---

Andscape at the Olympics is an ongoing series exploring the Black athletes and culture around the 2024 Paris Games.

---

Los Angeles Sparks forward Dearica Hamby couldn’t have envisioned all the success she would have in her 10-year WNBA career. In the last six seasons, Hamby has earned a WNBA championship, two Sixth Woman of the Year awards and three WNBA All-Star honors, and last month she was named to the United States’ 3×3 Olympic roster.

“A dream honestly, it was never on my bucket list to do these things growing up or even out of college. I wasn’t a top player. I was, like, No. 96 out of 100 coming out of high school, so education was primarily my focus,” Hamby said. “But the way things are unfolding for me this year is no coincidence [with] the kind of things that I went through last year and was dealing with. It’s just a testament to my resiliency and my faith in myself and my family.”

When rookie Cameron Brink tore her ACL during the Sparks’ regular-season matchup against the Connecticut Sun on June 18, Hamby replaced her teammate on the 3×3 team. 

Hamby joins Hailey Van Lith, Rhyne Howard and Cierra Burdick as members of the 3×3 team. During WNBA All-Star Weekend in Phoenix, Hamby had the opportunity to work out and practice with her teammates. Despite the limited practices, Hamby is spending additional time with her 3×3 teammates on and off the court to develop chemistry.

“The good thing about Dearica is she’s a vet. She has that veteran mindset where she can pick things up fast, and she’s very willing to do what the game plan is for this team,” Van Lith said. “There’s a learning curve at getting used to the 3-on-3 flow, but Dearica is a pro and I’m not worried about her at all. I know that she’s going to be ready to play when it’s time to win.”

Hamby expects to carry a lot of momentum from this season into the Olympic break. In her second season with the Sparks under head coach Curt Miller, Hamby is averaging 19.2 points and 10 rebounds per game, both career highs.

“Curt loves post players. I think we saw that in his time in Connecticut. Our offense doesn’t necessarily cater to me, though. It’s pretty free-flowing,” Hamby said. “I’m a player that kind of scores out of that system, out of our transition, out of our early offenses. But just him playing me for 35 minutes and having confidence in me to allow me to shoot the ball and go get buckets.”

When Hamby was announced as Brink’s injury replacement, it wasn’t a surprise to Hamby’s former teammates, who are current members of the U.S. 5×5 Olympic basketball roster.

“I think [Dearica] is someone that plays at that type of pace of 3×3. The pace is very quick, fun and sporadic,” said Las Vegas Aces and USA Basketball forward A’ja Wilson. “With the year that she’s having, it didn’t come by any surprise that when Cam went down she was the next in line because of the numbers that she’s shown. That’s D. That’s always been her. She’s a hard worker.”

Las Vegas Aces and USA Basketball guard Kelsey Plum said she’s proud of Hamby.

“Dearica has been through a lot. I’m a Dearica Hamby fan forever,” Plum said. “So to see her have a bounceback year the way she has and just absolutely dominating people rebounding defensively and [on] offensive boards and then to see her play 3×3, I know she worked really hard for that. So I’m really happy for her and I think she’s going to continue to do great.”

The following is a Q&A with Hamby where she discusses earning a spot on the Olympic roster, transitioning to 3×3 basketball, and her Olympic goals and expectations. 

What was your reaction after finding out you were named to the Olympic 3×3 team?

It’s exciting finding out. It was ironic, the day before Cam got hurt I had the conversation with them about being an alternate. So, it’s kind of crazy how things played out. But the first day of practice, I was honestly just soaking it all in just trying to mentally flip the switch and gear up for the Olympics.

How was it emotionally going from not making the 5×5 Olympic team to then finding out you were going to Paris with the 3×3 team?

I think I should have been on the team to begin with, but that’s neither here nor there. I’m here now. But my feelings were, you know, bittersweet. I was sad at first and then I was happy for Cam because we kind of went through that process together, and just our bond, seeing her not be able to do it and the reason why she couldn’t do it. I’m here on her behalf also.

What are some of the challenges transitioning from 5×5 basketball to 3×3 basketball?

It’s rough at first. Especially for Rhyne and I transitioning out of five on five. So it takes a little bit of time and even for me, I already have a high motor but it’s still a different kind of motor. I was kind of like, “Oh crap, I gotta turn it up another notch.” Obviously, trying to find a balance of flipping the switch for me, but also taking care of myself.

I get to play with Rhyne. I could just set her ball screens and just roll, trying to take advantage of a lot of switches. A lot of switches happen on 3×3. But being able to pretty much knock down a 3-point shot and finish layups because of the physicality. 

What are some of the biggest differences between playing 3×3 and 5×5 basketball that you’ve noticed?

Sagging off; for help you can’t do that in 3×3. But normally in 5×5, you can close on the ball. Then just the motor. Every possession matters. There’s not a lot of time. In a 40-minute game usually, the better team wins, but you literally have 10 minutes or the first team to 21. So you can’t take any plays off. And then even the conditioning, I feel like I’m in pretty good shape, but it’s still a different type of conditioning. Having that practice [on July 18] was kind of like, “Oh yeah, I forgot that this is a different level of physicality.” They don’t call fouls as much.

What are you looking forward to on a global stage like the Olympics?

It’s the best players in the world on every level. So I was talking about the aura that’s going to be in there and the confidence. It’s going to be a good feeling.

What are your Olympic goals?

Stay healthy, first and foremost. Win gold and just go through, enjoy the process, [and] enjoy the experience. This is something that not everybody really gets to do, and I’m excited my family gets to be a part of it.

What’s on your Olympic travel essentials list?

Probably diapers and toys are on my essential list to travel to Paris. The kids are coming with me.

Have the kids talked about what they’re looking forward to in Paris?

Amaya just keeps saying the Eiffel Tower. She’s already been before but she doesn’t really remember. She’s seen it in pictures, so she’s super excited. I know she’s probably going to do TikToks with the Eiffel Tower. She’s probably the coolest 7-year-old in the world.

How have your two children served as additional motivation for you this season?

Though each kid has a different purpose, in my life it has taught me different things. But my daughter, Amaya, she’s probably a harder worker than me. She plays tennis and I made, like, a little highlight video for her, and I’ll watch it sometime before my games and just how hard she works on it. It motivates me.

How do you balance motherhood and basketball?

I just go with the flow. It’s unpredictable [and] spontaneous because you never know. You can have one plan and then Legend [Hamby’s son] takes a poop in the middle of the floor and then plans change. So just being able to be flexible and adaptable. I think I’ve already kind of shown that in my career.

Boston is averaging 18 points and 9.5 rebounds in July alone while shooting 65% from the field. While preparing for her second WNBA All-Star appearance in two seasons in the league, Boston is excited to share the weekend with Fever teammates Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell on the court while having the chance to play with top WNBA talent she usually competes against on a nightly basis.

She attributes some of her success to building chemistry with her teammates Clark and Mitchell but gives the majority of the credit to her intentional efforts off the court to focus on her mental health. 

“I feel like I started protecting my peace,” Boston told Andscape at the WNBA All-Star media pods on July 19. “I just made sure that I was doing stuff that I needed to do that benefits me so that when I get out on that court, I’m not really worried about anyone, anything — just me.”

May was a hard month for the Indiana Fever. They finished with a 1-8 record, and Boston finished the month averaging 11 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, shooting 45.2% from the floor. The start of Year 2 wasn’t what many expected from the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year.

“I feel like it’s taken a lot of mental strength over anything because to start this season, honestly, I was not in a good spot. I felt like I was honestly starting over,” Boston said. “I’m trying to figure out my footing with everything again, and so I feel like there was just so much talking behind the noise, which was a big reason I got off social media. [I needed] to make sure that I’m doing what I need to do. Since then, I’ve just been able to focus on me [and] continue to work hard.

“Being an All-Star was definitely one of [the goals] because I feel like being an All-Star as a rookie is really impressive, but it’s always hard to come back and do it again.”

In May, Boston deleted social media, choosing to connect with family, spend time reading her Bible, and do whatever else she felt was necessary to preserve her mental health.  

“I also ignore people, as silly as that sounds,” Boston said. “I do because I feel like sometimes to protect my peace it really has to be about me and that’s hard when you include everyone else in your life. Everyone feels like they need a little piece of you and sometimes it’s just like, ‘No, I’ll keep it.’ “

The social media scrutiny, especially on X (formerly Twitter), was deafening for Boston. South Carolina’s head women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley understands how social media and comments can impact a young player. 

“It plays on your psyche a little bit, and you have to adjust,” Staley said. “What I really am proud of is her ability to adjust and I think she’s better because of it. I don’t think she has the type of season that she’s having if she didn’t have to adjust to a different way of thinking [and] a different way of playing.”

Transitioning into the WNBA isn’t easy. Boston knows there’s a high level of talent in the league and that finding your footing in it takes time.

“I feel like the biggest misconception people have is that this talent just all of a sudden dropped out of the sky,” Boston said. “Because sometimes you’ll see people make comments like, ‘Oh my gosh, I didn’t know you were good.’ It’s like, ‘Did you watch [me]?’ So it’s kind of like with these new eyes they speak without thinking and I feel like when you really pay attention to this league you know the amount of talent that’s here [and] how hard it is to be in this league.”

Protecting her peace off the court has translated onto the court for Boston. She’s keeping up with Clark’s pace, cashing in on transition baskets and connecting with Clark on pick and rolls. Since the 1-8 start, the Fever are 10-7 (11-15 overall).

“I just continued to make sure that I’m being consistent for my team, making sure I’m finishing my shots, finishing around the rim, making sure I’m running the floor, doing all little things because at the end of day like we have a great team,” Boston said. “We have a great squad and I’m making sure that I’m doing everything I can. It’s gonna be important for our team.”

Since their rough start, Boston and Clark have showcased their chemistry on the floor. Clark was excited about getting to play with Boston, and the two No.1 overall picks (Clark in 2024, Boston in 2023) are a big reason why the Fever are currently in seventh place in the WNBA standings.

“She’s only getting better and better each game [and] continues to improve,” Clark said about Boston’s performance this season. 

Despite frustration and finding consistency on the court, Boston has made a conscious effort to build a strong relationship with Clark. While Clark was excited at the opportunity to play alongside Boston, the two built a rapport off the court that helped Clark flourish during her rookie season.

“Not only is she a great basketball player, but she’s a great person. She’s a great leader in our locker room. She’s always had my back,” Clark said. “She’s just somebody that I can lean on. But I think our chemistry and our connection just continues to grow.”

Boston knows firsthand the pressures of being the No.1 overall pick and the expectations to immediately play well in the league. After Clark’s WNBA record-breaking 19 assists against the Dallas Wings on July 17, Boston believes her teammate is living up to the lofty expectations.

“The biggest advice I gave Caitlin was just to be herself,” Boston said. “I remember early on in the season I told [Caitlin] with the attention that you have coming in here, sometimes you’re going to be expecting certain things, and they’re going to try and prove to you like this is a big league. You’re here now. [I tell her to] continue to be her and be patient.

“I feel like giving ourselves grace is something that is hard, especially when we’re competitors and we want everything to be perfect. I think she’s done a great job. She’s handled herself really well over the course of the entire season.”

During the Fever’s first matchup against the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces on July 2, Aces forward A’ja Wilson noticed that Boston was playing with a level of patience she didn’t master until after the WNBA bubble in 2020.

“Aliyah is someone that really felt like she had to do it all in one motion or she felt like she had to do it all just because, once again, she’s the No. 1 draft pick, and coming in and there’s a lot of expectations,” Wilson said about Boston, who also played for Staley at South Carolina. “So I feel like she had to execute a lot of things all at once, versus this year I feel like she’s playing with a lot more patience, seeing things, dissecting the game, and picking it apart in a way that’s beneficial to her.”

Boston is heading into the All-Star Game with some momentum. She finished the Fever’s last game before the break with a season-high 28 points to go with eight rebounds and has posted double-digit points in 14 of her last 15 games.

Although the season was hard initially for the Fever, they have showcased some growth at the halfway mark.

“You just have to be in that moment and take that step back,” Boston said. “I feel like during the season, it’s really hard to really understand the growth that we had, especially when we’re looking at [it from] the wins and losses standpoint. But being able to take this break, to be able to see that, ‘Hey, we’ve had a great first half,’ now we just have to regroup and make sure that we finish out the rest of the season.”

Boston will spend the next several weeks resting during the Olympic break and hopes that when the league season returns on Aug. 15, she can fuel Indiana to its first postseason berth since 2016.

“Playoffs is definitely one of [the goals]. It’s been a while since we’ve been back and I feel like last year we were on the cusp of it. That is something that needs to happen. I think we have a great group and can do it,” Boston said.

“We have to be a little bit better at that going into the second half of the season because everyone is competing for a playoff spot.”

“I never thought about scouting. I never thought about working in player development. Like, I had my mind on wanting to play,” Rembert told Andscape. “It was a tough transition because I felt like my dreams were, like, crushed. … I’m still in professional baseball, just on a different side.”

Like Rembert, other former baseball and softball players from historically Black colleges and universities are finding a home in MLB front offices and hoping to open additional pathways for HBCU graduates to enter leadership positions with the league. 

“I feel like that my grind started when I first started working for the Pirates,” Rembert said. “Just like, new guy, 23 years old, just starting out, just trying to make a name for myself and, like, move up the ranks, and it was just a lot of work.”

After starting as an operations assistant with the Pirates at the end of his 18-month fellowship, Rembert earned a full-time role as a scout. His daily workload includes doing a full breakdown of collegiate and high school players his team could potentially draft, and during baseball season, Rembert spends much of his time on the road talking to players.

“Different people get different starts. The main route for a lot of scouts is, like, they played professional baseball and maybe they coached at a high level and wanted to go into the scouting space. … It’s all about who you know, at the end of the day,” Rembert said. “It’s about relationships, [and] the MLB is, like, it’s such a relationship-driven business.”

Everything Rembert learned as a former collegiate baseball player in the Southwestern Athletic Conference have helped him transition from athlete to scout.

“Since I was a kid, like, I’ve always been evaluating players at the back of my head. … Now I get paid to do it,” Rembert said. “So, like, even when I was playing at Alcorn, I was always evaluating players because I was always trying to find a competitive advantage. I was always evaluating players to see what they did well [and] what they didn’t do well so I could beat them.”

A diversity program with the Atlanta Braves helped Tyrone Brooks, the senior director of MLB’s Front Office and Field Staff Diversity Pipeline Program, enter the league in 1996.

When the MLB started the Front Office and Field Staff program in 2016, Brooks knew he wanted to help others break into baseball.

