Aliyah Boston (born December 11, 2001) is an American

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

player for the

South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fighti ...

of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC). She plays the

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...

and

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

positions. Born in Saint Thomas,

United States Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...

, Boston attended

Worcester Academy Worcester Academy is a private school in Worcester, Massachusetts. It is the oldest educational institution founded in the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, and one of the oldest day-boarding schools in the United States. A coeducational prepara ...

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

, where she was a

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger ...

and a three-time Massachusetts

Gatorade Player of the Year The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys' baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine playe ...

. Boston has won several gold medals representing the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Boston led South Carolina to their second national championship in school history in 2022 and was named the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player (MOP). That year, she also won Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors. Boston won the

Lisa Leslie Award The Lisa Leslie Award is an award presented annually to the best women's basketball center in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I competition. It is named after Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie, an eight-time All Star and two- ...

as the best center in NCAA women's basketball in three consecutive years.

Early life

Boston was born on December 11, 2001 to parents Cleone and Al in

Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands Saint Thomas ( da, Sankt Thomas) is one of the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean Sea which, together with Saint John, Water Island, Hassel Island, and Saint Croix, form a county-equivalent and constituent district of the United States Virgin ...

. Boston fell in love with basketball at age 9 watching her older sister Alexis play. At age 12, Aliyah and Alexis moved from their home in the Virgin Islands, to New England to live with their aunt, Jenaire Hodge, and her cousin, Kira Punter. Boston would only see her parents a few times over the following years, mostly to watch Aliyah's AAU basketball games.

High school career

Boston attended

, winning Gatorade Massachusetts Player of the Year honors in 2017, 2018, and 2019. Boston led her team to a to 24-1 record and a second straight New England Prep School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) Class A championship in 2019. That year, she was a consensus All-American, averaging 17.3 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game. Boston was selected to play in the

McDonald's All-American Game The McDonald's All-American Game is the all-star basketball game played each year for American and Canadian boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the concl ...

and the

Jordan Brand Classic The Jordan Brand Classic is a high school All-Star basketball game played annually in April. The game's rosters feature the best and most highly recruited high school boys in the senior class including alumns like Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Bl ...

in 2019. A five-star recruit, Boston was ranked third in the ESPN HoopGurlz 2019 class. Boston committed to

Dawn Staley Dawn Michelle Staley (born May 4, 1970) is an American basketball Hall of Fame player and coach, who is currently the head coach for the South Carolina Gamecocks. Staley won three Olympic gold medals with Team USA as a player and later was head co ...

and the

over

UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Ha ...

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

, and Notre Dame, giving the Gamecocks the consensus number one recruiting class for 2019.

College career

Freshman season

In her first game at the University of South Carolina on November 5, 2019, Boston posted the first

triple-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

by a freshman in program history and the first by any

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

player in her career debut against Alabama State, including a school-record tying 10 blocks. Boston helped lead the Gamecocks to a big early season road win @ No. 4

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

scoring eight of the team's first 10 points and blocking five shots in the opening quarter. In the Paradise Jam, Boston won Reef division MVP after she had 20 points, and 13 rebounds in a win against No. 2 Baylor clinching the tournament championship. On January 20, Boston notched her eighth

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

of the season finishing with 12 rebounds, and 21 points in a win over No. 9

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univers ...

. Boston played a huge role in the No. 1 Gamecocks first ever victory over the UConn Huskies on February 10, capturing her tenth double double of the year. Against

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

, Boston blocked five shots to become the program's all-time freshman blocks leader in a win. Boston would finish the SEC regular season Averaging a double-double against SEC competition (13.1 ppg/10.3 rpg) as the No. 1 Gamecocks (32-1) swept the SEC regular season and tournament championships. Boston was named consensus Freshman of the year, and was Part of first team in Gamecock history to end the season ranked No. 1 in the nation, claiming that spot in both the AP and the USA Today Coaches' Poll, before the Tournament was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

lockdowns.

