SAN ANTONIO – It seemed unlikely that Mia Hammonds would become a basketball player. And it had nothing to do with her athleticism – in fact, far from it.
Even though both her parents and her siblings played basketball, including her father Donnell who competed collegiately at NCAA Division III member Virginia Wesleyan and later coached the sport, Hammonds was initially drawn to track & field.
“I was just a tall baby,” said Hammonds, now 6-foot-3. “I’m really fast and I’m really flexible. That got me into the hurdles and high jump. Track is so multi-dimensional, and it was so easy to get into it and find multiple fun things within it.”
Hammonds moved from Virginia to Texas at the age of 9 and lived in multiple cities due to her father’s career in the United States Army. She took up basketball when she came to the Lone Star State, but didn’t begin to take it seriously until high school.
“Basically, all of my life, I ran track when everybody in my family had played basketball,” Hammonds said. “When I was in Virginia, all I did was run track all year. By the time, I got to high school, I was really just looking for a different sport to play. Basketball is a team sport, and I think team sports really help you to boost yourself and your teammates. I was always around it, so I thought, ‘Why haven’t I tried to get into this?’”
Initially, her basketball-loving family was skeptical.
“They thought track was my thing,” Hammonds said with a laugh. “They said, ‘You’re tall, your legs are long; you’re meant to run.’ I think even past my sophomore year, I really showed them that I wanted to do it. So, they invested in me, they helped me a lot and they’re still in the stands cheering for me every game.”
* * * * *
At Cibolo Steele High School in the greater San Antonio area, Hammonds was approached by Jeffery Chatman, then the school’s girls basketball head coach, about joining the team. That interaction would change her entire path.
“My coach came up to me and he said, ‘I really think you should try out. You’re tall and you’re built to play basketball,’” Hammonds said. “I gave it a chance. I almost quit my freshman year, but I just kept working. I joined an AAU team. People saw something in me, even when I didn’t see it in myself. It made me work a lot harder. Now I see more in myself, and I want more for myself in both basketball and in life.”
While her first season playing competitive basketball was difficult for Hammonds, she was energized by the potential. She went to work and, only then, began realizing she might one day be able to play collegiately.
“After my freshman year, I realized that if I didn’t get it together, I wouldn’t be on the team,” Hammonds said. “And it wouldn’t be my choice, it would be somebody else’s choice. That summer, I really locked in. I wanted to play basketball and I wanted to show everybody that I could be better at this. I think I just improved every year throughout high school.”
Hammonds’ sophomore season coincided with Karen Aston’s first season as UTSA’s head coach. Aston was looking to keep San Antonio’s best players at home and build a championship program with the Roadrunners. She immediately took notice of Hammonds.
“I think Coach Aston just saw a lot in me even when I didn’t see it in myself,” Hammonds said. “I talked to her a lot my sophomore year in high school. I had basically just started playing for real. I worked hard so everybody else could see that, one day, I was going to be who I am right now.”
Hammonds made dramatic improvements each year of her high school career. As a sophomore, she was an All-District 27-6A selection. By her junior year, Hammonds was the District’s Most Valuable Player. The San Antonio Express-News named her to the Class 6A All-Area Super Team in 2022-23. She played AAU basketball at San Antonio’s Finest for Coach Ray Caldwell.
The raw talent that Aston first identified was coming to fruition.
“There is an enormous amount of potential,” Aston said. “Mia is a phenomenal athlete. She’s not been playing basketball very long at all and her ceiling is extremely high.”
The opportunity to attend UTSA and play for her hometown team was incredibly appealing to Hammonds.
“There’s become this thing where San Antonio basketball players don’t leave San Antonio,” she said. “I came here to represent my city-extended, because I’m from Cibolo.”
* * * * *
As a freshman for the Roadrunners, Hammonds joined a team of veteran standouts that, over the course of Aston’s tenure, had built themselves into a championship contender. Not only did the coaching staff mentor Hammonds, but she had a great group of older players from which to learn.
Still, the adjustment to the next level was a challenge for Hammonds.
“I don’t know what I was expecting from college, but it was pretty hard,” she said. “I had to learn how to grow up and be more mature. I’m still learning and growing every day in basketball and in life.”
As a rookie, Hammonds saw action in 16 games, averaging eight minutes per contest. She helped the Roadrunners win the 2024-25 American Conference regular-season championship, make their second consecutive postseason appearance and post a 26-5 overall record. On March 1 of last year, Hammonds was among the players drenched in confetti and cutting down the net at the Convo.
“It took a lot of hard days,” Hammonds said of UTSA winning a league championship. “It took work, communication and being a team.”
Hammonds knew that in order to be the player that she needed to be at the collegiate level, it would take a significant amount of work over this past summer. She was ready for the challenge.
“I’ve definitely grown a lot,” Hammonds said. “I’ve been believing in myself more and more because I didn’t have that confidence last year. You need a lot of confidence to play basketball efficiently at this level. I’ve put all my trust in my coaches an taken their feedback, just trying to make my game better. Just taking that and getting in the gym and building confidence off of skill and hard work, that did a lot for me.”
The growth Hammonds has experienced was immediately on display as UTSA played host to Texas A&M-San Antonio this past October in an exhibition game as part of the San Antonio Challenge. Her development, which has continued throughout each game, is evident to her teammates.
“We see her driving and I almost forget to go rebound because I know it’s about to go in,” quipped senior forward Cheyenne Rowe. “She’s definitely more confident now. She’s also stronger. Mia is smarter and she’ll definitely get what she deserves. She’s been working hard.”
Hammonds has played significant minutes this season, averaging 25.7 per game. Her progress on the court has been a large reason for her playing time, but those minutes have been even further increased due to some injuries that the team sustained in the offseason. Aston sees it as an opportunity for Hammonds to accelerate her growth.
“There’s way more growth ahead for her, but the fact that she’s playing these type of minutes is going to give her the opportunity to see what this level is really all about and what it takes,” Aston said. “She’ll go through the year and have a lot of ups and downs, there’s no question. But I think where her real immense growth will happen is when she’s able to take a deep breath – probably after this season – and she gets a taste of where she is and where she can be.”
Through 11 contests this season, Hammonds is averaging 7.1 points per game and 4.9 rebounds per game. She’s blocked a squad-best nine shots this year. While some players may focus on scoring points and the flashy offensive plays, Hammonds – like Aston – enjoys defense the most.
“I just like being able to help my team,” Hammonds said. “I try to bring my best energy, especially on defense. Defensive energy really lights up the whole team. I understand everybody wants to put the ball in the basket – and I want to do that too – but I think being able to defend somebody, especially when it’s the other team’s best player, and shutting them down helps your whole team dynamic. Your defense plays into your offense.”
Aston, who is in her 18th season as a collegiate head coach with more than 350 career victories to her name, knows that college athletics has changed. The modern era that includes revenue sharing, Name, Image and Likeness, and the transfer portal has led to significant player movement, which can be disruptive to student-athlete development. If Hammonds can stay committed to the process, Aston is confident her pupil will become an elite player.
“Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t have that type of patience,” Aston said. “If Mia stays the course, understands the value of the minutes she’s going to play this year and the value of the opportunity, her window of opportunity is huge and the potential to get so much better is fun to think of and will be fun to watch.”
On the day of the interview, Aston noted that Hammonds had been in her office at 8:30 a.m. watching film. She believes Hammonds is a player who has both the patience and the interest in reaching her full potential.
“She has a desire to be a really good basketball player,” Aston said. “If you take the desire with the talent, then something good is going to happen there.”
* * * * *
It’s in Hammond’s nature to stay grounded in the present with an eye on her future goals.
Beyond the basketball court, she is working hard towards a future career that she discovered in high school. A communications major in UTSA’s College of Liberal and Fine Arts, Hammonds is preparing to one day become a broadcaster, whenever the ball stops bouncing.
“My freshman year of high school, I was online for half of the year [due to COVID-19],” she said. “I looked into all the programs and when I was finally able to come back to school, I looked at the Knightly News. It was a broadcast program and I just thought, ‘I want to do that.’ Getting behind a camera at a younger age in high school made me love it and want to do it.”
Hammonds feels that a career in broadcasting is a perfect fit, both for her skill set and her personality. Through her basketball career, she has gained an appreciation for being a public figure and the way she can impact others.
“I love to be in front of the camera because I just feel like I want to light people up on the other side of the screen,” Hammonds said. “I want people to be excited to watch us play basketball and, from a different perspective, I just want to give people energy on the screen. But I also like being behind the camera. I did some camera work and I like photography, as well.”
With the investment she has made in her future career, Hammonds is well-positioned to enter the broadcasting field. But if she’s able to reach her full potential in basketball, her playing career may last much longer than her four years at UTSA.
* * * * *
As the Roadrunners enter American Conference play on Tuesday, Hammonds knows she will need to play an important role for UTSA to achieve its goals.
She’s embraced being a role model for young basketball players in the San Antonio and a great representative for her community back in Cibolo. Hammonds hopes to see a large contingent of fans supporting the Roadrunners for every game.
“I get excited for everybody who shows up,” she said. “Taking pictures with San Antonio schools, kids asking me questions after the games and just seeing people I know in the crowd. San Antonio is basically my extended city, and I came here to represent them.”
While Hammonds has been an important part of UTSA’s success so far this season, she knows that there is more work to be done and more growth to experience. What she is committed to bringing every day is great effort, something everyone – from her coaches to her teammates to the fans – will appreciate.
“I’m a big energy person, so if I can give energy to my teammates, I’m going to do that,” Hammonds said. “Running the floor is something coach wants from me every time. If I can be the first one down the floor, I’m going to be the first one down the floor every time.”
UTSA plays host to Tulane at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Convocation Center in the American Conference opener for both teams.