“We’re making inroads as far as helping to get people into the industry, especially persons of color, and looking at what opportunities are out there,” Brooks said. “We just noticed there wasn’t enough completely out there, and that’s where part of my role is helping to be a conduit working closely with the 30 major league clubs and helping them in identifying talent.”

Brooks said he recommends candidates when teams have jobs available, and offers help in other ways.

“Also a big part is providing that support for individuals as they’re looking to make their way into the game and help them to hopefully live their dream and do something that they’re going to want to do and love for the next 25 to 30-plus years,” he said.

Over the last few years, many participants in the three classes of MLB diversity fellows have landed permanent jobs after completing their fellowships, he said.

“There’s all different ways for individuals to make their way in, and from the fellowship standpoint that has been probably our most successful way for folks to get fully entrenched within the front office,” Brooks said. “We’ve had over a 90% success rate of individuals coming into the program and getting hired in full-time roles beyond the fellowship.”

Like Rembert, former Grambling State University infielder Jalen Heath also benefited from the program. Heath, who graduated from Grambling State in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree, worked in accounting before returning to the sport he loved.

In college, he would follow draft trends and the transaction pages of his favorite MLB teams, but he didn’t know opportunities in baseball front offices existed until he met Brooks. 

“I was set on just working, getting a job and having a career in accounting,” Heath said. “I just wouldn’t be getting the same fulfillment out of it that I wanted from my career and my work. I missed baseball. It was a big part of me that was just kind of gone, so I kind of wanted to get back into it, be around it and make an impact that way.”

Heath is an operations assistant with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He spent the first year of his 18-month internship working in player development with the organization’s minor league team. Now he assists with monitoring MLB rules and transactions.

“You want to be a sponge about everything,” Heath said. “It’s one of the things where you have to be humble [because] it’s hard to know everything coming in … and so I think I’ve been blessed to have a pretty good support system around me with the Pirates and people in our organization who [I] can lean on and ask questions, ask for guidance and kind of help me train myself to be a better baseball professional.”

Although Heath is still in the internship, he also works with Brooks and participates in Zoom calls and panels to encourage former HBCU students and student-athletes to pursue a career in pro baseball.

“The ones that are interested, I try to reach out to them and answer any questions they may have or give them some advice. I try to tell them it’s a busy schedule for baseball,” Heath said. “I definitely just want to be available and be around to give back and do my part of supporting and fostering a culture of HBCU athletes breaking into the game of baseball and at the professional level, whether it be on the field or off the field.”

Former University of Arkansas Pine-Bluff infielder Braelin Hence comes from a strong baseball background. His father, Marvin Hence, played baseball, and his brother, pitcher Tink Hence, plays for the Springfield Cardinals, a Double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals.

“[My dad] played the game for a long time. I feel like you learn what you learn because of the people around you. So, my dad being such an advocate of baseball, I won’t say I didn’t have a choice, but even if given a choice, I still would have picked up baseball,” Hence said. “It’s been my first love. … It’s been something that has given me a lot of fulfillment in life. It’s kicked me down at times, but at the same time it’s picking me right back up.”

After a hip injury forced Braelin Hence to retire from the sport, he unofficially became an assistant coach at UAPB, and helping his former teammates inspired him to pursue a different career in baseball.

“I always had dreams of playing baseball. But, you know, certain things happen in life where it opens your eyes to new things and new possibilities,” Hence said. “So once the door was open, it was something that I knew I had to walk through. It was something I knew I wanted to work through. So it just became first nature to me, like, seeing another guy chase his dreams, and being able to help that and assist with that has been one of the most fulfilling things ever.”

At 24, Hence has a summer internship with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. He loves working with players who are the same age as him and those who are younger.

He collaborates with coaches and players daily to determine ways to enhance their progress. He helps with scheduling practices, works with players on drills, equips batting practices and learns more about the technology side of the game.

“Just the ability to learn from working with players every day, all from different ethnic backgrounds, you learn more about the game from players than you’ll probably ever learn on your own,” Hence said.

Hence isn’t the only UAPB alum interning with the MLB this summer.

Alyssa Wesley, a former outfielder for Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s softball team, knew that once she graduated from college, she wanted to work for either the NFL or the MLB. Attending the NFL’s HBCU Careers in Football Forum in December 2022 “opened up my eyes” to how she could have a career in sports, she said.

“I was like, now that I got a sniff of it … this is what I was meant to do,” Wesley said.

At the urging of her friends, Wesley applied to the MLB’s summer internship program. She is currently the MLB’s baseball and softball development intern and works with the league office. As a part of her internship, she worked with the MLB for its first baseball and softball joint event, advises young girls on their college recruitment and how she landed an internship with the league.

“I’ve actually stayed connected with them, even [the] last couple days, just giving them advice on anything that can help them grow their careers, whether it’s on the field or off the field, whether it’s in the office or not,” she said. “So it’s really special to kind of keep giving back to the game because the game gave me so much playing.”

After she graduated from college in 2022, Wesley spent one season with UAPB’s softball program as a graduate assistant coach, which has helped her in her new job.

“It’s kind of funny, like, seeing the difference between inside the white lines and outside of white lines. … Since I played, then I also had coached, to now working in a front office for a major league corporate office, you definitely see the levels to everything,” Wesley said. “Just hearing the ideas on what they can do to not only just grow baseball but also grow softball is really special, too.”

Wesley’s summer internship ends in August, but she knows she wants an MLB career. During her time with the league office, she has built relationships with people in multiple departments.

Ultimately her goal is to get a full-time job in an MLB front office and continue to represent HBCU graduates working with the league.

“I feel even more proud to be a UAPB graduate, especially working at MLB. I want to put that HBCU on the map,” Wesley said. “I think every HBCU should be proud of that. … I think it’s real special to show what we’re doing and showing that people like us can do it. It doesn’t just have to be a dream. This is actually really possible.”

In their final showcase before the 2024 MLB draft, which runs from Sunday through Tuesday, Bufford and Walker will be among 50 Division I HBCU athletes playing in the second annual HBCU Swingman Classic on Friday during MLB All-Star Week in Arlington, Texas.

Walker, second baseman for the Tigers, participated in the inaugural Swingman Classic in 2023.

“It was the ability to play in front of, I want to say, 14,000 fans for the very first time. That was awesome,” Walker told Andscape. “Just being able to meet all the guys, you know, from different HBCUs and hearing their stories and being able to be coached by former big leaguers and Black personnel who’ve made names for themselves in the major leagues … it was awesome.

“This year, I’m expecting the same thing. I’ll be a little bit older and a little bit more mature.”

Third baseman Bufford, who also was on the inaugural roster, is looking forward to showcasing his growth.

“It was fun competing in the Swingman last year. That was another event where I was able to showcase myself in front of scouts,” Bufford told Andscape. “I enjoyed meeting new players and coaches and was able to pick their brains about not only baseball but life. What I am hoping to show scouts this time around is how consistent I [have] been and how much better I got [since] the last time that they seen me.”

Illinois native Bufford, who started playing baseball when he was five years old, was a member of the Jackie Robinson West Little League team that won the U.S. Little League World Series in 2014 before losing the world championship game to South Korea. (The team was later stripped of its U.S. title after it was discovered it had used ineligible players.)

Grambling State baseball coach Davin Pierre remembers watching the predominantly Black Little League team from Chicago. When Pierre saw Bufford at a prospect tournament in Atlanta, the two connected and formed a relationship that brought Bufford from Illinois to Louisiana.

