Anisa Salazar
Senior Editor
Alyssa Smith, junior forward for the La Verne women’s basketball team, has been awarded First Team All-SCIAC and Second Team All-Region for the 2025-2026 season, the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference announced.
This is Smith’s second time receiving All-SCIAC accolades, since earning Second Team All-SCIAC her sophomore year.
“It means a lot, especially because I feel like my work ethic is finally paying off,” Smith said. “My freshman year, I didn’t get any accolades. Setting goals and actually being able to achieve the goals is such a surreal feeling.”
Being honored with First Team All-SCIAC was a goal that Smith had set for herself since last season, so being able to achieve her goal meant a lot.
Smith’s junior year has been, statistically, her best yet. She averaged a double-double with 17.1 points per game and 10.5 rebounds per game. Nationally, she is ranked in the top 30 with 12 double-doubles to end her season.
She also ranked in the top five for rebounds per game (11.2), three-pointers (27) and three-pointers per game (1.8).
Smith led the conference with 18.5 points per game, 278 total points, 168 rebounds and 122 defensive rebounds. In her three years of playing on the team, Smith has accumulated 703 rebounds, ranking her third in La Verne history.
For Smith, these stats are proof of all the hard work that she puts in off the court.
Generally, Smith is a forward, but this season she was placed in nearly every position, one through five, with no push back.
“She’s a go-getter, she’s a dog,” Te’ Limon, senior guard, said. “You tell her one thing to do, and she doesn’t complain about it.”
Smith’s time at La Verne has taught her to become a more positive person. Having dealt with many injuries throughout her basketball career has posed many challenges, and having the support to overcome them has helped her become who she is today.
She credits the help of not only the Counseling and Psychological Services and TimelyCare resources on campus, but also her coach and teammates.
“There are a lot of times where we’d have meetings or bible study, and I’d go in there being vulnerable, saying that I didn’t know if God’s purpose was for me to be playing basketball anymore, just so frustrated about being injured,” Smith said. “My teammates and my coach reminded me to think positive and that bad things don’t always happen to people, which has helped me a lot in continuing to play basketball.”
Smith’s impact is not only on the court, but through her actions and the role she has taken as a leader in the eyes of her teammates.
“Alyssa is who our team looks to in terms of toughness. She does a lot of that with just how she plays,” head coach Anthony Mason said. “She does speak up on occasion, but she does lead more through her actions on the court. People watch her give up her body for the team.”
Smith highlights that she tries to stay humble on the court and communicate, but she is willing to put her body on the line to motivate others to also put in the same amount of effort when it comes to the game.
“I’m already there, so why not give my 100% effort,” Smith said.
“Alyssa’s in there getting her shots in, getting in extra work with coach, and that just goes to show what it takes to be a player that gets things done and excels,” junior guard Bella Musolff said. “She approaches everything in a way where she wants to learn, she wants to get better, and I think that’s where a lot of athletes have to get their mind right.”
Smith does not plan on slowing down next season.
“I really want to become an all-American by next year, so that’s the next goal that I will have for next season, and to stay healthy,” Smith said. “That’s my No. 1 priority.”
Anisa Salazar can be reached at anisa.salazar@laverne.edu.
Anisa Salazar is a senior communications major with a concentration in public relations. She is sports editor, social media editor and a staff photographer for the Campus Times. She previously served as a staff writer.
Aaliyah Alamillo is a junior photography major and a staff photographer for the Campus Times and La Verne Magazine.
