Savannah State University graduate student Amari Heard has declared for the 2024 WNBA Draft. Heard joins Jackson State's Angel Jackson and Virginia Union's Ny Langley as the only three HBCU students to declare for the draft this season.
Heard is a standout for the Tigers. The forward from West Point, Mississippi was named the 2020 SIAC Freshman of the Year and 2023 First-Team All-SIAC Representative, averaged double digits in her final two seasons with Savannah State Tigers, leading them to a 2023 Eastern Division title.
Heard never watched much basketball growing up. As time progressed, she would eventually be influenced by watching her uncle and brother play against one another.
“I’m from West Point, Mississippi, just a small town in West Point,” she said in comments obtained by HBCU Pulse. “What really made me get into basketball — I used to always watch my uncle and my brother playing. I felt as if I could play basketball as well, so one day I randomly just picked up a ball and asked my uncle, ‘Can you teach me how to play?’ From there, it’s been up.”
After a stellar high school career, Heard committed to the illustrious Savannah State University where she would play under long-time head coach Cedric Baker.
“I came here for a visit in the summertime and there were no athletes on campus at the time,” she said, “so it was a recruiting with just the coaches and it still felt like home. The coaches gave me expectations of what I could bring to Savannah State. It was just coming back here and feeling like home again, and there were definitely other schools that I was interested in, but when I stepped foot on this campus it felt like this is where I belong.”
Following a defeat in the 2022 SIAC Championship, Heard was faced with a crisis. In the years leading up to her junior season, she was not contributing to the team as she would have hoped, averaging only 9 points her freshman year, and 6.3 points her sophomore.
In her junior year, she aimed to enhance her performance, but Heard averaged 7.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. As her senior year neared and the dream of becoming a WNBA player felt just out of reach, Heard made the decision to enter the transfer portal.
“I entered the portal the year after we lost in the championship, just because of the thought process behind the WNBA,” she said. “Most people do not look at HBCUs how they should. I just wanted to enter the portal to go to a D1 program because I know I have the talent to do so.”
Ultimately, Heard felt that leaving Savannah State would do a disservice to not only herself but to the university.
“It was something in me saying this is where you belong. If you are going to make it, it’s going to be here from Savannah State. I’m going to say I did it from Savannah State because of our motto, ‘You Can Get Anywhere From Here.’”
After deciding to remain at Savannah State, Heard achieved career-best numbers in both her senior and graduate years, with her graduate year standing out as the most impressive. Heard would go on to average 13.9 ppg, 7.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game. All three were top 10 in their selective categories.
In her final two years, Heard helped the Savannah State University Tigers win 37 games alongside 14 losses and become one of the most explosive teams in Division ll women’s basketball. However, after back-to-back heartbreaking losses in the SIAC Tournament Heard decided it was time to live out her childhood dream and declare for the 2024 WNBA draft.
“It’s been my dream since I was little, and I’ve watched myself grow into this player that I know I have the talent to go to the WNBA. So I just betted on myself, I’m confident in myself it was just me believing in myself and the people around me, so I did the next step which was to declare for the draft.”
Heard, Jackson, and Langley have garnered support from the HBCU community for their decision to enter the WNBA Draft Pool. Heard mentions that she appreciates the tremendous level of support.
“Honestly, it’s big we have so many people rooting for us. I've read over a thousand comments of people just giving us our props. Everyone is saying that all three of us have game and we deserve to be there, and just because we’re HBCU athletes, I don’t feel like our chances should be less than just of where we attend. It feels good for all HBCUs to see three HBCU ladies from HBCU schools enter the draft.”
When asked what separates her from these respected athletes, Heard stated, “I am a big guard, I can defend, go to the basket, shoot the mid-range jumper and the three-pointer as well. I can play all around, 1 through 5 and that’s what I feel separates my game. I am lengthy and I like to guard, I love to sit down and play defense… From other guards who can only shoot the ball and attack, I can defend on the court as well.”
As the draft looms, Heard is looking to make history as she attempts to become the first woman athlete drafted from Savannah State University. She mentioned being in touch with multiple WNBA teams regarding her services.
“Every morning I wake up thanking God that I have so many people who are behind me and people who believe in me, that is motivating all alone just to not have people from Savannah State but from all over the world rooting for me…It would mean so much because Shannon Sharpe went to school here and this could give other students the motivation they can do it from Savannah State.”
The WNBA Draft is scheduled for April 15 at 7:30 p.m. in Brooklyn, New York at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The event will be broadcast on ESPN.
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