When Bufford arrived at Grambling in 2020, he was 6-feet-3 and 170 pounds. One of his biggest developments as a player was filling out his frame by adding around 25 pounds of muscle.

“It was just the talent, like, man. I knew this young guy was gonna be the king one day. He was one of my favorites, but he worked hard. … He was always on time, always doing the things you need to do, and he was about baseball,” Pierre said. “He worked on his craft to the point where it put him in a good position, and now he has an opportunity to hear his name called in the draft.”

Bufford broke the Grambling State home run record earlier this year. He entered his senior season with 36 career home runs, one run behind Chris Cottonham, who set the record in 2000 with 37. Bufford took the No. 1 spot March 3, hitting his 38th homer during Grambling’s 3-2 victory over Florida A&M University.

“Imagine watching the kid from his freshman year all the way up until his senior year and watching him, you know, just conquer barrier after barrier,” Pierre said. “He’s one of the best players in Grambling State University baseball history to me collegiately.”

On May 25, Bufford hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning of the SWAC semifinals to help the Tigers defeat defending champion Florida A&M 14-11, and in the conference championship game, he scored the winning run. Bufford was named SWAC tournament MVP honor and earned an All-SWAC baseball First Team spot. He finished the season batting .343 with 10 home runs, 57 RBIs and 52 runs scored.

“My first year at Grambling, my hitting and fielding wasn’t as good as it is now, and while being at Grambling I learned a lot about myself as a player and made the proper adjustments that I needed to elevate my game,” he said.

Though Bufford doesn’t know where he will fall in the 20-round MLB draft, he was grateful for the opportunity to display his skills at the MLB combine in June in Phoenix.

“That was really like a dream come true, because not everyone gets the chance to get invited to showcase yourself in front of every major league organization, and I had fun doing so,” he said.

Over the two years Bufford and Walker have played together, they have built a lasting relationship. 

“Just being able to play with Cam for two years, I just know that good or bad, he’s always got my back,” Walker said. 

After graduating from Grambling, the two are still supporting each other during the next phase of their baseball careers.

“We’re both praying for each other. We’re just continuously talking about how we’re going to do it and this is what we’ve been dreaming of,” Walker said. “This is the last step of the goal that we need to accomplish before really starting off in our major league careers.”

Walker, a New Orleans native, started playing baseball at 4 years old and was a multisport athlete, playing football and running track and field before settling on baseball.

His collegiate career began in 2021, just 10 minutes up the road from Grambling State at Louisiana Tech. After redshirting his freshman year due to a non-surgical shoulder injury, he followed in the steps of his Louisiana Tech teammate Shemar Page and transferred to Grambling and became a staple for the Tigers’ offense.

“Being injured in the beginning at Louisiana Tech and then coming into a season where you didn’t play as much as you would like to [before] transferring to a school where you didn’t know anybody and you didn’t know you can fit in was hard,” Walker said. “But I did have a lot of help from Shemar, who made that first jump the year before. So he definitely helped me through the process and just getting to know people, building relationships with my coaches before I even got there.”

In his senior season, Walker established himself as a power hitter in the SWAC, finishing in the top five players in the conference in on-base percentage, hits, runs scored and home runs. 

“He possesses one trait that I think is probably one of the greatest traits that any kid can have … he is a dog,” Pierre said. “He is a competitor. Fierce. When he’s at the plate, he wants to knock the pitcher’s head off. When he’s on defense he wants to have energy and be out there making plays.”

For Walker, his breakout season for the Tigers was the result of getting fully healthy and doing the little things in the offseason. He batted .381 with 11 home runs, 41 RBIs and 71 runs scored.

“Just really staying in the weight room and you know [and] just kind of tweaking out little things in my swing to make it better and better after every game, every practice,” Walker said. “I kind of caught the barrel a little bit more this year.”

Walker’s work ethic and leadership drew praise from his teammate. 

“Playing with Kyle was like playing with my younger brother. … He is one of them ones who really make sure that he is getting better every day at something, and he is not afraid to ask questions either,” Bufford said.

Walker, who played with the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team in June, was the only HBCU player on the International Friendship Series roster for Team USA.

“It kind of brought me out there with a chip on our shoulder,” Walker said. “Seeing guys from all over the place and you know that you’re one of the only few from a smaller school, smaller conference … it was awesome being out there.”

Walker believes he had a good showing at the MLB combine and hopes to showcase more elements of his game at the HBCU Swingman Classic.

“I definitely think I did pretty well. I know there were some elements of [batting practice] that I kind of wish I did a little bit better in showcasing my ability out there,” Walker said. “But I think the physical test, I killed it. I know I had a pretty good 30-yard dash and showed some athleticism with the broad jump and stuff like that.”

Walker has been in contact with former Grambling State coach James Cooper, who is currently the manager of the New York Yankees’ Single-A affiliate Tampa Tarpons and has advised Walker about the draft process.

“[Cooper] said it’s just a lot of waiting around, especially when you’re not sure who’s gonna [pick] you for the draft,” Walker said. “It’s super-important to just be patient and stay prayed up.”

Pierre believes both of his players have earned the opportunity to play pro baseball and have opened doors for future Grambling baseball players in the process.

“These guys deserve an opportunity to go out there and show that they can play with anybody across the country,” Pierre said. “It’s big to see that happen because it don’t happen for a lot of kids at the HBCU level, and it’s a big recruiting tool for us to show kids across the country that, man, if you can play baseball at the next level, you can get those opportunities.

“These guys are setting a path for future kids to show them that magic can happen for you.”

Maya, a Clark Atlanta University alum, started as a recurring character on sister CW show All American before starring in All American: Homecoming, her spinoff show that takes place at Bringston University, a fictional historically Black college in Atlanta. The campus serves as the backdrop for the series while Maya’s character navigates young adulthood as a mother and student-athlete, and Maya’s time as an HBCU student aided her portrayal, she said.

Andscape spoke with the Los Angeles native Friday about the final season of All American: Homecoming, Simone’s love triangle and the impact of a television series set at an HBCU.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How was it being an HBCU student in real life and then portraying one on the show?

It’s very serendipitous. … In this life that we all live, there’s certain things that we do without any expectations of it actually coming to fruition. So I think me being able to portray an HBCU student from LA, it was just mine. It was always a part of my purpose, and I’m grateful that I had a showrunner like Nkechi Okoro Carroll, who saw that in me and gifted me with the opportunity to portray this role in a way that is reflective of little girls that look like me, that come from backgrounds like mine, and just allows me to honor the fact that these stories really do matter. … This is what I believe is my purpose, which is to tell stories. 

How much of your personality is reflected in Simone?

Where the humanity aspect comes in with acting, in general, is to just bring a bit of yourself to the role no matter what it is. I think the majority of [Simone’s] personality, when it comes to the goofiness and when it comes to the little moments of South Central LA, even though she’s from Beverly Hills. It just wouldn’t be right to not play her in that way. Because, again, don’t get it twisted: Black is Black. So you could be from Beverly Hills, but you have aunts and cousins that are in Crenshaw or so – it doesn’t matter. I just knew that I wanted to bring a little bit of my LA upbringing to the character and really to every character that I play. … I just want to be authentic, so I had to bring my South Central roots to this little Beverly Hills girl.

Season Two ends with a cliffhanger of Simone deciding between two suitors. Does the love triangle get resolved this season?

