American volleyball player (born 1999)
Asjia O'Neal (born October 23, 1999) is an American volleyball player. She played college volleyball for the Texas Longhorns and won back-to-back NCAA championships in 2022 and 2023 .
Early life
O'Neal was born to National Basketball Association (NBA) player Jermaine O'Neal and his wife Mesha.[1] She practiced basketball with her father after fourth grade and took up volleyball in seventh grade in 2012 after moving from Miami to Dallas.[1] She played three years of varsity high school volleyball at Carroll Senior High School in Southlake, Texas .[2] As a high school sophomore, she committed to the University of Texas at Austin .[1] [3]
O'Neal was born with a heart murmur and mitral valve leak, for which she underwent open-heart surgery at age 13 and again after her freshman season of college.[1] [4] [5]
College career
O'Neal redshirted her first year at Texas in 2018.[6] She averaged a hitting percentage of .413 to start her first season, while having a worsening mitral valve leak and a new tricuspid valve leak that required a second open-heart surgery in January 2020.[1] [7] That summer, she helped organize campus activism to rename landmarks and build statues of former black students during the George Floyd protests .[1] [6] She helped Texas reach the final of the 2020 NCAA tournament held in the spring of 2021.[6] She received the Honda Inspiration Award for the 2020 season.[1] [8]
O'Neal helped the Longhorns win the 2022 NCAA championship alongside fellow first-team All-Americans Logan Eggleston and Zoe Fleck .[9] [10] She averaged a career-high .443 hitting percentage that season.[11] She returned for a sixth year and led Texas to defend its title at the 2023 NCAA championship .[12]
Professional career
O'Neal was drafted first overall in the first Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF) draft in December 2023.[13] In January 2024, she officially signed with the Columbus Fury .[14]
International career
O'Neal first played for the United States national team at the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League .[9]
References
^ a b c d e f g Kumar, Aishwarya (December 3, 2021). "The extraordinary courage of NCAA volleyball star Asjia O'Neal" . ESPN.com . Retrieved November 14, 2023 .
^ Riddle, Greg (July 31, 2017). "Texas pledge Asjia O'Neal, one of state's best volleyball players, won't play for Southlake Carroll as senior" . The Dallas Morning News . Retrieved November 14, 2023 .
^ "Southlake Carroll's Asjia O'Neal commits to Texas volleyball" . WFAA . April 28, 2016. Retrieved November 14, 2023 .
^ "Why Asjia O'Neal is ready to be the face of the Columbus Fury, Pro Volleyball Federation" . The Columbus Dispatch . Retrieved February 27, 2024 .
^ Murphy, Mark (February 23, 2013). "Family struggle weighs on O'Neal" . Boston Herald . Retrieved November 14, 2023 .
^ a b c Davis, Danny (November 18, 2022). "From emulating Dennis Rodman to using her voice, Texas' O'Neal continues to be herself" . Austin American-Statesman . Retrieved November 14, 2023 .
^ Jones, Jeff (May 12, 2020). "Asjia O'Neal's journey back from multiple open-heart surgeries" . KVUE . Retrieved November 14, 2023 .
^ "UT's Asjia O'Neal Honored with Honda Inspiration Award" . Big 12 Conference . June 22, 2021. Retrieved November 14, 2023 .
^ a b Rossow, Adam (July 26, 2023). " 'Comfortable and confident': How Texas volleyball star Asjia O'Neal acclimated herself to Team USA" . Dallas: Spectrum News . Retrieved November 14, 2023 .
^ "2022 Women's DI All-Americans" . American Volleyball Coaches Association . December 14, 2022. Retrieved November 19, 2023 .
^ "Asjia O'Neal – Volleyball" . University of Texas at Austin Athletics . Retrieved November 21, 2023 .
^ Jones, Thomas (December 18, 2023). "Asjia O'Neal closed out her Texas volleyball career perfectly: an ace for the NCAA title" . Austin American-Statesman . Retrieved December 18, 2023 .
^ Jones, Thomas (December 16, 2023). "Texas' Asjia O'Neal will choose between Europe or America for her pro volleyball career" . Austin American-Statesman . Retrieved December 25, 2023 .
^ "Texas volleyball star Asjia O'Neal signs with Columbus Fury in new domestic league" . Austin American-Statesman . Retrieved February 17, 2024 .
External links
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