By any measure, forward Deja Evans had a remarkably successful first college basketball campaign.
The former Archbishop Wood standout was named to three America East teams: the all-defensive team, the all-rookie team and the third all-conference team in her freshman year at the University at Albany.
“I had two older brothers who played in college,” Evans shared. “They taught me I had to be continuously working hard and pushing myself to be the best I can on the court.
“I started playing basketball when I could walk,” she continued. “My brothers played and my dad played so it was in my life for my whole life.”
The 6-foot-2 Evans took home the conference Rookie of the Week four times last season. Although she tallied 11 double-digit point games, Evans’ calling card was her defense. She averaged over seven rebounds per game, good for fourth in the conference, and her 1.6 blocks per game ranked second in the America East.
What makes a good rebounder? “Being aggressive and being willing to go after the ball on any play,” Evans replied.
“I feel like I’ve always been a competitive person. I hate losing,” Evans emphasized. “That’s the last thing I want to do. But also, I feel like I’ve developed as I got older. I had to be more aggressive because the competition kept getting better.”
“The first thing you have to do is defend. That’s the biggest concern among the college coaches that I’ve talked to,” noted Wood head coach Mike McDonald. “I think that is why it was an easy transition for Deja to get on the court at Albany: She could defend with the best of them.”
Evans, a Conshohocken product, now suits up closer to home at Drexel. The Lady Dragons are coming off a 19-win season and an NCAA berth.
Drexel has also made Evans’ transition a smooth one. “I feel like that speaks to my teammates and the coaches. Obviously, it is hard learning new terminology and a new system,” Evans said, “but honestly, it is going well because the learning process has been easy.
“The coaches and players make it a good fit,” she continued. “I get along great with everyone and Drexel is 25 minutes from home. Coach Amy (Mallon) is a great coach and she pushes me every day to be the best player I can be.”
On Nov. 13, Drexel will host La Salle in the Dragons’ historic first game as a Big 5 member. “I’m excited for the Big 5 and to play against people I played with or against in the Philly area,” Evans said.
Evans transferred into Wood after two years at Plymouth Whitemarsh. She helped lead the Vikings to the PIAA 4A crown as a junior and the 5A state title as a senior. Her favorite memories were those state championships that Wood won under McDonald.
McDonald received superlative performances from Evans in both title games: a state championship game record 20 rebounds to go with 14 points in the 2022 57-45 win over rival Lansdale Catholic, and a 17-point, 12-board masterpiece in 2023 as Wood beat South Fayette 61-54. In the 2022 run, Evans turned in a double-double in all five of Wood’s state playoff wins.
“I love Coach Mike. He is probably my favorite coach ever and I feel like I made the best decision transferring to Wood,” Evans said. “Coach Mike gave me a lot of confidence. I came in with not a lot of confidence because I came from a position of not playing much.
“At Wood, I started and he told me I could do things,” Evans continued. “He helped me through a lot of hard times and he did push me to be aggressive because he wanted me to play hard every game.”
“It was her attitude and commitment to the team,” McDonald credited. “It’s easy to build a kid’s confidence when they are always in the gym working as hard as they can and they put the team first. Her teammates voted her captain right when she came in. She was a great teammate. She showed up to everything, she worked extremely hard and she had some natural gifts to combine with that work ethic.
“She is 6-2, which is the obvious thing, but she is mobile,” McDonald continued. “She can play on the wings. She had quick twitch athleticism that let her close out, react and still recover to block shots. She was one of the best shot blockers we’ve ever had at our program.”
This article led with Evans’ “remarkable” first college season. Her year was even more remarkable given that she performed while dealing with immense personal heartbreak. Evans unexpectedly lost her brother, Chris, a former player and assistant coach at Chestnut Hill College, in the summer of 2023.
“Chris Evans had a ‘larger than life’ personality. When he stepped in a room, you knew he was there, but the best part of him was that HE knew YOU were there,” Chestnut Hill Athletic Director Jesse Balcer emailed. “He was always making others feel important. His family was everything to him, and he was everything to his family.
“He cultivated Deja’s growth in basketball by showing her the work ethic it takes to be a great player and she has followed his lead. It’s beautiful to watch,” Balcer added.
It is a testament to Deja Evans’ maturity that she is majoring in psychology in order to help others. “I’d like to be a sports psychologist,” she shared. “That’s really what I want to be: helping athletes deal with grief or any mental issues that they are going through, and feel like they are heard.”
The versatile forward will one day help people feel like they are heard. When tipoff comes in early November, look for Evans’ game to be heard loudly around both the Big 5 and CAA.
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