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A Puerto Rican Olympian and former WAC standout at California Baptist (2021-23) and Grand Canyon (2023-25), Trinity San Antonio is about to play her first season as a pro in France. Now in Toulouse, she’s still settling in as she took time to talk to Swish Appeal about various things. It’s her third time in France; the first time she came here as a tourist in her teens and the second to play in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
She talked about growing up in California, playing for a Spanish-speaking team despite not speaking Spanish and not really being 5-foot-10. She also took a stab at making tourist pitches for Moreno Valley and Toulouse. You can decide which one went better. Below are some highlights from our interview:
On transferring from California Baptist to Grand Canyon and moving to a different state for the first time:
Cal Baptist University is literally 15 minutes from my house, so I kind of wanted to get away from home, like I felt like I was kind of outgrowing that environment. I needed something new that my home just wasn’t giving me anymore. So I’ve decided to take a step and choose a different place to find a home in and find myself, so that was the reasoning behind it And then the reasoning for choosing Grand Canyon was that within like NCAA, you have a lot of restrictions when it comes to academics. So the only schools that would accept my academics full out, without me having to drop classes or lose credit, would be another Christian school. So I was like, “Great, the only other Christian School I can think of is in my conference.” So then I ended up deciding to go there. And you know, it all worked out the way it was supposed to. I have no regrets. No hard feelings. It all worked out the way it was supposed to.
On how having an underdog mentality led to her making the Olympics:
I think that just really comes from my upbringing. I didn’t have a lot of opportunities as other girls had, especially when it comes to basketball. I always kind of had to fight my way to be seen or be recognized. So I guess that chip on my shoulder that I have, that is why my motor is so high and I choose to play hard with a lot of fighting, with a lot of heart. That’s where my mentality as an underdog comes in. I give credit to all the underdogs who have to do all The dirty work and do all the stuff behind the scenes, because it’s not easy and you know you don’t get rewarded a lot. But my biggest reward was the Olympics. So I’m glad that happened.
A special thank you to Lorenzo Gallotti of Two Points Agency for arranging the interview.
