Imagine a family where basketball wasn’t just a passion—it was in the DNA. Charles Feagin was a standout forward at Morgan State University, leaving his imprint on the court with hustle and heart. His wife, Sherri (née Johnson), carved her own path at the Division I level, hoopin’ for Washington. Together, they didn’t just pass down basketball genes to their daughter — they passed on perspective. Real court perspective. The kind that tells you talent is only the start of the story.
Their daughter, Sania Feagin, had the raw skills early. But like so many kids with big dreams, her journey wasn’t a straight shot to stardom. She learned to wait, to trust the process. During her early years at South Carolina, only limited opportunities came her way. As a freshman, she averaged just 4.3 minutes per game, overshadowed by stars like Aliyah Boston and Kamilla Cardoso. Yet, she stayed, absorbing lessons from her teammates. “Just reading them, just learning from them and understanding that it’s OK to make mistakes,” She shared in March this year. But who can argue that it must not have been hard? No one. Not even Sparks GM Pebley, who put it plainly, saying, “Waiting your turn is way harder than people realize”.
“To be able to come in every single day, it’s not just about game day, the press conferences and the wins. It’s about the every single day in practice and what that means. We definitely filtered that in our choice of Sania, and just her toughness and resiliency that she has,” Pebley further said.
“Waiting your turn is way harder than people realize.”
“She waited her turn but did it in the most humble and respectful way.”
What LA Sparks GM, Sarah Ashlee Barker said about Sania Feagin: https://t.co/njHrkEX8wq
— Lulu Kesin (@LuluKesin) April 17, 2025
And it all paid off, honestly. Her senior year in 2024-25 was a turning point. Feagin started all 38 games, with a team-high 60% field goal percentage. “It’s kind of really cool to see someone go through their process,” Dawn Staley said, speaking of how well she took on the role. “Probably the first three years of her college year, didn’t quite look or feel or sound like what she was capable of. I will say that I never let Feagin play less than their standard, less than her standard. That meant she sat a lot. That meant she played here and there, spotted here and there.”
That’s true. Sania rarely played below her standards. She carved out impact in short bursts, like her 8 points in 18 minutes during the 2025 NCAA Tournament against Norfolk State, or her rim protection that often anchored the Gamecocks’ defense. And as fate would have it, the 2025 WNBA Draft became the moment it all finally started to make more sense than ever.
Feagin’s moment came in a South Carolina-heavy draft class, right behind former teammates Bree Hall and Te-Hina Paopao. She wasn’t the only SEC product headed to LA. The Sparks also grabbed Sarah Ashlee Barker, a tough guard who spent three years at Alabama after starting her career at Georgia. Feagin didn’t play in their matchup this past season — she was out with a foot injury when South Carolina visited Tuscaloosa on Jan. 16. But, hearing Barker’s words, we know the duo is on their way to make waves as teammates now.
“She is someone who is going to play on both sides of the floor and give it her all,” Barker said of Feagin. “She waited her turn but did it in the most humble and respectful way.” And that humility, that resilience? It’s the thread that ties Feagin’s story together.
With the Sparks, she’s stepping into a new system — and a new chapter — that might finally give her the space to show everything she’s capable of. That confidence wasn’t blind hype. It came from watching Feagin deliver when it mattered — whether it was defending the paint or knocking down midrange shots in tight moments. She may not have been the headliner at South Carolina, but she was the type of player every contender needs: tough, versatile, coachable.
While we talk so much about her patience, it is also important to acknowledge that it wasn’t always easy. For her, there were moments when nothing seemed to make sense and everything whirled into a storm of just emotions. What? Why? She knew nothing. But only that she wanted to break out of it. Hence, followed the daily texts to her mother about getting out of her overthinking head. Then, over time, those texts turned positive, even celebratory. “I went on a little run where my mind was just taking over me,” Feagin said. “I realized that when you have a clear mind, nobody can stop you. I just emphasize keeping my mind straight.”
In doing so, Feagin became the 22nd player in South Carolina history to be drafted into the WNBA — and the 18th under Dawn Staley’s reign. That stat alone speaks volumes about Staley’s legacy and the type of pros her system produces. But even with two national championships under Feagin’s belt, and a 144–7 record across four years, including a wild 71-game home winning streak, some still asked: Was she underused?
Sania Feagin didn’t need the spotlight and is now ready to shine with the LA Sparks
Almost every spring, there were rumors of Feagin leaving the team, but she stayed each time. Staley nearly benched her in her senior year, but gave her one more chance after Feagin texted her. “I knew that I could do better, knew it was time to do better,” she said. Why, you ask? She kept it simple. She trusted the system.
“A lot of people don’t have two national championships and made it to the Final Four for four years, so I feel good to be here again,” she said during March Madness. UConn ended her third title run, but that didn’t hurt her draft stock. Scouts still saw a high-upside big just getting started. With the Sparks, her ceiling looks even higher. She fits into their system and knows how to make it better.
Her midrange game gives LA some much-needed floor spacing. Her defense? Already WNBA-ready. Think of players like Alysha Clark or Satou Sabally — athletes who may not have been the flashiest on day one, but found their niche and became indispensable. That’s the mold Feagin fits. With LA reshuffling and looking to build around a young core, Feagin enters the league at the perfect moment. How she expands herself as a forward? Exactly what the team needed. She can hit 3-pointers and hold her own against faster guards.
The only concerns are regarding her undersized frame and how her rebounding at times takes a hit against taller players. However, she’s got the right people in her corner — from her family to her former coach to her new GM — all of whom have watched her story quietly unfold, just waiting for the rest of the world to catch on. Well, now they will.
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