When Louisiana State University (LSU) and the University of Iowa competed for the NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship in April, the globe witnessed a title match that was far more than just a final game. In many respects, it exemplified the compelling status of women’s sports, as well as the decades of effort and struggle required to get respect and interest. The game drew a record-breaking average of 9.9 million viewers (peaking at 12.6); a handful of the young players had signed NIL (name, image, and likeness) contracts and spent the season stacking their bank accounts; and the trash talk on the court enraged so many spectators and pundits that it became the subject of tweets, online debates, and think pieces for weeks. Angel Reese, LSU’s star forward and the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player, was unquestionably at the center of the storm.
When I speak with Reese via Zoom in July, the 21-year-old rising senior is in the midst of a busy summer. “I never know what’s going on,” she admits, laughing. “I’m just here to jump into the car and go.”
The night before, she attended the ESPY Awards, where she mingled with celebrities and won Breakthrough Athlete of the Year. Before that, she was in Leon, Mexico, competing for Team USA in the FIBA AmeriCup. Following our conversation, which takes place shortly after she finishes her Teen Vogue picture shoot in Los Angeles, she heads to Variety and Sportico’s Sports & Entertainment Summit, where she will officially launch an eponymous organization committed to empowering young women.
Reese possesses a natural talent at basketball. Her mother, Angel Webb Reese, played in college and professionally, and her younger brother, Julian, began playing at an early age and is currently a University of Maryland student athlete. Daughter Reese was an athlete growing up, participating in volleyball, softball, cheerleading, and track. Her mother encouraged her and her brother to participate in all sports, but “she didn’t make us choose,” Reese adds. “We basically picked on our own, and I enjoyed how she let us do it.” By high school, however, basketball had surpassed the other possibilities. “I’m quite competitive, so having a brother, I’ve always wanted to beat him at basketball.” Also, “I thought I was fairly decent.”
And she was. Reese frequently played with older kids and boys’ teams in her recreation league, and she was exposed to WNBA talent. “I used to go to Washington Mystics games all the time, so I was always seeing fantastic players,” she recalls, listing Candace Parker and Maya Moore as favorites.
After four years of varsity play at Baltimore’s St. Frances Academy, Reese got scholarship offers from 24 Division I colleges as a five-star prospect, eventually committing to the University of Maryland. Despite having a fractured foot during her freshman season, she helped the team win the Big 10 title and get to the Sweet 16 after recovering. After a successful sophomore season with several 20-plus point games, she switched to LSU to play for famed coach Kim Mulkey.
“The Southern hospitality is real,” Reese says. “They love me down south, in Baton Rouge.” I’m 17 hours away from home, but I never feel far from it.”
