MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Ole Miss, Kentucky, Kansas and plenty more all came calling for Se'Quoia Allmond, but that did not fit into the Four-star's plan.
"I always said, I never wanted to go to a school where they're already on top," she said. "I want to go somewhere where I can build with good people around me."
So the Whitehaven star will not choose the SEC or the Big 12. On Saturday, Allmond will sign her letter of intent to play basketball for Jackson State, becoming the first Top 100 player in the Class of 2021 to pick a historically black college or university (HBCU).
"There was always a lot of people talking about doing it, but never did it," she said. "I'm like, I got the opportunity so why not go for it? So I did."
Allmond joins a growing list of high-profile athletes to support HBCUs. NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders made headlines in September, when he joined JSU as their head coach. He is already attracting coveted recruits to the program, including four-star 2021 quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
Houston Rockets forward Robert Covington donated $1 million to to his alma mater Tennessee State on Thursday, for a new basketball practice facility.
Allmond says she chose Jackson State because she felt it was the best fit for her, not necessarily to inspire change. But she is glad to have a positive effect on her new school.
"There's going to be a lot of new enrollments," she said. "People are going to start taking HBCUs into consideration. There's just going to be a lot of people joining the wave, that's all I can say."