It definitely does, and I think it gets solved in a way that is more so for Simone than anyone. And I feel like that’s me not saying much at all because there’s so much that happens in the season for her. But I think in regards to love, I think it gets solved for her. That’s the most important part of this puzzle, her and her decision for herself.

What is it like portraying a character in a love triangle?

Simone has had more suitors than I’ve ever had in my lifetime, and I’m not mad at her for it. I think especially [with] the girls, let them live, let them have options. Just in hindsight, at my age and stage in my life, I don’t think you should have put all your eggs in one basket, because you sincerely just don’t know. Whether it’s a man or a job, life is about living and experience, so I always implore women to explore life in all it has to offer.

What can viewers expect to see from Simone this season? 

I would say resilience because I feel like when you’re younger and you’re experiencing so many trials and tribulations of life, we don’t really look at it as if it’s something that’s happening for us but more so to us. … When you’re able to change your perspective … and you are able to, like, look at it from the lens of growth and maturation and evolution and really surrendering to life and all that it has to offer to you, whether good, better and different, I think you just have a different perspective on coming out of the fire. 

I think that Simone definitely will experience a lot that will aid her toward her growth as a person, as a woman, as a mom and as an athlete. There are so many hats that Simone wears. But I think this is a lot about her resilience for herself, and it was really beautiful to play this season. … I know people are so invested in Simone and this love triangle because it’s fun. We want the girls to win, but at the same time, life happens, and when life hits, it does transform you. It does change you. … It was really refreshing to be able to play a more nuanced, grounded version of her this season.

How do you think All American: Homecoming’s portrayal of an HBCU will impact the next generation of students? 

I think the impact will be just more visibility and more of an opportunity to see themselves. One thing I will say is just being in the business as long as I have your purpose for doing it starts to shift. I believe that Homecoming was not an opportunity that was solely for me, my dreams, my purpose and my work. It was really for the generations of children who want to go to a historically Black college or university, who want to learn more about the legacy, who want to act, who want to play tennis, who want to be the main character or who want to tell stories. So I think this opportunity is extremely weighted. But I think the impact is a blessing. … I’m grateful to look at my art, in any and everything that I create, as something that’s just beyond me. I’m happy to serve the generation in that way, so I hope it inspires people to just keep doing what they want to do and going for what they want to go for.

How important was it for the show to portray issues that were happening on HBCU campuses?

As Black people, we have a responsibility that we don’t necessarily ask for, but we have a responsibility to reflect truth, authenticity, resilience, elevation, art, culture and history. … It’s too important because of how we impact other people, not just our people but literally the world. Everywhere in the world is influenced by Black culture. … That’s why it’s major that history is trying to be taken out of schools. It’s, like, you can’t erase history and then sit here and celebrate other cultures and history because, again, it’s all in the fabric of this world, of this country. … We have to give credit where credit is due. And you know Black people, that’s just how we move, that’s just how we work. So, it deserves that amount of visibility, time and education because … we are real people with real impact, and we matter.

This will be the final season of All American: Homecoming. What was your initial response to the show’s cancellation?

I’m really proud of this season and despite our fate being what it is, I mentioned this earlier: It is about quality, not quantity. And I think the quality of work that we’ve done in a matter of three seasons, it has impacted people.

My character being a guest star to recurring [on All American], I didn’t know if they would attach to this version of this world, especially coming off the height that All American still has. It’s still doing an astronomical job at celebrating culture and giving back to these kids and families that really love the show. I didn’t know what Homecoming was actually going to do, and it surpassed what I thought. So I think that how we started and definitely how we finished is rooted in so much more than how long we’ve been on.

However, after weeks of additional training, booking flights, and making travel arrangements with his family for the cross-country trip, Cole found out he wouldn’t fulfill his lifelong dream and compete for a spot at the 2024 Paris Olympics. According to an email sent to Cole by USA Track & Field statistician Glen McMicken, Cole’s time at the MEAC championships didn’t count because it was not a USATF-sanctioned event.

“I will say I’m numb to it now, like, in the moment,” Cole told Andscape. “Just kind of, like, trying to keep my composure. It just sucks that something I worked, like, my whole life for is just [taken] away from me for something that’s out of my control. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, it’s just taken away from me.”

When Cole, the two-time MEAC 100-meter dash champion, went to register for the Olympic trials, USA Track & Field rejected his time. According to the sanction application on the organization’s website, “An event may obtain a USATF sanction by filing a completed USATF sanction application with the appropriate USATF Association, paying the requisite local and national sanctioning fees and complying with the requirements of obtaining a sanction.”

The USATF events calendar outlines which track and field events are sanctioned by the organization. The MEAC’s Outdoor Track & Field Championships aren’t listed on the calendar, and neither are the Southwestern Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

The USATF Virginia Association, which has direct knowledge of the USATF sanction applications submitted in the state of Virginia, confirmed to Andscape that the MEAC didn’t complete the application to have its conference outdoor championship in consideration to be USATF-sanctioned meet.

In a statement released Friday, the MEAC said: “The MEAC was recently informed that our multiple appeals submitted last week to have Kai Cole approved to compete at this year’s USATF Olympic Trials were denied by USATF, despite his posting an automatic qualifying time at the MEAC Outdoor Track & Field Championship. Although the MEAC Outdoor Track and Field Championship remains an official NCAA Division I championship event, USATF policy changes implemented this year resulted in the event not being officially sanctioned by USATF, making all competition results ineligible for Olympic Trial qualification. 

“We understand Kai’s frustration and took all available steps to rectify the situation so he could compete in the Olympic Trials — an opportunity he clearly deserves. The MEAC fully supports our member institutions and student-athletes as they pursue their dreams and strive for excellence. We are disappointed by the decision from USATF and are working to ensure our track and field championships are sanctioned USATF events moving forward. No further comments will be made regarding this matter.”

After several efforts to appeal, Cole exhausted his options.

“I was under the impression that I didn’t have to worry about that,” Cole said. “So when I found out it wasn’t sanctioned, it’s just like how could you forget something so important like this for an Olympic year, out of all years. [I’m] just seeking clarity on why it happened.”

Cole and his family have canceled their travel plans. Cole said he is taking some time to figure out his options for pursuing a pro track and field career. Before the USATF decision, he was in talks with agents and sponsors about deals depending on his trial performance. Now he is waiting to see what opportunities are still available to him.

“[This season] was definitely at its height kind of cool. Then it was completely shut down,” Cole said. “Before, I felt like I exceeded my own expectations running college track and field. Everyone knows I ran 10.05. It feels like it was erased because it’s not recognized by anything. It’s like I never did it.”

Ighodaro, the 6-foot-11 big man known for his passing skills and ability to create opportunities for his teammates, only played a total of 38 minutes his freshman year at Marquette before becoming a rotational player his sophomore year and eventually an impact player as a junior and senior. He’s projected as a second-round pick in the NBA draft June 26.

Unlike his peers, Ighodaro didn’t play AAU or organized basketball until he was a freshman in high school. Ighodaro grew up in a strict, academics-focused household. Extracurriculars were secondary.

“I wanted to play basketball, so the emphasis that was put on academics made my life easier going forward because I was able to get a finance degree and a business administration master’s,” Ighodaro said. “It wasn’t as difficult for me because I have that strong foundation. This has always been the standard of my family. There wasn’t really an option. That’s what you did in the Nigerian culture.”

