Ross Leads Young Rowing Squad
May 14, 2026 | Rowing
Izzy Ross is a leader, an accomplished furniture designer, a club president, and the two-time Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll recipient has finished her projects. She has taken her last final exam of the spring semester, and the junior in Interior Architecture is currently in Sarasota, Florida — not to show off a couch or lamp that she's produced in a gallery, but to help showcase a Kansas State women's rowing team, drenched in youth, that continues to build as it competes at the Big 12 Championship on Sunday.
The Wildcats, who graduated 14 seniors at the end of last year, and who will lose eight more members after the spring semester, haven't lost sight of their potential and goals.
Their core values are embedded into the DNA of a squad that has pushed through and found success.
"Football has its goals on the wall, and our team has its own core values — unity, intentionality, integrity, humility and positivity," Ross says. "Everybody on our team has done a great job at just being able to radiate those values and work as a team to represent ourselves very well. Through all the hard practices everyone has shifted their mindsets. Moving into the Big 12 Championship, that's what our team should be the proudest of — how we've shown all those core values throughout the season."
Most recently, K-State won four of five races in the Creighton Duel on April 30. Two weeks prior, three boats medaled at the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship on April 18-19 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The team came a long way since the season-opening competition at the Hornet Invitational in Sacramento, California.
"This year is a great example of being an underdog," Ross says. "Having a new head coach is always a big transition. You're an underdog with that big change. We graduated 14 last year and they were fifth-year seniors and pillars of our team. That's about one-third of our team that got wiped out overnight. We've been pretty young this year. We identified strengths of this young team. We are going to graduate eight more people this year. It's still going to be a pretty big revolving door, but we as upperclassmen can help develop the underclassmen. As a team, we've found positive moments to even out the youth on our team right now."
The training didn't come immediately for Ross, a native of St. Louis, Missouri, who never even considered rowing until she received a recruiting letter from K-State during her junior year of high school.
"Throughout my entire life, academics have been important to me," she says. "I went to a rigorous academic high school and the environment really helped me to become more academically focused. In high school, I didn't believe I'd be doing athletics the rest of my life."
Suddenly, attending K-State piqued her interest. And her passion for rowing soon followed.
"I always knew rowing was going to be very hard," she says. "When I looked at K-State, I thought, 'Do I love the school?' When we have recruits, I always tell them, 'You might not love rowing and that's totally OK, but if you love the school, then this is worth it.' I loved K-State and loved rowing and got pretty good at it."
But not before a major setback slowed her involvement in the sport.
"My freshman year, I came in with a torn ACL and meniscus, so I sat out the entire year," Ross says. "Looking back, a lot of people probably thought I wouldn't stick with it because I was so far behind, but being an underdog, especially at K-State where we're an underdog team, proving people wrong is something the sport has taught me. No matter how many times people doubt you or tell you 'No,' if you push harder and find it within yourself, you're able to succeed no matter what.
"My time with the team has really shown me that."
Off the water, aside from earning Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll recognition two times, Ross has earned AP Design School Scholarships, has produced graduate-level research that has been nominated for conferences, and she has produced furniture that she has designed and showcased.
"My mom and a lot of people in my family are interior designers or real estate agents, so I've seen both sides," she says. "Interior Architecture is a good combination of math, art, and using interpersonal skills to design. This summer I have an internship with a design firm, Oculus in St. Louis, to design things in health care and federal spaces. My thesis next year will be on offices and corporate spaces. This past semester I had a part-time internship during the season with a lighting and controls company.
"It's time management. Even in high school, I'd work full weekends and play two sports while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. It's the same thing in college. I've always had that drive throughout my life to dip my hands into a lot of pots while knowing my limits."
Ross credits much of her success to her mother, Liz.
"I grew up with a single mother, so to see all of her hard work and replicate that in my own way, it's about what matters the most to me," Ross says. "I have my mom's drive and confidence. She can tackle any situation that comes to her. It's like a deep breath, put your head down and get to work. That reflects heavily in me.
"Even in athletics, I'm involved in a lot of different clubs and events. I'm on the executive board for SAAC and president of Athlete Ally, so it's about what's important to me, and subdividing everything out to stay on top of school and do well in practice but also making sure I'm not overcommitting myself. At K-State, I've been able to find a balance with everything."
This year, Ross has assumed an added responsibility in emerging as a leader for the young Wildcats rowing team.
"I definitely try to lead by example and do all the right things," she says. "As my time has continued, I've earned trust with everybody, and I've been able to help lead the team."
It goes together with what Ross has learned along the way in her journey.
"What I've learned most about myself is that there's always more to give," she says. "It's easy to be selfish, but through life I've learned that I can give more of myself in a workout or more effort in school or more to the people around me or give back to the community around me. You look at yourself and having a solid foundation is important and being OK with yourself is big, and then it becomes how you can give to people around you. I really care about the things around me and my impact on others.
"That's probably the most important accomplishment someone can have."
She'd like to help K-State forge one final accomplishment this season at the Big 12 Championship.
