The Safiya Carrington story.
After graduating from the RPS Tennis Academy in Florida, Safiya Carrington went through the college recruiting process. She ultimately chose Louisiana State University and played for the Lady Tigers for four years until she graduated with one year of eligibility remaining.
So when Safiya entered the transfer portal, Women’s Tennis Coach Chris Young reached out to her. Safiya had known Coach Young for years prior – he was one of the first coaches to recruit her in high school, eventually losing her to LSU.
OSU lined-up well for Safiya in her last year of eligibility. And once Safiya arrived on the OSU campus, PWAP had the opportunity and ability to enter into an NIL agreement with her.
“With NIL, college tennis is really behind versus other college sports for women,” explained Safiya. “LSU didn’t have any NIL at all or women’s tennis when I left there. It’s really important today in recruiting and retaining athletes.”
“The NIL I received once at OSU really helped relieve some of the pressure, plus it gave me a sense of satisfaction that all my previous hard work hadn’t gone unnoticed. It helped me focus solely on tennis” Safiya said. “That isn’t a small thing to an athlete. It can really help change someone’s life experience.”
And that is obvious in the way Safiya, and the rest of her women’s tennis teammates, are performing, currently ranked #1 in the nation going into the end of the season.
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