Texas Longhorns’ Asjia O’Neal Leads 35 Selections In Pro Volleyball Federation Draft

ATLANTA – Pro Volleyball Federation, the premier women’s professional volleyball league in North America, conducted its inaugural player draft today, with 35 collegiate standouts earning the right to compete for a spot to continue their careers as pros in the United States.

The Columbus Fury owned the first selection and used it to select Asjia O’Neal from the University of Texas. She holds the Longhorns’ career record with 594 total blocks and boasts over 900 career kills. Her athletic prowess runs in the family as O’Neal is the daughter of former NBA All-Star Jermaine O’Neal.

Four players who will compete in this week’s NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championship in Tampa were chosen – Chiamaka Nwokolo and Emma Monks (Pitt), O’Neal (Texas) and Temi Thomas-Ailara (Wisconsin).

The University of Oregon led all schools with six selections, followed by Arkansas, BYU, Tennessee and Washington State with two each. From a conference standpoint, the Pac-12 had 11 players chosen, followed by the Big 12 (7), SEC (6) and Big Ten (4).

Two trades were made on draft day. In the fourth round, the Orlando Valkyries traded the rights to Paige Briggs along with the No. 24 selection to the Omaha Supernovas for the rights to Abby Hansen and Jill Gillen. Later, the San Diego Mojo traded the rights to Magda Jehlarova (picked No. 2 overall) to the Atlanta Vibe for current roster players Ali Bastianelli and Kendra Dahlke.

A player drafted needed to be at least 18 years or older on the day of the draft and defined as a college player. Athletes who met these criteria are eligible to be drafted. Players are not required to declare for the draft and anyone drafted may elect to return to college (if she has remaining eligibility) should she chose not to sign with her Pro Volleyball Federation team.