Marshall University Athletics
Inside The Herd: Peyton Ilderton, Women’s Basketball
12/30/2025 11:00:00 AM | General, Women's Basketball
Logan native’s journey from walk-on to team captain has been defined by hard work, perseverance
Editor's Note: Inside The Herd is an original series where we highlight our student-athletes and tell their Marshall stories. Every student-athlete at Marshall has a story about their journey and we hope that their stories inspire others to live their Marshall moments as well! Go Herd!
INSIDE THE HERD - Peyton Ilderton
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – This week, Marshall senior women's basketball guard Peyton Ilderton will hit a milestone as she plays in her 100th career game for the Herd as the calendar turns to 2026.
For Ilderton, Marshall isn't just the name on the front of her jersey. It represents way more than that for her.
Marshall represented a constant opportunity to push herself to new heights – even ones she didn't know were possible when she started her run with the Herd as a preferred walk-on in 2022.
It is a journey that she's thankful for as she sets her sights on completing her degree in Health Sciences while working to lead the Herd to a Sun Belt Conference championship in 2025-26.
"I've learned a lot about myself throughout the journey, just being able to adapt," Ilderton said. "I think that I've learned that I can overcome a lot more than I thought I could. I think I'm a stronger person because of this whole journey and I think I've become a really good leader throughout. From my freshman year to now, it's an insane change. That's something that sticks out when I think about my journey."
Ilderton represents all things great about her hometown of Logan, W.Va. – a city known for its blue-collar work ethic, its hard-nosed toughness and a rich basketball tradition that rivals any other area within the state.
The 5-foot-6 guard is a large part of that rich winning tradition at Logan, having led the Wildcats to the program's first-ever state girls basketball championship in 2022 during a season in which she averaged 23 points per game and earned Class AAA All-State Captain honors.
Her success and the subsequent accolades led to several college scholarship offers, but Ilderton chose the path-less-traveled, accepting a spot as a preferred walk-on at Marshall.
It was a move that came down to being at a place her family could easily make games – and they've taken advantage by making every home game since.
Bigger than that, though, was when thinking about leaving home, she wanted to find a place that felt like it.
She found exactly that at Marshall.
"When you come to campus – I don't even know how to explain it – it just feels like home with the people," Ilderton said. "I went to a women's game and just seeing how (the fans) really supported them and then, you go out and everywhere in the community, it's Marshall, Marshall, Marshall. That's something I fell in love with.
"It's just a testament to God's plan for me because I'm where I'm at now and I'd have never been here if I didn't choose to go this route, so I'm very thankful and blessed."
While she cherishes her decision, it wasn't one that came easy or without its share of adversity that she had to work through.
Accepting a spot as a walk-on meant she would have to earn – and pay – her way to be part of the Herd program. It was one of the toughest aspects of her journey, but a challenge that she met head-on with the help of a great support system.
Ilderton's risk paid off quickly as she was put on scholarship following her first semester suiting up for the Herd.
The surprise of that scholarship was a core memory in Ilderton's journey.
"Whenever I first got to Marshall, there were many calls home with just self-doubt, so I think whenever I got to Facetime them and tell them – I mean, obviously, there was some waterworks from everybody," Ilderton said. "They were my biggest support system, and they knew that I could do it. They constantly pushed me while I was here that first semester and told me to keep going. They were extremely happy and it was really special."
Much like the roads back home to Logan, Ilderton's journey has since seen its share of twists and turns.
The thrills of earning the aforementioned scholarship and a Sun Belt Conference title in 2024 have also come with the adversities and difficulties of having three different head coaches in her first three seasons, which led to navigating changing roles and schemes.
Through all the transition, Ilderton's focus was on what was best for the team – a leadership component that started to shine through in the 2025 Sun Belt Conference Women's Basketball Tournament.
In a unique tournament format, the Herd was playing its fourth game in four days, which took a toll on the team physically and mentally.
Ilderton showed her toughness in the adversity, scoring 21 points and carrying the Herd to an upset of App State that led the Herd to the SBC Quarterfinals.
Ilderton said that tourney experience was big for her personally and for the team going into the offseason and helped build the confidence for Marshall's current 11-3 start – which is one of the best start's in program history.
"After having that game, I knew that this year, I could contribute more. I didn't just have to be an energy spark off the bench," Ilderton said. "For us returners coming into this summer, we collectively thought that we could really do something this year."
With the strong end to her junior year, Ilderton's focus for her senior season was being a better leader, which started with building chemistry among new team members quickly in the offseason leading up to the 2025-26 start.
"We got the new girls on the plan and we did a lot of team bonding stuff this summer," Ilderton said. "I'd say that this team has a great chemistry compared to previous teams. We're all excited and we all love each other. We are genuinely like a family. Everybody genuinely wants to win, no matter what their role might be. It might not be playing 20 minutes a game – you might go in for 10 minutes, but everybody knows their role and is willing to do that for our team to win. I think that's something that's really great about our team."
That team-first mentality and sense of servitude are the same qualities that earned Ilderton the Kay Yow Servant Leader Award, which she was recognized for in October.
Ilderton was one of 62 NCAA student-athletes honored with the distinction, which is given to those who embody the characteristics of Coach Kay Yow – people with a servant's spirit and a commitment to selfless leadership on and off the court or athletic field while making an impact in the fight against cancer.
With her Health Sciences degree nearing completion, Ilderton's perfect game plan for her future includes applying to Marshall's Physician's Assistant (PA) School to continue in her quest to serve others and carry on the qualities of that Kay Yow Servant Leader Award.
While Marshall's PA school is the focus, Ilderton added that she would love to return to the Herd's sidelines as a graduate assistant, meaning she could help the future of Marshall women's basketball, as well, continuing to give back to the program that gave her an opportunity.
Ilderton credited her entire team – family, friends, Marshall teammates and Marshall University faculty and staff – for putting her on the pathway to future success while helping her maximize and balance her student-athlete experience.
"I think that we have a lot of great resources at Marshall," Ilderton said. "Every professor I've had has been really good with my schedule and obviously Coach Juli is very much about student above the athlete, so she has helped with that too and she's very understanding.
"We have great resources like The Buck (Buck Harless Student-Athlete Program) where we can always go and have tutors help. Our advisors are great, so there's many resources, and we have great leadership under Brad Smith. Marshall is definitely a place where you can (be) both and it's not as stressful."
As Ilderton reaches the milestone of her 100th career game this week, she knows she still has plenty of games in a Herd uniform left this season – enough, she hopes, to include another Sun Belt Championship and NCAA Tourney run on her resume.
But no matter what the final games of her career bring or where her degree in Health Studies takes her, she knows she'll wear Marshall with pride long after the days of putting on the uniform are over.
"It's meant a lot to me, especially being so close to home," Ilderton said. "I think just getting to represent our state is something that's very special and, with how college basketball is, just staying here all four years, obviously I'm very loyal to this place and I love Marshall. It's meant a lot to me to be here and to have the support that we have."
To watch the full-length video as Peyton discusses her Marshall Moments, click HERE.
INSIDE THE HERD
Name: Peyton Ilderton
Sport: Women's Basketball
Position: Guard
Year: Senior
Major: Health Sciences
Hometown: Logan, W.Va.
Awards/Accolades
- Kay Yow Servant Leadership Award recipient
- Started all 14 games in 2025-26
- 75 career 3-pointers made
- Career-high 21 points vs. App State in 2025 SBC Tourney
- Sun Belt Conference Champion (2023-24)
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