MiLaysia Fulwiley
{{short description|American basketball player}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = MiLaysia Fulwiley
| image = MiLaysia Fulwiley (cropped).jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Fulwiley with South Carolina in 2024
| number = 23
| position = Guard
| height_ft = 5
| height_in = 10
| weight_lb =
| league = Southeastern Conference
| team = LSU Tigers
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|2005|4|21}}
| birth_place = Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
| high_school = W. J. Keenan
(Columbia, South Carolina)
| college = {{ubl|
- South Carolina (2023–2025)
- LSU (2025–present)
}}
| career_start =
| highlights =
- NCAA champion (2024)
- SEC Sixth Player of the Year (2025)
- SEC All-Freshman Team (2024)
- SEC tournament MVP (2024)
- McDonald's All-American (2023)
| medal_templates =
}}
MiLaysia Fulwiley (born April 21, 2005) is an American college basketball player for the LSU Tigers women's basketball of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
High school career
Fulwiley played basketball for W. J. Keenan High School in Columbia, South Carolina. In seventh grade, she was called up to varsity team for the playoffs and helped Keenan win the Class 2A state championship.{{cite web |last1=Bezjak |first1=Lou |title=Keenan star could win her second state title this week. She's not in high school yet |url=https://www.thestate.com/sports/high-school/prep-basketball/article226762194.html |website=The State |access-date=March 16, 2024 |date=February 15, 2019}} Fulwiley won four state titles in six seasons with the team and left as its all-time leading scorer. As a senior, she was selected to play in the McDonald's All-American Game.{{cite web |last1=Bezjak |first1=Lou |title=South Carolina signee, local standout picked for McDonald's All-American game |url=https://www.thestate.com/sports/college/university-of-south-carolina/usc-womens-basketball/article271519292.html |website=The State |access-date=March 16, 2024 |date=January 26, 2023}} Rated a five-star recruit by ESPN, Fulwiley committed to play college basketball for South Carolina over offers from Florida, Louisville and Ole Miss, among others.{{cite web |last1=Adams |first1=Emily |title=South Carolina women's basketball adds 2023 commitment: Columbia native Milaysia Fulwiley |url=https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/sports/college/usc/2022/11/10/south-carolina-womens-basketball-milaysia-fulwiley-commitment-dawn-staley-recruiting/69622472007/ |website=The Greenville News |access-date=March 16, 2024 |date=November 10, 2022}} She was offered by the Gamecocks during seventh grade.{{cite web |last1=Bezjak |first1=Lou |title=South Carolina offers hometown 7th grade girls basketball standout |url=https://www.thestate.com/sports/high-school/prep-basketball/article209581034.html |website=The State |access-date=March 16, 2024 |date=April 22, 2018}}
College career
On November 6, 2023, Fulwiley made her debut for South Carolina, recording 17 points, six assists and six steals in a 100–71 win over AP No. 10 Notre Dame.{{cite magazine |last1=Lyon |first1=Andrew |title=MiLaysia Fulwiley Lives Up To The Hype In Gamecock Debut |url=https://www.si.com/college/southcarolina/basketball/milaysia-fulwiley-lives-up-to-the-hype-in-debut-for-south-carolina-womens-basketball |magazine=Sports Illustrated |access-date=March 16, 2024 |date=November 6, 2023}} She was named to the Southeastern Conference (SEC) All-Freshman Team. Fulwiley helped her team win the SEC tournament, where she was named MVP after scoring a season-high 24 points in a 79–72 win over AP No. 8 LSU in the final.{{cite web |last1=Hall |first1=Cora |title=South Carolina freshman MiLaysia Fulwiley scores career-high 24 points, named SEC Tournament MVP |url=https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/sports/college/usc/2024/03/10/milaysia-fulwiley-scores-career-high-south-carolina-sec-tournament-championship-lsu/72922637007/ |website=The Greenville News |access-date=March 16, 2024 |date=March 10, 2024}}
Career statistics
{{WNBA player statistics legend}}
=College=
{{WNBA player statistics start}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2023–24
| style="text-align:left;"| South Carolina
| 38 || 3|| 18.4 || 43.8|| 34.3 || 78.2 || 2.9 || 2.2 || 1.7 || 0.7 || 1.7 || 11.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| 2024–25
| style="text-align:left;"| South Carolina
|38||0||18.9||42.4||25.8||77.5||2.8||1.9||1.5||0.8||1.9||11.8
|- class="sortbottom"
|style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career
|76||3||18.7||43.1||30.3||77.8||2.9||2.0||1.6||0.8||1.8||11.8
|- class="sortbottom"
|style="text-align:center;" colspan="14"|Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference.{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/milaysia-fulwiley-1.html|title=MiLaysia Fulwiley College Stats|publisher=Sports-Reference|accessdate=April 10, 2024}}
{{S-end}}
Off the court
=Business interests=
On March 15, 2024, Fulwiley became the first college athlete to sign a name, image and likeness deal with Curry Brand.{{cite web |title=South Carolina's Fulwiley signs NIL deal with Curry Brand |url=https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/39739813/south-carolina-fulwiley-signs-nil-deal-curry-brand |publisher=ESPN |agency=Associated Press|access-date=March 16, 2024 |date=March 15, 2024}}
=In popular culture=
In April 2024, Fulwiley attended Kelsey Plum's second annual Dawg Class, a 3-day camp with the purpose of helping top women college athletes transition from collegiate to professional basketball.{{cite web|title=(Dawg) Class Is Back in Session |url=https://about.underarmour.com/en/stories/2024/04/-dawg--class-is-back-in-session---.html |website=Under Armour |date=April 19, 2024 |access-date=April 20, 2024}} The 2024 camp was held at the IMG Academy and sponsored by Under Armour.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://gamecocksonline.com/sports/wbball/roster/player/milaysia-fulwiley/ South Carolina Gamecocks bio]
{{2024 South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fulwiley, Milaysia}}
Category:American women's basketball players
Category:Basketball players from Columbia, South Carolina
Category:McDonald's High School All-Americans
Category:South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball players