Daughter of former Pacers star selected No. 1 overall in Pro Volleyball Federation Draft

ATLANTA (WISH) — Former Indiana Pacers center Jermaine O’Neal must have been cheering loudly this past Monday as he heard his daughter’s name announced during the Pro Volleyball Federation Draft.

And he didn’t have to wait long to hear it.

Asjia O’Neal, a middle blocker, was selected by the Columbus Fury with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.

O’Neal, a volleyball star at the University of Texas, “holds the Longhorns’ career record with 594 total blocks and boasts over 900 career kills,” according to the Pro Volleyball Federation.

The following is more information about who was eligible for this year’s draft:

“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.”  

This week, O’Neal was also named as a First-Team All-American by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. This season, she is tied for the national lead with 1.62 blocks per set and also has a career-best 157 total blocks. O’Neal has 184 kills as well this season. Stats like those helped her win Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors four times this season.

O’Neal doesn’t have much time to celebrate the announcement as she is getting ready to play in the NCAA Volleyball Final Four in Tampa, Florida. Her No. 2 Longhorns will play No. 1 Wisconsin in one of the national semifinals on Thursday night. The other semifinal matchup will feature No. 1 Nebraska against No. 1 Pittsburgh.

The Longhorns are the defending national champions, having beaten Louisville in the 2022 National Championship.