Emma Altavilla comes from an athletic family, one that includes a few members that have made their biggest waves not on the basketball court, but on the baseball diamond.
Altavilla’s father, Dean, was a catcher in college at Radford, and is currently an assistant coach at Thomas Jefferson.
And her first cousin, Dan, has pitched in the major leagues for eight seasons and played in the World Baseball Classic in March.
Emma herself once played baseball and softball — and even hockey — before beginning to specialize in basketball while in middle school.
“I definitely think my dad wishes I still played,” she said with a laugh.
But it’s in hoops where Emma has made her mark. And after helping Thomas Jefferson reach the WPIAL Class 5A championship game last season, Altavilla is having an excellent AAU campaign with SLAAM, as she is seeing her game develop and her list of offers grow.
Altavilla is a 6-foot junior guard-forward who plays on SLAAM’s 2027 team coached by Stephen Norman, also the head coach at Bethel Park. Thomas Jefferson and Bethel Park were in the same section this past season, meaning Norman had to game plan against Altavilla not once, but twice.
“I think both games she started off with four or six points right off the rip,” said Norman, who is coaching Altavilla for the first time this season. “It’s nice when you get to say, ‘These are my girls now’ instead of “These are the girls I’m figuring out how to stop.’”
“Her versatility is fantastic,” Norman added. “Everybody wants a [6-foot] kid that can run the floor and score and share the rock and can hit the free throws.”
Altavilla is a more than capable scorer — she pumped in a game-high 23 points to lead Thomas Jefferson past Penn-Trafford in the WPIAL semifinals — but one of strengths of her game, both she and Norman said, is her effectiveness as a distributor and facilitator.
“I’m an unselfish player first,” Altavilla said. “I always think about my teammates first. I’m more of a playmaker type of player, but I can also score whenever I need to.”
The need for Altavilla to pour in 20 points a game hasn’t been necessary due to her being teammates with girls known for filling up the basket. That includes Maggie Spell, who Altavilla played with at Thomas Jefferson, and Oakland Catholic’s Madi Pullen, a teammate of Altavilla’s on a SLAAM team that also features Canon-McMillan’s Faye Saunders and South Park’s Nika Contakos.
Altavilla had been overshadowed a bit over the years by other standout teammates, but she has been seeing her diligence and determination pay dividends as she recently picked up her first four scholarship offers, all from Division II schools. Frostburg State was the first to extend Altavilla an offer, and Pitt Johnstown, Kutztown State and Seton Hill followed.
“It really means a lot to me because I feel like in the past I’ve been behind other people,” she explained. “I’ve always been recognized, but I felt like not always the way that I should have been. And this past year, I really just decided that I needed to get some offers and was really working hard doing things that other people didn’t see and didn’t know. I just feel so grateful that my hard work has finally paid off and has given me all these options.”
When asked what college coaches have said about what they like about her, Altavilla said one of the primary talking points has been her leadership ability, an intangible that Norman said often shines through.
“I coach the eighth grade team with my fiance,” Norman said. “She tells the eighth graders all the time, ‘Watch how much Emma speaks and communicates.’ Whether it’s on the bench or on the court, she is always leading and engaged with her teammates. I’d say it’s a fantastic piece of her game that almost everybody I’ve talked to about her has also kind of echoed that that’s something they love to see.”
Altavilla, already a two-year starter, would love to see Thomas Jefferson win a first WPIAL championship next season, this after the Jaguars went 23-4, didn’t drop a game in section play, and reached the title game for the first time since 2019 this past season.
“That was the best season by far that I’ve ever had with a team,” she said. “It was so exciting and I feel like, for me, that was my best season.”
Thomas Jefferson should be one of the top teams in Class 5A once again with the return of not only Altavilla, but also guard Kaylee DeAngelo and forward Allie Wilson. DeAngelo, who missed her junior season with a torn ACL, is a Robert Morris recruit, and Wilson a Mercyhurst recruit.
And if Altavilla’s game continues to blossom, the Jaguars will be tough to stop.
“We have the girls to make a really good playoff run, and hopefully a state run, too,” she said. “I think the potential for the team is going to be really high next year and obviously there’s high expectations considering the season that we just had.”