New mom eagerly awaits return to Lady Rebels this season
Sydni Summers didn’t know what to expect when she shared on social media her first official photos as a UNLV women’s basketball player.
She certainly didn’t expect more than 4 million views and counting. Or that WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes would be one of the thousands of people to like her Instagram post.
But Summers, a junior guard who transferred to UNLV from San Jose State in the offseason, hasn’t had much time to process the reaction.
The photos went viral because they show her visibly pregnant, posing with a basketball, in the Lady Rebels’ white and red uniforms. Not a common sight for a team’s media day.
The 5-foot-5-inch Inglewood, California, native was induced to give birth the same day she posted the photos. As Summers’ teammates texted her Sept. 28 about the rapidly increasing numbers, she turned off her phone and welcomed her first child, a 6-pound, 2-ounce girl she named Naziyah.
Now, Summers has an extra spark as she pursues a return to the court. She knows it’s the first time in three years that the Lady Rebels will enter a season without the Mountain West championship crown.
“(My daughter) is going to motivate me to keep going, to keep playing and not give up,” Summers said. “It’s really making me go harder. I want to win the (conference) championship. I want to get to the (WNBA) or overseas to make money just to provide for her, for real.”
From depressed to empowered
Summers was the final transfer portal addition in what UNLV coach Lindy La Rocque described as an aggressive offseason of recruiting after multiple unexpected losses.
It wasn’t until after appearing in all 32 games with 13 starts for San Jose State and committing to join the Lady Rebels that Summers learned she was pregnant. When she found out, she considered ghosting La Rocque and quitting basketball.
“I stopped talking to people (once I knew) because I was kind of depressed,” Summers said. “Pregnancy was not the plan, and I didn’t know what to do.”
Summers took two weeks to gain the courage to tell La Rocque, who has two children.
La Rocque’s words resonated with Summers: “We’re here to support you.”
La Rocque remembers the conversation the same way, except that it reminded the coach of her own experiences.
“In the nicest way, I think she might have thought her life was over, her basketball career was over, what she wanted to do as a young person was over. And I just tried to give her the love and support that any young mom would want,” La Rocque said. “She wasn’t sure how we were going to respond, as I’m sure anyone would in that situation. For me, as the leader of our program and of young women — especially having done that twice in the last three years myself, I told her, ‘Hey, there’s probably no better coach in the country for you to play for.’”
The team threw Summers a baby shower. And before that, she remembers two teammates crying tears of happiness when she finally mustered the courage to tell them she was expecting.
“We’re eager and excited to get her back very soon,” La Rocque said. “And we’re excited to have another little baby around.”
Summers was watching practices two weeks after giving birth. She’s counting on her six-week follow-up at the doctor’s office to clear her for a return.
“I can’t get away from basketball,” she said. “At least by Nov. 2, I’ll probably be back on the court. That’s my checkup. So after my doctor gives me the go-ahead, I’m calling (our UNLV trainers) and I’m going to get back on the court that next day.”
‘Shooting is her elite skill’
La Rocque knew she was adding a scoring threat from beyond the arc when Summers committed to UNLV.
Summers led San Jose State with 69 3-point field goals on 213 attempts last season and averaged 9.9 points per game.
UNLV fostered Summers’ talents by heeding La Rocque’s reminder that Summers was “not disabled.” She was allowed to lift, shoot and participate in other basketball drills while her health and safety were monitored.
With Summers’ consistency in working out until the day of her delivery, La Rocque saw something that left her anticipating a stellar season from the new mom.
“The day before (Summers) literally gave birth, she was here,” La Rocque said. “She completed one of our shooting drills that no one else on the team did.”
At first, La Rocque joked that Summers’ teammates should have been ashamed that they couldn’t make the targeted amount of shots in the allotted time as she did.
Humor aside, she emphasized what the takeaway really should be for her team.
“Shooting is her elite skill,” La Rocque said. “Her ability to still do that, and her strength — I don’t think they should be embarrassed, but they should be inspired.”
Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.
