg Athletics history to not only earn Conference MVP honors, but also in the same sport.

In his MVP season his senior year, Mike scored 489 points, made 49.2 percent of field goal attempts and 66.7 percent of free throws and achieved his third-straight 120-plus rebound campaign. In addition to his conference honors, he also was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) First-team All-Star and the All-West NCAA Regional tournament team.

"We had a good season during my senior year," he noted. "We won the conference and went to the national tournament. In my sophomore season, we advanced to the final eight teams where we played in Chicago and lost to the eventual national champions, North Park. I'm sure that exposure and extra games helped my accolades."

Jaedon earned the MVP nod in her fourth season; she was granted a fifth year of eligibility because of the COVID-19 pandemic. During her MVP season, she started in 32 games; scored 469 points and shot 45.7 percent from the field and recorded 192 rebounds, 44 assists, 42 blocks, and 37 steals. In addition to the MVP honors, she was named D3hoops.com Fifth-team All-American, WBCA All-American Honorable Mention, and D3hoops.com First-team All-Region. She was recognized for her work in the classroom as a CSC Academic All-American, CSC Academic All-District, and Academic All-Conference.

"We had a really great year, and I'm blessed to have a successful class with a lot of girls around me that were good players," she said. "We had already had three years together, we were clicking, and we made each other better. With the style that we play, our coaches let us play to our strengths."

Jaedon recalls hearing about her dad's MVP honor growing up, but it wasn't something he dwelled on.

"My dad is very humble," she said. "He didn't share too much about his individual successes at Wartburg, it was more about what his team did while he was here. I'm sure I was told about his honor, but it wasn't talked about a lot.

"It's cool that we both share that honor of being selected as Conference MVP during our careers," she continued. "I know he worked hard to earn that."

Mike was inducted into the Wartburg Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002. He was also named to the Legends of Knights Gym team for men's basketball, which honored the greats who played in that venue before Levick Arena in The W opened in fall 2007.

"When I would talk about my college basketball career, I would talk more about the experience," he said. "When we were driving back to campus for my Hall of Fame induction I might have mentioned being a conference MVP. When my daughters would meet a teammate of mine, they might have heard about some of my awards, but more about what was accomplished by our teams. I didn't really express a lot about our conference championships, as they wouldn't fully understand until they were here to experience it. All four of them got to a higher level in the postseason than I did."

That trip for the Hall of Fame induction was Jaedon's first time to campus. "I remember him being introduced at a game in the old Knights Gym which was neat.

"Later coming to my sisters' games, I learned a lot about the school and campus," she continued. "When I came on my official visit with Coach Amsberry and Coach (Kelley) Jacobs later in high school, they were able to show me the team areas that I hadn't been able to see before."

In today's digital world, both Mike and Jaedon learned of Jaedon's honors by someone sending them the social media announcement post. "She didn't tell me about her MVP honor or her other honors directly as she's pretty humble on all of that," he said. "With social media, usually within minutes, someone else would see it before I did. Then I'd text or call her."

"My dad's text messages are usually pretty short. They'd say congrats, I'm proud of you, not a lot of emojis," she added.

BUILDING A LEGACY
For Mike, having all four daughters not only attend the same college that he did but also play the same sport as him was surreal.

Miranda and Megan always knew they wanted to play basketball together in college, and Wartburg provided them that opportunity while also giving Megan a chance to continue her volleyball career. When Megan realized how difficult it was to balance the success of a fall sport post-season with the beginning of a winter sport, she opted to stick with her sister on the basketball team. Though middle sister Riley played soccer at a high level in high school, she too sought a spot on the basketball team and the opportunity to play with her sisters. As a high schooler, Jaedon played in two state basketball championship games and visited reputable Division I schools, but in the end, playing with her sisters on a successful Wartburg team trumped all other opportunities.

"Once all four of them decided to go to Wartburg and play basketball, I hoped all four would be able to be on the team and hope they'd have a similar positive experience. I'm proud of how hard they worked," he said. "I knew how important it was to be a part of team, whether it's a music group or sports. It's about the friends you make and the relationships you form. I'm thankful all four stayed healthy and didn't have any major injuries."

Having all the girls in one spot also made it easy to support them.

"We knew the conference schedule routine and where they were playing, so it was easy to get to games."

In addition to regular and post-season game travel, Miranda and Jaedon both were selected to compete with USA All-Star teams that played in Brazil, and the Wartburg team also traveled internationally.

"It was phenomenal what they were able to experience and see," Mike said. "We did a little of that, but not the level they did."

PLAYING FOR A LEGEND
Mike, originally from Fort Dodge, grew up playing a number of sports, but he knew he wanted to play basketball in college after attending a Wartburg summer camp led by Coach Buzz Levick.