His father, Osaro Ighodaro, came to the United States in 1985 on a basketball scholarship. Although a soccer player in his youth, the 6-foot-9 Osaro Ighodaro transitioned to basketball and eventually earned three degrees from Northern Arizona University.

Osaro Ighodaro was adamant that his children focus on academics after noticing a lot of children who specialized in basketball at the ages of 3 and 4 faced burnout before they got to school. Focusing on academics and not competitive basketball still allowed Ighodaro the opportunity to improve his skills on the court.

“There was a lot more focus on skill development. I think just that’s all [Osaro] knew, and so that’s what he did with the kids,” Dawn Ighodaro, Ighodaro’s mother, said. “They obviously weren’t in competitive sports and so you just break down the [fundamentals] and you focus and get better. My husband took the kids and taught them tennis, soccer and basketball – just all skill stuff – and he did that with them like every weekend.”

During the week, the television wasn’t on in the Ighodaro household. Ighodaro didn’t own his first game console until he purchased a PlayStation with his high school graduation money. His Nigerian roots and familial upbringing are extremely important to him and he credits the culture he learned from his father and family for shaping him.

“Just growing up, my dad pushed me in so many ways, trying to make me the best person I can be,” Ighodaro said. “We have always had a tight-circle kind of family dynamic and that kind of helps me stay focused in this next chapter in my life that’s going to be extremely important. Just keeping my circle small and continuing to grow and push myself in different areas.”

His work ethic acquired from academics seamlessly transitioned into basketball. Ighodaro noticed early in his collegiate career that team practices and workouts weren’t enough. He would often do additional practice and individual workouts after normal team practice.

“A lot of people really respect Oso just based off his work ethic,” said his girlfriend of three years Liza Karlan, who is currently a forward with the Notre Dame women’s basketball team. “He’s a very high-character person. He’s just kind of a natural leader. He takes people with him. He has a lot of passion for obviously basketball, but making other people around him better.”

Four years of college was a learning process for Ighodaro. His upbringing with his parents allowing him to pursue different activities outside of basketball helped him maintain his passion for the game and develop interests off the court.

“I’ve been realizing how important it is to have an identity outside of basketball and not trying to tie myself so much to feedback and the outcomes of workouts and games,” Ighodaro said. “Just having a strong base and a strong foundation in myself outside of basketball so on the court doesn’t faze me as much. That’s probably the biggest thing I’ve been learning about myself.”

Even amid frustration on the basketball court, Ighodaro’s character always shine through for his teammates. When Marquette guard Stevie Mitchell arrived on campus as a freshman, his first interaction with Ighodaro was a text message offering to give Mitchell his television.

“We got really close during that year because being a freshman is just hard to go through stuff, but he was kind of always there for me,” Mitchell said. “He was always looking out for me asking how I’m feeling and asking what’s going on in my head because it’s such a huge transition.”

“He was a sophomore and he wasn’t really getting playing time, probably not as much as he would have wanted as a sophomore in college. But just being able to put himself aside and worry about me, care about me, and make sure I’m good, that meant a lot to me.”

Ighodaro started his college career playing in just five games his freshman year, and by the end of his senior season he had earned his second Big East second-team selection, averaging 13.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game while shooting 57.6% from the field.

While his skills helped Marquette earn a No. 2 seed in the 2023 NCAA tournament, Ighodaro’s character off the court holds a lot of weight among his teammates. Ighodaro was the reason a lot of his teammates worked just as hard in the classroom as they did in the weight room, and he set the example for how teammates should look after one another.

When Shaka Smart took over as head coach for Marquette after Ighodaro’s freshman year, he embraced him. Ighodaro’s teammates followed suit.

“He’s got a special way about him with his teammates. He’s team-oriented to a fault,” Smart said. “It’s like, ‘Oh, you got to focus on yourself a little bit here.’ But he’s all about the team. It’s about his teammates. He’d rather see his teammates get the limelight than him. I think he’s gonna be a great fit in the NBA whichever team gets them because they want role players and they need role players. He’s fine with that.”

Coming from a tight-knit family, Ighodaro placed high importance on relationships with his teammates, coaches, and the program’s supporting staff. 

“He probably has an individual relationship with not just everyone on the team, but everyone in that whole program, whether that’s a manager and assistant coach or photographer,” Karlan said. “He has relationships with everyone and that’s hard to do, especially as an athlete. You’re busy trying to focus on your teammates and hone in on what you need to do on the court.”

When Ighodaro returned to campus a few weeks ago after being away preparing for the NBA draft, his former teammates rushed to shower him with love. Mitchell also noticed some changes in his best friend when he returned to Marquette. 

“He looked like a pro when he came back,” Mitchell said. “That was kind of just cool to see from our perspective, still being in college, seeing one of our best friends and teammates come back and just carry himself in a way that we all are striving towards.”

With a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree and the promise of an NBA career within reach, Ighodaro’s once academically strict parents are fully supportive of him pursuing an athletic career.

“They ask a ton of questions every time I talk to them,” Ighodaro said. “This is a new process for us. So they just want to know constantly what’s going on.”

His mother has noticed her son’s new maturity and attended his pro day in May.

“I’ve never seen him more happy and more confident since he’s been in pre-draft training and up until now,” his mother said. “You see the development. When I see his face or I talk to him I can hear it as far as he’s just feeling he’s ready for the next step.”

Watching the NBA playoffs this year hit closer to home for Ighodaro. He’s not just watching the games for outcomes, but he can see where his skills and versatility will be valuable in the NBA because he knows after the NBA draft, the players he’s spent time analyzing will be his peers.

Ighodaro cites NBA players Draymond Green, Bam Adebayo, and Naz Reid as the ones he tries to model his game after.

“I think the ability just to switch on defense, and guard multiple positions is something that is extremely valuable. Watching the playoffs the last couple of weeks, you can see just how valuable and necessary that is,” Ighodaro said. “And on offense, just being able to read and react, not having to run plays to create shots for others. I think that role players in the NBA are so important because each team has superstars. That’s not what they’re looking for. They’re looking for guys to complement those guys, so I think I do that at a high level.”

Smart believes Ighodaro is the epitome of a positionless player who will immediately excel in the NBA.

“I think that he will make whatever team he goes to better on the offensive and the defensive end by adding a lot to what I call connective tissue,” Smart said. ”So all the little things that make the offense run smoothly, like ball movement, creating actions, getting guys open, making the extra pass, he’s really really good at that. He can defend smaller guys and bigger guys. He can handle the ball like a smaller guy. [He] Finishes around the basket like someone with size, so he just defies position.”

While his draft workouts slowly wind down, Ighodaro is keeping his family and loved ones close and hoping that the interviews and performances at the NBA draft combine and Klutch Pro Day showed NBA teams his value and potential on the court.

“I think that the teammate and the leader that I can be is extremely valuable,” Ighodaro said. “I’m trying in these interviews to emphasize how important [winning] is to me. So if you bring me into your organization, I’m gonna bring these winning values and these traits that good teammates have.”

After graduating in May 2023 with his master’s degree, Beard moved to North Carolina to pursue a pro track career as a hurdler. Beard, who currently lives with his aunt, is usually up by 7 a.m. He heads to the gym to do an individual lift before driving 40 minutes to NC State University to practice for a few hours. After practice, he works in the deli section of a local Walmart until closing at 11 p.m. most weekdays. However, on the weekends, he travels around the country competing.

Beard is one of several track and field athletes from historically Black colleges and universities who will compete in the U.S. Olympic trials, which start Friday in Eugene, Oregon.