Sophomore season

Boston started off the season hot against 23rd ranked

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

, recording five of the team's first 10 points which included a 3 pointer, she then scored four of her season high 13 points off offensive rebounds. Against

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, Boston continued to show her all around game when she hit three 3's and recorded 28 points, 16 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Scoring 19 points, and 11 rebounds in the first half and became the 11th fastest Gamecock to score 500 points in her career. On January 10 in a win at 10th ranked

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, Boston put up 20 points and 12 rebounds, scoring her fourth double double of the season and also included seven blocks, she would earn SEC co-player of the week honors. Boston helped secure a 104–82 win over 17th ranked

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

; she finished with 26 points and 16 rebounds. she scored six points, six rebounds and three blocks in the game's opening five minutes. On January 21 in a win vs. Georgia, Boston made history the program's first triple-double in SEC play finishing with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 blocks. Against

, Boston notched her third straight double-double with 20 points, 14 rebounds. Facing a tough double team against

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, Boston remained poised and handed out a career high 6 assist to go with 13 rebounds. In a road game against UConn, Boston completed her eighth double-double on the season, pulling down 15 rebounds, including eight in the final 15 minutes. Boston was crucial in the Gamecocks SEC Tournament Championship win, in the semifinals vs.

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, Boston scored 15 points and 11 rebounds, and in the finals against Georgia scored 27 points, 10 rebounds. Boston was named SEC Tournament MVP, she recorded double doubles in all three of the Gamecocks games. In her NCAA Tournament debut against no. 16th seeded

Mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader ...

, she would notch a 20 point and 18 rebound game. In the elite eight against

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, Boston scored six of her ten points the first quarter. Boston had 16 rebounds in the season ending loss against Stanford and missed a potential game winning lay-up at the buzzer as South Carolina lost 66-65. At the conclusion of the season, she was named Lisa Leslie award winner for the second straight year, was named consensus First Team All-American, and was named National Player of the year by ''The Athletic''. Boston is also the first sophomore ever to be named by the

College Sports Information Directors of America College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) is an organization that focuses on professional development and support for sports information directors at all levels. It offers awards, scholarships, and grants in support of SIDs and pros ...

as its Academic All-American of the Year in D-I women's basketball, being so honored in 2021.

Junior season

On February 24th she broke the SEC record with her 20th consecutive double-double in the win at

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

. In the Final Four she had in a win against #4

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

, 15 points and 10 rebounds. In South Carolina's 64–49 National Championship win over

, Boston had 11 points and 16 rebounds for her 30th double-double of the season. It was the program’s second National Championship, She was named the NCAA Tournament MOP.

Senior season

Boston scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in South Carolina's 76–71 win at #2

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

. On November 27th, 2022 Boston suffered a leg injury in a win against Hampton.

National team career

Boston has represented the United States at various international competitions, including the

2017 FIBA Under-16 Women's Americas Championship The 2017 FIBA Under-16 Women's Americas Championship was an international basketball competition that was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 7–11 June 2017. The defeated the defending champions , 91–46, in the final game to reclaim the ch ...

2018 Summer Youth Olympics The 2018 Summer Youth Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de la Juventud de 2018), officially known as the III Summer Youth Olympic Games, and commonly known as Buenos Aires 2018, were an international sports, cultural, and educational event held ...

2018 FIBA Under-17 Women's Basketball World Cup The 2018 FIBA Under-17 Women's Basketball World Cup (Belarusian: Кубак свету па баскетболе сярод жанчын да 17 гадоў ФІБА 2018) was an international basketball competition held from 21 to 29 July 2018 in M ...

, and

2019 FIBA Under-19 Women's Basketball World Cup The 2019 FIBA Under-19 Women's Basketball World Cup (Thai: บาสเกตบอลหญิงชิงแชมป์โลกรุ่นอายุไม่เกิน 19 ปี 2019) (formerly FIBA U19 Women's World Championship) was a ...

winning gold each time, she was named MVP of the FIBA Americas U16 Championship. Boston also won gold at the 2021 FIBA Women's AmeriCup.