"His camp was the premier summer camp for basketball in the state of Iowa back then," said Mike, who also remembers being impressed by Levick's circle of friends, which included UCLA coach John Wooden, and his winning record. "My junior year of high school, I met some of the guys that would be attending Wartburg that fall, so knowing some of my eventual teammates made my college decision easier."

A business major, Mike also earned two letters in golf with the Knights in his three years with the program (1987-89), which Levick also coached.

Jaedon met Levick, who was a prominent fixture in the Levick Arena stands during his retirement, while attending her sisters' games.

"I don't think I realized how special it was to meet Buzz until I was a student and started hearing more of the stories. Being able to see the impact that he has still today at Wartburg became pretty special once I got on the team."

LOOKING AHEAD
With their Wartburg basketball careers behind them and no more Murphy siblings to entertain them on the court, the family is looking for ways to stay involved with the program and the college. Just months after her final season ended, Jaedon was already smiling at the possibility of returning for an alumni game.

"After 11-straight years being involved with the basketball program, I'm not sure what my parents will do; I'm sure we'll still come to games and support the teams," Jaedon said. "My sisters were definitely my number one fans, and I think they had a lot fun being able to come back watch and support the team. It will look different but if they bring back the alumni game, I'll drag my sisters to it."

Though the girls are no longer on the court, Mike will continue to cheer them on from the sidelines. As a business owner, he is excited to see how each of the girls, who also earned their degrees in business administration, grow into the next phases of their lives.

"It's not quite the same, but I'm still cheering for their success in whatever they are doing in their lives," he said.

Murphys in the record books
 
Mike

• Member of the 1,000-career point club
• Career field goals: 609 (2^nd)
• Career blocks: 99 (3^rd)
• Career steals: 112 (8^th)
• Career points: 1,409 (9^th)
• Season points: 205 (9^th; 1988-89)
• Season blocks: 33 (8^th; 1986-87)
• Iowa Conference Champions (1986-87; 1988-89)
• NCAA Tournament appearances (1986-87; 1988-89)
• Three-time First-team All-Conference (1986-87; 1987-88; 1988-89)
• Two-time NABC All-District (1987-88; 1988-89)
• 1986-87 NCAA All-Tournament team

 
Miranda

• Member of the 1,000-career points club
• Career points: 1,121 (14^th)
• Season games played: 32 (1^st; 2017-18)
• Season free throw percentage: .875 (3^rd; 2016-17)
• Regular Season Conference Champions (2016-17; 2017-18)
• Conference Tournament Champions (2016-17; 2017-18)
• Final Four (2015-16; 2017-18)
• NCAA Tournament appearances (2015-16; 2016-17; 2017-18)
• Two-time First-team All-Conference (2016-17; 2017-18)
• D3hoops.com Honorable Mention All-America (2017-18)
• WBCA Honorable Mention All-America (2016-17)
• Three-time Academic All-Conference

 
Megan

• Regular Season Conference Champions (2016-17; 2017-18)
• Conference Tournament Champions (2016-17; 2017-18)
• Final Four (2015-16; 2017-18)
• NCAA Tournament appearances (2015-16; 2016-17; 2017-18)

 
Riley

• Regular Season Conference Champions (2017-18; 2018-19; 2019-20)
• Conference Tournament Champions (2017-18; 2018-19; 2019-20)
• Final Four (2017-18)
• NCAA Tournament appearances (2017-18; 2018-19; 2019-20)

 
Jaedon

• Member of the 1,000-career points club
• Career games played: 133 (2^nd)
• Career points: 1,921 (2^nd)
• Career blocks: 167 (2^nd)
• Career field goals: 702 (2^nd)
• Career three-point field goals: 243 (3^rd)
• Career rebounds: 808 (5^th)
• Career scoring average: 14.4 PPG (7^th)
• Career free throws: 274 (7^th)
• Season games played: 32 (1^st; 2023-24)
• Season blocks: 48 (3^rd; 2024-25)
• Season blocks: 42 (4^th; 2023-24)
• Season points: 469 (8^th; 2023-24)
• Season points: 446 (10^th; 2024-25)
• Five-time All-Conference
• Four-time First-team All-Conference
• Three-time D3hoops.com All-Region (2021-22; 2023-24; 2024-25)
• Two-time Fifth-team D3hoops.com All-American (2023-24; 2024-25)
• WBCA Honorable Mention All-America (2023-24)
• Regular Season Conference Champions (2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25
• Conference Tournament Champions (2023-24; 2024-25)
• Final Four (2023-24)
• NCAA Tournament appearances (2021-22; 2022-23; 2023-24; 2024-25)
• Four-time Academic All-Conference
• Three-time CSC Academic All-District
• CSC Second-team Academic All-American (2023-24)