"I'm in a 4-person boat and I'm the person who crosses the finish line first," she says. "It's seven minutes of you giving your maximum effort. Then once you cross the finish line you think, 'We just did that.' When we do well and succeed, it's a feeling of, 'Wow, I've accomplished something and have come out on top.'
"That's one of the best, most rewarding feelings."
The Wildcats, who graduated 14 seniors at the end of last year, and who will lose eight more members after the spring semester, haven't lost sight of their potential and goals.
Their core values are embedded into the DNA of a squad that has pushed through and found success.
"Football has its goals on the wall, and our team has its own core values — unity, intentionality, integrity, humility and positivity," Ross says. "Everybody on our team has done a great job at just being able to radiate those values and work as a team to represent ourselves very well. Through all the hard practices everyone has shifted their mindsets. Moving into the Big 12 Championship, that's what our team should be the proudest of — how we've shown all those core values throughout the season."
Most recently, K-State won four of five races in the Creighton Duel on April 30. Two weeks prior, three boats medaled at the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship on April 18-19 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The team came a long way since the season-opening competition at the Hornet Invitational in Sacramento, California.
"This year is a great example of being an underdog," Ross says. "Having a new head coach is always a big transition. You're an underdog with that big change. We graduated 14 last year and they were fifth-year seniors and pillars of our team. That's about one-third of our team that got wiped out overnight. We've been pretty young this year. We identified strengths of this young team. We are going to graduate eight more people this year. It's still going to be a pretty big revolving door, but we as upperclassmen can help develop the underclassmen. As a team, we've found positive moments to even out the youth on our team right now."
The training didn't come immediately for Ross, a native of St. Louis, Missouri, who never even considered rowing until she received a recruiting letter from K-State during her junior year of high school.
"Throughout my entire life, academics have been important to me," she says. "I went to a rigorous academic high school and the environment really helped me to become more academically focused. In high school, I didn't believe I'd be doing athletics the rest of my life."
Suddenly, attending K-State piqued her interest. And her passion for rowing soon followed.
"I always knew rowing was going to be very hard," she says. "When I looked at K-State, I thought, 'Do I love the school?' When we have recruits, I always tell them, 'You might not love rowing and that's totally OK, but if you love the school, then this is worth it.' I loved K-State and loved rowing and got pretty good at it."
But not before a major setback slowed her involvement in the sport.
"My freshman year, I came in with a torn ACL and meniscus, so I sat out the entire year," Ross says. "Looking back, a lot of people probably thought I wouldn't stick with it because I was so far behind, but being an underdog, especially at K-State where we're an underdog team, proving people wrong is something the sport has taught me. No matter how many times people doubt you or tell you 'No,' if you push harder and find it within yourself, you're able to succeed no matter what.
"My time with the team has really shown me that."
Off the water, aside from earning Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll recognition two times, Ross has earned AP Design School Scholarships, has produced graduate-level research that has been nominated for conferences, and she has produced furniture that she has designed and showcased.
"My mom and a lot of people in my family are interior designers or real estate agents, so I've seen both sides," she says. "Interior Architecture is a good combination of math, art, and using interpersonal skills to design. This summer I have an internship with a design firm, Oculus in St. Louis, to design things in health care and federal spaces. My thesis next year will be on offices and corporate spaces. This past semester I had a part-time internship during the season with a lighting and controls company.
"It's time management. Even in high school, I'd work full weekends and play two sports while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. It's the same thing in college. I've always had that drive throughout my life to dip my hands into a lot of pots while knowing my limits."
Ross credits much of her success to her mother, Liz.
"I grew up with a single mother, so to see all of her hard work and replicate that in my own way, it's about what matters the most to me," Ross says. "I have my mom's drive and confidence. She can tackle any situation that comes to her. It's like a deep breath, put your head down and get to work. That reflects heavily in me.
"Even in athletics, I'm involved in a lot of different clubs and events. I'm on the executive board for SAAC and president of Athlete Ally, so it's about what's important to me, and subdividing everything out to stay on top of school and do well in practice but also making sure I'm not overcommitting myself. At K-State, I've been able to find a balance with everything."
This year, Ross has assumed an added responsibility in emerging as a leader for the young Wildcats rowing team.
"I definitely try to lead by example and do all the right things," she says. "As my time has continued, I've earned trust with everybody, and I've been able to help lead the team."
It goes together with what Ross has learned along the way in her journey.
"What I've learned most about myself is that there's always more to give," she says. "It's easy to be selfish, but through life I've learned that I can give more of myself in a workout or more effort in school or more to the people around me or give back to the community around me. You look at yourself and having a solid foundation is important and being OK with yourself is big, and then it becomes how you can give to people around you. I really care about the things around me and my impact on others.
"That's probably the most important accomplishment someone can have."
She'd like to help K-State forge one final accomplishment this season at the Big 12 Championship.
"I'm in a 4-person boat and I'm the person who crosses the finish line first," she says. "It's seven minutes of you giving your maximum effort. Then once you cross the finish line you think, 'We just did that.' When we do well and succeed, it's a feeling of, 'Wow, I've accomplished something and have come out on top.'
"That's one of the best, most rewarding feelings."
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