SAN ANTONIO — On Friday, UTSA women's basketball coach Karen Aston announced the signing of graduate transfer Nina De Leon Negron, who heads across town following a pair of stellar seasons at UIW.
Nina De Leon Negron | 5-6 | G | San Juan, Puerto Rico | UIW
Head Coach Karen Aston on De Leon Negron:
"I am so excited to add Nina to our Roadrunner family. We have had firsthand experience in playing against her and seeing her competitive spirit and unique scoring ability. What we didn't know until talking to her was her passion for learning the game and her desire to be better and make her team better. Nina is a player who one day will play for her national team … she has big dreams and will be a perfect fit for an integral piece of the puzzle we were searching for this spring. I couldn't be more excited to get started with Nina."
One of Southlands' best, De Leon Negron, has collected a slew of accolades over the past two seasons. Most recently, she was named first-team all-conference after logging five double-doubles and 17 games scoring double-digit points. Across the year, she averaged 11.4 PPG with 6.8 RPG, led the SLC dishing out 92 assists, and topped UIW by swiping 46 steals.
As a junior, she was selected as the Southland Newcomer of the Year while appearing on the all-defensive and the all-conference second teams. That season, she paced the squad with 12.1 PPG, 109 assists, and 59 steals.
Prior to UIW, she spent two seasons at Austin Peay, where she matched the program record for games played and games started with 27.5 MPG and 33 starts her sophomore year. She led the Governors to a Women's Basketball Invitational appearance that season and, as a freshman, averaged 17.5 MPG across 22 games.
De Leon Negron prepped at Monteverde Academy under coach Laura Harper and played for the Puerto Rican national team at the Centrobasket U17 Women's Championship. While representing her country, she posted 15.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 5.0 APG.
The daughter of Angel De Leon and Denise Negron, De Leon Negron will strive for a certificate in health at UTSA and aims to become a professional basketball player before transitioning to a career in coaching or broadcasting. Additionally, she represents the first Puerto Rican-born player in the history of women's basketball programs.
She becomes the fourth signee of the 2024-25 recruiting class, joining Mia Hammonds, Taylor Ross, and Damara Allen.
De Leon Negron on why she chose UTSA:
"I chose UTSA because they have an experienced coaching staff that will get the best out of me. This team has a competitive and passionate culture as well as a family atmosphere, which is very important to me."
Keep up with UTSA Women's Basketball on goutsa.com and by following the program on Facebook at /UTSAWBB, X (Twitter) @UTSAWBB, and on Instagram @UTSA_WBB.
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