His faith has been his driving force throughout his career. He uses his favorite Scripture, Joshua 1:9, as a guide to get through difficult days: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

“[I tell myself] you got no time to be afraid. You gotta go. God gave you this opportunity to lock-in and do something that you want to do and he wants you to do,” Beard said. “It’s just perfect. You feel like you can’t fail.”

In October 2023, he competed in the Pan Am Games in Santiago, Chile, finishing sixth in the 110-meter hurdles. At the Millrose Games in February in New York City, Beard won and set a personal best time in the 60-meter hurdles. His time of 7.44 seconds was the third fastest in the world at the time.

“Every time I line up, I’m looking to win. So I mean, it’s not necessarily looking at the outcome of the Olympics [and] being on the team,” Beard said. “It’s just like every time on a track and I’m healthy, I’m good to go. I really think I can beat anybody out there.”

Howard University hurdler Simone Watkins also knows firsthand how much an athlete’s life can change in one year. 

A year ago she was a hurdler at Texas Tech University and considering retiring from track and field. Watkins, who has been running track since she was 8, transferred to Howard this past season to train under Howard director for track and field David Oliver, who won the bronze medal in the 110-meter hurdles at the 2008 Olympic Games.

In the last two months, Watkins has run a personal best of 55.92 in the 400-meter hurdles, earned NCAA All-American honorable mention honors and qualified for the Olympic trials. 

“Being coached by someone who has been where I want to be, it’s so much easier to buy in because what he says he backs it up. His mindset, too, he’s just taught me to be a champion,” Watkins said. “It starts before you get to the Olympics. It starts before you get to the [NCAA] national championships. [Preparing] for all this stuff starts really as soon as you get on the track.”

She has spent the last week and a half before the Olympic trials working on her pattern and approach for the women’s 400-meter hurdles. Being at an HBCU for her final year of college has been transformational, she said. 

“They have all the resources. We have all this glitz and glamour, and it’s nice and it’s definitely enticing. But being from [an] HBCU, being able to show this stuff is nice, but it’s not necessarily needed to get you to the same place,” Watkins said. “So it’s exciting putting on at HBCUs.

“I love it, the culture and the environment. … I feel like these people [at HBCUs] really care. I want people to know you don’t have to forfeit that for your sports goals, because you can do both. You can be around your people [and] still succeed.”

She has dreamed of competing against the best track and field athletes in the world, but Oliver has constantly reminded her that she, too, is one of the best track and field athletes. 

“Just that lesson of never ever doubting yourself, never giving up on a dream if it’s on your heart, like, go for it has been the biggest lesson I’ve learned,” Watkins said. “[Oliver says] keep believing in ourselves, believing in our training, knowing we can go out there and compete against the best.”

Several other Howard student-athletes and alumni will compete in Olympic trials, including Jessica Wright (400-meter hurdles, U.S. Olympic qualifier), Samuel Bennett (110-meter hurdles, U.K. Olympic qualifier), Otto Laing (100-meter hurdles, Bahamas Olympic qualifier), and Adam Musgrove (100-meter hurdles, Bahamas Olympic qualifier).

Oliver, a Howard alumnus, is proud of all the HBCU athletes who will compete in the trials.

“It is extremely special and is such a great honor to represent not only your university but the greater HBCU community as a whole,” Oliver said. “Our schools are always overlooked in things of that nature when it comes to our bigger sports, but the sports like track and field, where it’s really just about you, the athlete, it doesn’t really matter where you go to school.”

A year ago, Jamarion Stubbs was a member of Alabama State University’s 4×100 relay team, and this season he is breaking out on his own as an individual runner. Now a sophomore, Stubbs finished seventh in the 200-meter dash at this month’s NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a time of 20.59, earning first-team All-American honors.

“I’ve gotten a lot more consistent and committed to, like, my training in track. … My freshman year, I was moving across the country. I wasn’t sure about a lot of stuff,” Stubbs said. “Since it’s my second year, I’m more comfortable in Alabama. I don’t have as many distractions as I did last year.  I think I’ve grown mentally and physically also because I’ve gained a lot of weight and a lot of muscle over this year.”

Since then he has been training at his home in Las Vegas so that he can stay acclimated to the Pacific time zone before heading to Oregon on Tuesday to compete in the Olympic qualifiers for the 200-meter dash. Until then, he is simply focusing on speed, nutrition and endurance and keeping himself healthy.

“[Alabama State track and field head coach Ritchie Beene] basically just told me, like, to run my race. … I made it this far for a reason,” Stubbs said. “Just because I’m running against pros or other top athletes doesn’t mean anything because I’m one of them also. I just have to run my race and do what I usually do – go out there and compete.”

Stubbs has already packed his Alabama State gold and white uniforms to wear during the trials. He’s very proud he will have Alabama State across his chest while running in the qualifiers. 

“People sleep on HBCUs,” Stubbs said. “[They] don’t expect to see an athlete come out of an HBCU [like] Alabama State and be one of the top athletes or be just as good.”

University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff jumper Caleb Snowden also performed well at the Outdoor Track and Field Championships, finishing third in the high jump after clearing 7-3 ¾.

He was happy the championships gave him a chance to compete at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, so he could get comfortable with the field before the Olympic trials.

“Jumping at the same place you know what you’re going to experience there,” Snowden said. “I just got back [to UAPB] working on what I did good and wrong and fixing it, so when I come back [to Oregon] I’m expecting to come and make the USA team.”

Snowden has spent the last two weeks working on his high jump approach, maintaining his speed and perfecting a little technique work over the bar. This season he cleared a personal best of 7-5, a UAPB record, at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.

Snowden hopes he can finish his senior track and field season in Paris.

“In 2022 is when it was starting to get talked about being in Paris. I’ve always thought about it, but I was never really at the level that I am now,” he said. “But as I started getting closer, I started getting some higher marks and the more I just started thinking about it … all I have to do is just show up and compete [and] I’ve got a chance to go.”

Lindsay is a recipient of the USA Track & Field National Championship Mentorship Grant, which allows her to be a coach for the Olympic trials taking place at the University of Oregon through June 30. It’s the second time she has received the grant. She also a mentor at the 2022 USATF Outdoor Nationals.

The assistant coach from the Division II HBCU will mentor athletes competing in the multi-event sports pentathlon, heptathlon and decathlon. Lindsay won’t physically be in Oregon for the Olympic trials. She will work as a mentor virtually.

“She’s studying with many of the best coaches in the U.S. So I think she’s going to take this as another challenge, that she’s going to go ahead and she’s going to be successful no matter what,” Marquita Mines, Edward Waters’ head track and field coach, said. “She’s going to give those athletes her full attention and all the tools they need to be successful to represent the United States at the highest level at the Olympics.”

Mines and Lindsay were USA Track & Field members and regional representatives. The two further built a relationship when they were in the Division III Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Mines was an assistant coach at Roanoke College and Lindsay was an assistant coach at Hollins University.

When Mines accepted the coaching position at Edward Waters in 2022, Lindsay was her first hire.

“When it comes to community engagement she’s excellent. I don’t think she ever met a stranger,” Mines said. “She would meet somebody and generally just pick up a conversation. The students love her. She’s like a mentor for them. So she brings that aspect to the team, and it’s one thing I cherish about her.”

Andscape spoke with Lindsay about mentoring athletes and finding success.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Edward Waters is the first HBCU you’ve coached at professionally. How has the experience been for you? 

