| Asjia O'Neal | |||
|---|---|---|---|
O'Neal in 2024
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| Personal information | |||
| Born | (1999-10-23) October 23, 1999 (age 24) Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. | ||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) | ||
| College / University | Texas (2018–2023) | ||
| Volleyball information | |||
| Position | Middle blocker | ||
| Current club | Columbus Fury | ||
| Number | 7 | ||
| National team | |||
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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 championshipsin2022 and 2023.
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 SchoolinSouthlake, 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]
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]
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]
O'Neal first played for the United States national team at the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League.[9]
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