Kavita Akula's unconventional path to play basketball in the US bore fruit on May 28, as she became the first Indian-born female basketball player to get a full scholarship to a Division 1 (D1) college -- Grand Canyon University -- in the US. D1 is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the US. The 21-year-old will begin her college basketball journey this September.
Akula had two offers on her plate -- one from Grand Canyon in Phoenix, Arizona and another from Saint Francis University in Pennsylvania -- but she decided to sign with Grand Canyon because of their new head coach, Nicole Powell, who is a former WNBA All-Star.
"Coach Powell has great energy and she is looking for somebody who can lead the team, and I thought I will fit in well," Akula said. "Coach said my experience playing junior college will help the team."
The two colleges showed interest in Akula after Garden City Junior College head coach Nick Salazar decided to make a film of her basketball journey and share it on Facebook. She immediately started getting calls from coaches, Akula said.
Akula will be a point/shooting guard for the Grand Canyon team starting this fall, and will be a junior (third year of college, since she played two years of junior college). She will major in business management and marketing.
Akula first moved to the US at age 14 to train at the IMG Academy in Florida, and then decided to stay back in the US and play basketball for Garden City Junior College in Kansas. It was an unconventional move, but Akula knew it was the right step toward her ultimate goal -- to play D1 college ball.
During her time at Grand Canyon, she hopes to grow as a player and become more versatile. She is ready to perform at the next level and wants to help her team enter and win NCAA tournaments, she said.
After two years at the university, she hopes to play oversees or return back to India to play for the national team.
She is leaving to India later this week to play for the Indian national team in the FIBA Asia tournament. After attending camp in Bangalore, she will accompany the team to Chinese Taipei to take part in practice matches, after which she will be back in Bangalore to be team India's point guard for the tournament.
"I won't get to see my family until August, because I am directly participating in the camp and the tournament, but I am excited to go back to India after two years," Akula said.