My husband’s an Aggie (North Carolina A&T alum). I love being at an HBCU. And I do feel it’s somewhat remiss that I did not choose to pursue my college career [at an] HBCU, but I’m not going to say I didn’t enjoy my time and my experiences at work at Western Carolina that did build me.

I love seeing the Greek sororities on the yard. I always tell [student-athletes] don’t lose sight of what you’re doing. I say that because that’s something that a lot of people do not have. You’re at an HBCU culturally and [historically] that is absolutely astounding. Just to see how they walk around campus, see how our staff are walking on campus and just me wearing my polo that has Edward Waters on it and going to Morehouse or going anywhere and they know that I’m going to an HBCU. And I’m telling them we are the first Black HBCU in Florida. 

What was the grant application process like for you?

Now it’s a lot more structured, and that’s something that everybody at USATF was trying to make it easier. So there’s more young ladies and more young men that want to have these opportunities, and those opportunities are there for you but they’re not easy to get. Because it still is a very inclusive society where they don’t let everybody in. So that’s something that we’re working on is filling that resource. I’m an official as well. [I] really started learning about my sport more because of that, and it opened those doors as well by just meeting people. …

So by putting myself in the right place at the right time, and then I decided not to be quiet, that’s how I was able to say, ‘You know what? I’m not afraid anymore.’ If I want something, [I] go get it and ask the questions.

As a mentor at the Olympic trials, what are your daily duties?

I can analyze and break down a handle or break down their posture and foot placement, and they see it and I can actually speak to them in vernacular that is easy for them. That’s what these grants have done for me. They open up something for you. Some people may have just gone, but I actually go to learn. I’ll be doing videos and making sure I’m analyzing and [giving] feedback to them. So I’m not gonna be there, but I’m there. … Sometimes you really can’t do much anyway, especially not at the trials. … The last time it was like, ‘We already gave you everything. Now you just have to apply what we gave you.’

How is it coaching the pentathlon, heptathlon and decathlon?

I’m always coachable, but I tend to catch onto things. The heptathlon has basically all the events that I already know how to do minus, you know, the hammer throw. The hammer throw, it’s not what I do, but I love it because it’s a game of numbers and the way you train the athlete is different. … Whenever I take on a ministry, I give them the tools for success and the resources. … When it gets down to athletes, those first two days they already know we have a tradition that we have to do in the beginning, and then we execute from there. I ask [the athletes] each and every time, ‘What do you expect to achieve from the start?’ And then tell them, ‘I’m holding you to it.’ Then I record everything, and we talk about it later.

What have you learned being a coach within U.S. Track & Field?

I tell everybody you can open up your mouth and say, ‘help me.’ I am quick to ring up a phone and call people who I know are old mentees of mine or just people that I’ve met in passing. I’ll just say, ‘OK, I need help.’ … I aspire to be like a bridge that helps athletes. I tell my stories and show them how I learn.

Directed by Dawn Porter, Prime Video’s new documentary Power of the Dream gives viewers an intimate look inside the 2020 WNBA season. Although isolated in a bubble – affectionately known as the Wubble by fans — at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, Power of the Dream gives an exclusive look into how the W’s 144 players navigated the coronavirus pandemic while preparing to start the season, advocated for women who died after encounters with police, and directly affected the 2020 elections. To say the story was compelling would be an understatement.

“Once they started describing what it was, I was like, ‘Of course, why wouldn’t I want to talk about how the WNBA helped save democracy.’ So that’s how it started,” Porter, who directed award-winning documentaries on civil rights activist John Lewis and slain presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, told Andscape.

Following a year of production, archival footage, and film from retired U.S. star soccer forward Megan Rapinoe‘s cellphone, the documentary shows viewers the initial meeting with future U.S. senator Raphael Warnock, the printing of Vote Warnock T-shirts, and the intense collective meetings about whether to postpone games following the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin in August 2020.

Recently, Andscape caught up with Porter to discuss Power of the Dream, the influence of the WNBA and the impact of the film.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Why was it so important to include a deep dive into the origins of the WNBA and its history of advocacy in this documentary?

That is a really important question that gets to the heart of this film. As we bring new fans to women’s basketball, you want to make sure people have some understanding of the struggle that has helped to get the women’s game to where it is today in terms of respect, but also understand how they got to this place was through advocacy. Advocacy for themselves and for their sport for respect. They all like to say it’s in our DNA to fight for things. They don’t have the luxury of people just assuming that they’re fantastic and top-tier athletes. They have to demand respect. As a group, they have always had this history of working collectively because they had to work collectively to increase their pay [and] get travel support.

When there were all these social justice crises happening in the United States, they were not going to be quiet. They said, ‘We fought hard for this platform, but who we are as individuals, is people who care about people who look like us.’ And they were not going to sit by while people were being murdered in the streets.

For faithful WNBA fans that were following the action from the Wubble live, what are some exclusive behind-the-scenes footage that they should expect to see in Power of the Dream?

[Megan Rapinoe’s] cellphone footage is some of the footage that we’ve got to use in the film to show what the conditions were like, what their protests meetings were like, and how they navigated. Not everybody feels the same way. Not everybody was positive that they should be collective but they worked through it to come to a group consensus. So you see all that in the movie. How they got to the idea of wearing those T-shirts and then you see them printing them up. You see that meeting with Raphael Warnock and you see their advocacy started way before the lockdown. You see the history of what they had been doing all along, and you see that their advocacy during the pandemic was an extension of what they have continuously been doing.

Given the divisive media controversy that has plagued the league so much this season, how do you think this film offers more insight into the players in the league?

[Sue Bird] makes the point that the league is so much more about supporting each other, but they’re competitors. They play a physical game and I think people who have not watched them play might have been surprised. I don’t know what they expected. Basketball is a physical sport and they’re playing in a physical game. They’re competitors. But that doesn’t speak to hostility or anger. People are imposing that narrative on folks. I think when you see what the [WNBA] has done collectively and consistently over so many years, that to me, is actually who they are. So I think the film helps. We’ve been making this for over a year. So this way precedes all of this controversy, it wasn’t like we were looking to tell a certain narrative. We just told the narrative that was already there.

What did you learn about these WNBA players throughout the filming process?

I was so moved, inspired, and proud of these women. They’re smart, strategic, persistent, fearless, and honest. It would start to get really heavy for them, and there’s one point where Layshia Clarendon, who was on the Dream at the time, said, ‘I gotta step back for a moment — it’s too much.’ Then Sue Bird stepped up. You see them saying this is what I need and then you see the people coming in and helping.

So I definitely think you see a story of collective action that is so mature, mature beyond the years beyond their years. All of that, asking, seeking, petitioning, and pushing. They’ve poured all that energy and skill into working to get a Democratic senator elected, who then, by the way, flipped the Senate, secured control for Democrats, and was able to vote for [Supreme Court Justice] Ketanji Brown Jackson.

What do you hope both new and seasoned fans take away from this documentary?

I hope that they see another dimension of the league. But I also hope that they get, we have some really fun sequences where you’re just seeing some great basketball. So we don’t lose the basketball for the activism. The basketball is there. So I think I hope people have an even deeper respect for the W coming out of this. They might have come for the game, but I think they’ll leave for the women. So I’m very excited for people to see just even a little bit more about who some of these other players are. [People] are starting to talk about ‘Say Her Name,’ and I think they’re gonna be saying some more names.