Anaya Peoples started off as a point guard, winning back-to-back Illinois State Championships with Schlarman High (2018-19) while becoming one of the top recruits in the nation. She took her talents to Notre Dame, where she played wing because her team needed that. But in the meantime, she lost her passion for basketball. After three years in South Bend (2019-22), she transferred to DePaul for her senior and graduate seasons (2022-24) and regained the love of the game.
Peoples currently is dominating in Portugal, playing for Basquete de Barcelos in the Portuguese Liga Feminina—and just enjoying whatever life brings. She recently spoke to Swish Appeal about being coached by her dad, her favorite Portuguese sweets and, most importantly, working with a mental coach in order to find who she really is. Some of the highlight from the conversation include:
On being coached by her dad:
If I told you, “Oh, it was so easy, he would yell at me at court and we would be the best friends at home,” that would be the biggest lie of 2025. It was extremely hard. Every athlete whose parent coaches them can relate. As I’m looking at my coach, I’m looking at my dad. I’m not calling him “coach,” I’m calling him…