Career statistics

National Team

Youth

Senior

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2019-20 , style="text-align:left;",

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, 33 , , 32 , , 23.8 , , 60.8 , , 16.7 , , 73.8 , , 9.4 , , 1.0 , , 1.3 , , 2.6 , , 1.1 , , 12.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2020-21 , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , 31 , , 30.3 , , 48.5 , , 26.5 , , 76.4 , , 11.5 , , 1.6 , , 1.2 , , 2.6 , , 1.6 , , 13.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021-22 , style="text-align:left;",

, 37 , , 37 , , 27.5 , , 54.2 , , 29.2 , , 77.1 , , 12.5 , , 2.0 , , 1.2 , , 2.4 , , 1.5 , , 16.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2022-23 , style="text-align:left;",

, 14 , , 14 , , 23.5 , , 56.3 , , 0.0 , , 74.1 , , 8.9 , , 1.4 , , 0.5 , , 1.6 , , 1.4 , , 11.4 , - , colspan=2; style="text-align:center;", Career , 115 , , 114 , , 26.7 , , 54.4 , , 24.8 , , 75.8 , , 10.9 , , 1.5 , , 1.1 , , 2.4 , , 1.4 , , 14.1

Awards

High school

* USA Today Massachusetts Player of the Year (2019) * Gatorade Massachusetts Player of the Year (2017, 2018, 2019) * Naismith All-America Second Team (2019) * WBCA All-America Second Team (2019) * McDonald's All-America (2019) * SLAM All-America (2019)

College

* 3×

(2020–2022) * 2× AP first-team All-American (2021–2022) * 2× USBWA first-team All-American (2021–2022) * WBCA first-team All-American (2021) * AP second-team All-American (2020) * USBWA second-team All-American (2020) *

USBWA National Freshman of the Year The USBWA National Freshman of the Year, with the men's and women's versions respectively named the Wayman Tisdale Award and Tamika Catchings Award, is an annual basketball award given to college basketball's most outstanding freshman male player ...

(2020) * WBCA Freshman of the Year (2020) * Honda-Broderick Cup (2022) * Honda Sports Award for basketball (2022) * SEC Freshman of the Year (2020) *

SEC tournament The Southeastern Conference (SEC) sponsors nine men's sports and twelve women's sports. This is a list of conference champions for each sport. Also see the list of SEC national champions. Members The SEC was established on December 1932, when t ...

MVP (

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

) * 3× SEC first team (2020–2022) * 3× SEC Defensive Player of the Year (2020, 2021, 2022) * 3× SEC All-Defensive team (2020–2022) * 2× Academic All-American of the Year, D-I women's basketball (2021, 2022) * SEC Player of the Year (2022) *

Naismith College Player of the Year The Naismith College Player of the Year is an annual basketball award given by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the top men's and women's collegiate basketball players. It is named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball. History an ...

(2022) *

Naismith Defensive Player of the Year The Naismith College Defensive Player of the Year Award is an annual basketball award given to the most outstanding defensive player in men's and women's college basketball. It has been awarded by the Atlanta Tipoff Club since 2018. It is named in ...

(2022) *

Associated Press Women's College Basketball Player of the Year The Associated Press Women's College Basketball Player of the Year award was established in 1995 to recognize the best women's college basketball player of the year, as voted upon by the Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American ...

(2022) *

Wade Trophy The Wade Trophy is an award presented annually to the best upperclass women's basketball player in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I competition. It is named after three–time national champion Delta State University coac ...

(2022) *

USBWA Women's National Player of the Year The United States Basketball Writers Association National Player of the Year Award is an award that has been presented by the United States Basketball Writers Association since the 1987–88 season to the top women's college basketball player in NC ...

(2022) *

John R. Wooden Award The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The program consists of the men's and women's Player of the Year awards, the Legends of Coaching award, and recognizing the ...

(2022) * NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player (2022)

International

FIBA Under-16 Women's Americas Championship The FIBA Under-16 Women's Americas Championship is the Americas basketball championship for players under 16 years that take place every two years among national teams of the FIBA Americas zone. The event started in 2009. The top four finishers qu ...

MVP (2017) *

FIBA Under-17 Women's Basketball World Cup The FIBA Under-17 Women's Basketball World Cup (formerly FIBA Under-17 World Championship for Women) is the women's international under-17 basketball championship organised by FIBA. The event started in July 2010, and is held biennially. Summar ...

All-Tournament Team (2018)

References

External links

South Carolina Gamecocks bioESPN Player Overview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boston, Aliyah 2001 births Living people 21st-century American women American women's basketball players Basketball players at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics Basketball players from Worcester, Massachusetts Centers (basketball) McDonald's High School All-Americans People from Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands Power forwards (basketball) South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball players United States women's national basketball team players United States Virgin Islands women's basketball players Worcester Academy alumni Youth Olympic gold medalists for the United States