Asjia O'Neal
{{Short description|American volleyball player (born 1999)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox volleyball biography
| name = Asjia O'Neal
| image = Asjia O'Neal playing for the Columbus Fury.jpg
| image_size =
| caption =O'Neal in 2024
| full_name =
| nickname =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1999|10|23}}
| birth_place = Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
| death_date =
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| height = 6 ft 3 in
| weight =
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| block =
| college = Texas (2018–2023)
| position = Middle blocker
| currentclub = LOVB Austin
| currentnumber = 7
| years1 = 2024
| team1 = Columbus Fury
| years2 = 2025–
| team2 = LOVB Austin
| nationalyears1 = 2023–
| nationalteam1 = {{flagicon|USA}} United States
| nationalyears2 =
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| medaltemplates =
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}}
Asjia O'Neal (born October 23, 1999) is an American professional volleyball player for LOVB Austin. 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.{{cite news|url=https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/32697350/the-extraordinary-courage-ncaa-volleyball-star-asjia-oneal|title=The extraordinary courage of NCAA volleyball star Asjia O'Neal|last=Kumar|first=Aishwarya|date=December 3, 2021|website=ESPN.com|access-date=November 14, 2023}} She practiced basketball with her father after fourth grade and took up volleyball in seventh grade in 2012 after moving from Miami to Dallas. She played three years of varsity high school volleyball at Carroll Senior High School in Southlake, Texas.{{cite news |last=Riddle |first=Greg |date=July 31, 2017 |title=Texas pledge Asjia O'Neal, one of state's best volleyball players, won't play for Southlake Carroll as senior |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/high-school-sports/2017/07/31/texas-pledge-asjia-o-neal-one-of-state-s-best-volleyball-players-won-t-play-for-southlake-carroll-as-senior/ |access-date=November 14, 2023 |newspaper=The Dallas Morning News}} As a high school sophomore, she committed to the University of Texas at Austin.{{cite news |date=April 28, 2016 |title=Southlake Carroll's Asjia O'Neal commits to Texas volleyball |url=https://www.wfaa.com/article/sports/southlake-carrolls-asjia-oneal-commits-to-texas-volleyball/287-158544187 |access-date=November 14, 2023 |publisher=WFAA}}
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.{{Cite web |title=Why Asjia O'Neal is ready to be the face of the Columbus Fury, Pro Volleyball Federation |url=https://www.dispatch.com/story/sports/pro/2024/02/26/asjia-oneal-is-ready-to-be-the-face-of-the-columbus-fury-pro-volleyball-federation/72581362007/ |access-date=2024-02-27 |website=The Columbus Dispatch |language=en-US}}{{cite news |last=Murphy |first=Mark |date=February 23, 2013 |title=Family struggle weighs on O'Neal |url=https://www.bostonherald.com/2013/02/23/family-struggle-weighs-on-oneal/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=November 14, 2023 |newspaper=Boston Herald}}
College career
O'Neal redshirted her first year at Texas in 2018. 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.{{cite news|url=https://www.kvue.com/article/sports/ncaa/longhorns/longhorns-texas-volleyball-asjia-oneal-back-from-another-heart-surgery/269-a6cc95c0-6764-4fe7-a705-2f669ec5519b|title=Asjia O'Neal's journey back from multiple open-heart surgeries|last=Jones|first=Jeff|publisher=KVUE|date=May 12, 2020|access-date=November 14, 2023}} That summer, she helped organize campus activism to rename landmarks and build statues of former black students during the George Floyd protests.{{cite news|url=https://www.statesman.com/story/sports/college/longhorns/volleyball/2022/11/18/texas-volleyball-player-asjia-oneal-return-2023-season/69656575007/|title=From emulating Dennis Rodman to using her voice, Texas' O'Neal continues to be herself|last=Davis|first=Danny|date=November 18, 2022|newspaper=Austin American-Statesman|access-date=November 14, 2023}} She helped Texas reach the final of the 2020 NCAA tournament held in the spring of 2021. She received the Honda Inspiration Award for the 2020 season.{{cite news|url=https://big12sports.com/news/2021/6/22/volleyball-uts-asjia-o-neal-honored-with-honda-inspiration-award.aspx|title=UT's Asjia O'Neal Honored with Honda Inspiration Award|date=June 22, 2021|publisher=Big 12 Conference|access-date=November 14, 2023}}
O'Neal helped the Longhorns win the 2022 NCAA championship alongside fellow first-team All-Americans Logan Eggleston and Zoe Fleck.{{cite news|url=https://www.avca.org/award/2022-womens-di-all-americans/|title=2022 Women's DI All-Americans|date=December 14, 2022|publisher=American Volleyball Coaches Association|access-date=November 19, 2023}} She averaged a career-high .443 hitting percentage that season.{{cite web|url=https://texassports.com/sports/womens-volleyball/roster/asjia-o-neal/12793|title=Asjia O'Neal – Volleyball|publisher=University of Texas at Austin Athletics|access-date=November 21, 2023}} She returned for a sixth year and led Texas to defend its title at the 2023 NCAA championship.{{cite news|url=https://www.statesman.com/story/sports/college/longhorns/volleyball/2023/12/18/asjia-oneal-texas-volleyball-ncaa-championship-title-jerritt-elliott-career-middle-blocker-jermaine/71959193007/|title=Asjia O'Neal closed out her Texas volleyball career perfectly: an ace for the NCAA title|last=Jones|first=Thomas|date=December 18, 2023|newspaper=Austin American-Statesman|access-date=December 18, 2023}}
Professional career
O'Neal was drafted first overall in the first Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF) draft in December 2023.{{cite news|url=https://www.statesman.com/story/sports/college/longhorns/volleyball/2023/12/16/asjia-oneal-texas-volleyball-pro-draft-europe-longhorns-2023-ncaa-middle-blocker/71937609007/|title=Texas' Asjia O'Neal will choose between Europe or America for her pro volleyball career|last=Jones|first=Thomas|date=December 16, 2023|newspaper=Austin American-Statesman|access-date=December 25, 2023}} In January 2024, she signed with the Columbus Fury.{{Cite web |title=Texas volleyball star Asjia O'Neal signs with Columbus Fury in new domestic league |url=https://www.statesman.com/story/sports/college/longhorns/volleyball/2024/01/12/asjia-oneal-texas-volleyball-star-signs-with-columbus-fury-in-new-pro-volleyball-federation/72204190007/ |access-date=2024-02-17 |website=Austin American-Statesman |language=en-US}} In July 2024, it was announced O'Neal had signed with LOVB Austin for LOVB Pro's inaugural 2025 season.{{cite news|url=https://www.kvue.com/video/sports/ncaa/longhorns/269-3790996c-cd73-4f6d-b353-eb2a4e90a59e |title=Asjia O'Neal joins 5 other Longhorns on pro volleyball team |date=July 1, 2024|newspaper=KVUE}}
International career
O'Neal first played for the United States national team at the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League.{{cite news|url=https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/south-texas-el-paso/news/2023/07/24/asjia-o-neal--volleyball--team-usa|title='Comfortable and confident': How Texas volleyball star Asjia O'Neal acclimated herself to Team USA|last=Rossow|first=Adam|date=July 26, 2023|publisher=Spectrum News|location=Dallas|access-date=November 14, 2023}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://texassports.com/sports/womens-volleyball/roster/asjia-o-neal/12793 Texas Longhorns profile]
{{Honda Sports Award}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oneal, Asjia}}
Category:African-American volleyball players
Category:American women's volleyball players
Category:Columbus Fury players
Category:Sportspeople from Indianapolis
Category:Texas Longhorns women's volleyball players