LARAMIE – Putting on the Wyoming uniform almost feels like a birthright for Payton Muma.
Her maternal grandfather, Rick Desmarais, played football for the Cowboys for Bob Devaney and Lloyd Eaton. Her father, Ty Muma, played for Paul Roach and Joe Tiller during another golden age for the program.
More recently, her brother, Chad Muma, was an All-American linebacker for Craig Bohl.
"Go do your thing up there!" Chad Muma posted on social media. "Excited for you to be in Laramie (Payton).!"
Payton Muma – who was signed this week to play basketball for UW following a recent visit to the college town where she spent a chunk of her childhood in the stands at War Memorial Stadium – isn't just following in the family footsteps.
"I want to make my own name, 100 percent," Muma said. "I mean, Chad is amazing, don't get me wrong. But I really want to make my own name and just make my own legacy there."
Muma joins the Cowgirls after spending three seasons at Gonzaga, which included a redshirt year and 33 appearances playing in a backcourt behind 2024 WNBA draft picks Brynna Maxwell and Kaylynne Truong.
Even though the team returns all five starters and eight players from the rotation, head coach
Heather Ezell envisions Muma having an immediate impact as UW seeks a Mountain West championship.
"Her basketball I.Q. is really high," Ezell said. "There's no doubt she can knock down a 3 and her passing ability, if we kick it to her and (the shot) is taken away, now she has the chance to put it on the floor and create something."
Muma, a 5-foot-8 point guard, was ranked as the No. 2 2021 recruit in Colorado after a stellar prep career. She averaged 19.2 points, 5.8 assists and 3.6 steals during her senior season at Highlands Ranch High School.
"I kind of joked with her I've been trying for four years it seems like to get her here," Ezell said. "We tried really hard when she was in high school and obviously credit her because she was getting recruited by some really big-time schools and took that opportunity.
"But to have the chance to come back and do it again, re-recruit her in a sense, is awesome. Getting her on our team brings another weapon and threat to our guard lineup."
Emily Mellema is back as UW's lead point guard after averaging 8.8 points and 3.1 assists during her first season as the starter. She was all named to the all-Mountain West defensive team.
Malene Pedersen,
Ola Ustowska and
McKinley Dickerson also return to the deep, experienced backcourt.
"It's amazing that they have all these players coming back. I'm looking forward to playing with them and hopefully winning the tournament this year in Vegas," Muma said. "I think it would be great to have two point guards on the floor and being a playmaker for the Cowgirls. I really see a lot of potential with my playing time."
Ezell agrees with that assessment. The M&M combination, Mellema and Muma, will be difficult for teams to deal with on both ends of the floor.
"Getting used to our system will take a little bit of time, but she's got the ability to play multiple positions for us," Ezell said of Muma. "It's not like she's just a point guard and going to be challenging Emily. I think they can play together. She has the opportunity to guard really well in our league and give us another defender. Her ability to score, you can't take that away from her, so getting her on the court in whatever way that is will be a little nice little punch for us."
Ty Muma, who met his wife Kara while playing at UW, said the couple is looking forward to making the familiar drive from their home in metro Denver to Laramie to watch their daughter in the Dome of Doom.
"She definitely is a competitor in all aspects and really gets after it. She'll put in the work and do whatever it takes to compete and win," Ty Muma said. "I remember her playing in the driveway with her three brothers and it was definitely competitive, and I don't think they took it easy on her."
It's Muma time once again at UW – Payton style.
"I really love Wyoming," Muma said. "They were always in the back of my mind. They were always willing to talk to me and they had so much faith in me. My parents went there, my brother played football there and my grandpa played football there. So, it was just like kind of always in the back of my mind, like the family legacy and all that stuff, it always was with me."
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