Vashil Fernandez (born January 16, 1992) is a Jamaican professional basketball player who plays for Marín Ence PeixeGalego of the Spanish

LEB Oro LEB or Leb may refer to: * Lausanne–Echallens–Bercher railway, Switzerland * Lebanon, UNDP country code * Lebanon Municipal Airport (New Hampshire) (FAA identifier) * Lexham English Bible * Life expectancy at birth * Liga Española de Balonce ...

. He played college basketball for Valparaiso.

Early life

Fernandez grew up outside of Kingston, Jamaica in a house with 19 people. He never knew his father and his mother commuted to the city for work. He played soccer and ran track, but didn't start playing basketball until he was 17. Fernandez recalls being terrible at first and travelling a lot. For high school, he moved to the United States and ended up at Princeton Day Academy in Maryland. After visiting Valparaiso, he committed to play for the Crusaders.

College career

Fernandez was declared ineligible as a freshman and sat out his first year of college. In 2014–15, he was named the

Horizon League The Horizon League is an 11-school collegiate athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, whose members are located in and near the Great Lakes region. The Horizon League founded in 1979 as the Midw ...

Defensive Player of the Year and averaged 6.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game. Following the season, the NCAA granted him an extra year of eligibility. As a senior, he led the NCAA in blocks with a 3.31 per game average and won the

Lefty Driesell Award The Lefty Driesell Defensive Player of the Year Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's college basketball defender in NCAA Division I competition. The award was established in 2010 and is named for head coach Lefty Driesel ...

for his overall defensive efforts. He is also the all-time blocks leader at Valparaiso.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2016 NBA draft, Fernandez signed with the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

on October 17, 2016. However, he was later waived by the Heat on October 22 after appearing in two preseason games. On November 1, 2016, he was acquired by the

Sioux Falls Skyforce The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team plays their home games in the Sanford Pentagon, a place they have call ...

of the NBA Development League as an affiliate player of the Heat. On February 24, 2017, Fernandez was waived by the Skyforce. On March 17, 2017, Fernandez was acquired by the

Greensboro Swarm The Greensboro Swarm are an American basketball team of the NBA G League based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and are affiliated with the Charlotte Hornets. The Swarm play their home games at the Greensboro Coliseum Fieldhouse. The team became ...

. On August 24, he signed with Phoenix Galați of the Romanian league for the 2017–18 season. In December 2017 Fernandez signed with Peñas Huesca due to the departure of

Matt O'Leary Matthew Joseph O'Leary (born July 6, 1987) is an American actor. He made his debut in the made-for-television Disney Channel Original film ''Mom's Got a Date with a Vampire'' (2000), and would go on to star in the thriller '' Domestic Disturbance ...

. At the start of the 2018–2019 season, he signed with

Marín Peixegalego Marin (French) or Marín (Spanish "sailor") may refer to: People * Marin (name), including a list of persons with the given name or surname * MaRin, in-game name of professional South Korean ''League of Legends'' player Jang Gyeong-hwan (born 19 ...

, who played in the

LEB Plata The LEB Plata is the third basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system and the second basketball division organized by the Spanish Basketball Federation. Since 2019, three teams are promoted to LEB Oro and six teams are relegated t ...

league.

National team career

Fernandez has been a member of the

Jamaican national basketball team Jamaica national basketball team is governed by the Jamaica Basketball Association. The team had its best performance at the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship where it beat the two former world champions Brazil and Argentina. Outlook The team fi ...

and participated at the 2014 Centrobasket.

Personal life

Fernandez married Bridget Eichner in May 2015 and has two daughters, Maia and Olivia. He earned two master's degrees from Valparaiso, in international economics and finance and international commerce and policy.

References

External links

Valparaiso Crusaders bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez, Vashil 1992 births Living people CB Peñas Huesca players Centers (basketball) Jamaican expatriate basketball people in Romania Greensboro Swarm players Jamaican expatriate basketball people in Spain Jamaican expatriate basketball people in the United States Jamaican men's basketball players Sioux Falls Skyforce players Sportspeople from Kingston, Jamaica Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball players