In the eyes of three former women’s basketball standouts, Seton Hall is the chosen family that provided the roots and wings they needed to play professionally overseas.
Alexia Allesch, Azana Baines and Sidney Cooks all started their college careers elsewhere, but say that a strong sense of family and community helped draw them to Seton Hall.
Coach Tony Bozzella credits their international success with boosting the Pirates’ recruiting profile. “Everyone wants to have the opportunity, when they first start college, to play professionally,” he said. “It’s really helped us recruit American student-athletes. They see that if they come to Seton Hall, the coaching staff can help develop them into the best basketball player they can be.”
For these three, that opened the door to a whole new world.
ALEXIA ALLESCH
A native of Basking Ridge, New Jersey, Alexia Allesch was the first member of her family born in the U.S.— her parents and siblings are all natives of Austria. This summer she represented Austria in the FIBA 3×3 competition, and now she’s playing in Germany’s pro league first division.
Even so, playing and living in another country has been an adjustment for her. “It’s a big culture change. Everything’s different — the food, the way of life,” she says. The same goes for basketball. “There’s a lot more technical stuff here. In the States, it’s quick basketball, and more athletic.”
Allesch graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business and an M.B.A., and appreciates the lessons learned in the classroom and on the court. “Coach B. always talked about being on time, being disciplined. It helped prepare me for here,” she says. “And I think Seton Hall really prepared me for this life.”
AZANA BAINES
A couple of years playing and learning at Virginia Tech and Duke left Azana Baines hungry for a different experience, and she found it in South Orange. “All the staff really take care of their players, while you’re there and even after,” she says. “That’s something that I really, really value because I’m a family-oriented person. The fact that I could come into an environment like that was very important to me.”
Baines went on to earn first-team All-BIG EAST honors after the 2023-24 season.
She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and plans to pursue a masters in sports psychology, but meanwhile her basketball journey has taken her a long way from her roots in Blackwood, New Jersey — to Spain, and even Mongolia. “Pro basketball has always been a dream of mine, and was always something I knew I was capable of doing,” she reflects. “I feel like God just always placed the right people in my life to make sure that I did the things I needed to do.”
SIDNEY COOKS
Sidney Cooks had enough experience at Michigan State and Mississippi State to make an enlightened decision about where she wanted to finish college. Friend and former teammate Andra Espinoza-Hunter, who also completed her career at Seton Hall, thought the Pirates would be a great fit for Cooks.
She was right. Cooks earned All-BIG EAST first team one year and second team the other. She hadn’t been quite sold on Seton Hall at first, but the University’s community and culture convinced her. “I didn’t even visit the campus or anything. I hopped on a Zoom call with Coach B., and of course, you gotta love him. His energy is contagious,” she recalls.
Since earning her master’s in public administration, the native of Kenosha, Wisconsin, has traveled the globe so much — playing in Argentina, China, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Taiwan — that she had to get a new passport when the old one filled up with stamps.
She notes that when an American signs with an international team, expectations are high. “They’re expecting you to come in and to immediately impact their team, and change the dynamic. It can be a lot of pressure,” she says. She’s adapted nicely, though. “I’m definitely living my dream. I am a professional. I get paid to do what I do. This is everything I ever wanted.”
Harris Fleming is a freelance writer based in New Jersey.
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