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Through three seasons at South Carolina, Sania Feagin started a total of three games. Then came her senior year in 2024-25, and she started all 39 games she played in. Back on WNBA draft night, after the Los Angeles Sparks selected Sania Feagin in the second round, head coach Lynne Roberts specifically mentioned Feagin’s patience, so to speak, as one of the key qualities that stood out to the team.
“I think in today’s day and age, to have a player like her in a program like that stay all four years, when she’s kind of had to wait her turn, I think speaks volumes to her work ethic and to her character,” Roberts said during a post-draft press conference. “And those are the things we want in our franchise. We want players that are willing to put in the work and improve.”
Now that Sania Feagin is preparing for her rookie season with the Sparks, she looks back on her college experience and how it helped prepare her for the WNBA. For rookies in the league, sometimes waiting your turn is crucial to finding success, especially for players drafted outside of the first round.
“I can say that the experience was hard, but you have to push through and you have to stay mentally strong to do the things that I did,” Feagin told ClutchPoints in an exclusive interview. “It did help me when it comes to the league because I trusted myself, I trusted my coaches and I trusted the people I was around to know that I would get better, that I would be better. Waiting my turn and being able to get drafted and be here.”
Sania Feagin’s early role with Sparks
Since Roberts was hired as Sparks head coach back in February, she’s spoken at length about playing an up-tempo style that involves a lot of versatility. In today’s game, traditional bigs are phasing into becoming more versatile in terms of shooting ability and defensive coverage.
In college, Feagin was more of a traditional center. Back to the basket, plays around the rim and doesn’t stray too far from the paint. During her four seasons at South Carolina, she took a total of 14 three-point attempts with no more than seven in a single season.
With about a week and a half of training camp gone by, the three-point shot is something Feagin has looked to incorporate more in her game. But even with the shift to do-it-all kind of bigs, Feagin said Roberts has encouraged her to work to her strengths.
“Just continue to be myself. Continue being a threat, a pass threat, a person that talks to their teammates, an offensive threat and a rebounder,” Feagin said. “I’m trying to show more of my consistency, just being more consistent on and off the court. Being a hard worker and shooting the three-ball more. Just being more consistent.”
But even though Feagin was drafted by the Sparks, and the team’s decision-makers have spoken highly of her, making the team’s final roster is anything but guaranteed. The Sparks have already made two roster cuts, brining their camp roster down from 18 to 16 players. They need to make at least four more cuts to get to the league maximum of 12 players.
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During the Sparks’ first preseason game, an 83-82 win against the Golden State Valkyries, Feagin finished with three points and one assist in eight minutes of play. She didn’t take a single shot, and she was 3-of-4 from the free-throw line.
But she brings a unique blend of talent to the center position. She’s a gifted passer for a frontcourt player; she does a good job reading the defense and being able to make the right play. As she battles for a roster spot, knowing that every second counts, Feagin will lean on her strengths to stand out.
“It’s really just remembering everything I learned the day before. Just coming in, just staying myself, being myself and just continue playing hard,” Feagin said. “Give it my all because nothing is promised. Just giving it my all and staying true to myself.”
In Feagin’s final season at South Carolina, she appeared in 39 games at a little over 19 minutes per game. She averaged a career-best 8.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.5 blocked shots while shooting 60.1 percent from the field and 79.7 percent from the free-throw line.
One of the biggest ways she can make an impact for the Sparks is on the defensive end. She’s a good shot blocker, but also excels at simply contesting shots at the basket as well as cutting off driving lanes.
With the final stretch of training camp coming up, Sania Feagin is simply going to be herself in hopes of being able to earn a coveted roster spot with the Sparks.
“Just staying true to myself. Being the versatile big, working on my shot outside of practice, working on my shot like no one is watching,” Feagin said. “Just being confident in myself and understanding that I can do anything I put my mind to. Just being myself.”
