The Bayou Barbie is taking her game to the next level.
Following a 2022-23 academic year that saw her lead LSU to their first women’s basketball national title, grace the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, grow her personal brand exponentially through NIL and take home the ESPY award for Best Breakthrough Athlete, Angel Reese announced her plan to launch the Angel Reese Foundation, which will focus on empowering women through sports, education and financial literacy.
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“The Angel C. Reese Foundation will aim to foster equity for girls and underrepresented groups through innovative and impactful initiatives, develop practical solutions to overcome systemic challenges and provide comprehensive resources that empower a new generation of girls to excel in sports and successfully transition to the real world,” a press release from the foundation said.
The foundation plans to launch girls basketball camps, financial literacy programs, scholarships, holiday events and community programming, beginning with a “back-to-school giveback block party” on August 19 at Reese’s alma mater, Saint Frances Academy in Baltimore, Maryland.
A top five scorer and rebounder in the NCAA this past season, Reese soared from budding star to the NIL elite, signing deals with Sonic, Bose, JanSport, Raising Canes, Turbo Tax, Campus Ink, Starry and Playstation, all in just five months, beginning just prior to her March Madness run.
In addition to her recent wins, she’s signed with national brands like Wingstop, Xfinity, McDonalds and Coach. With over 4.5 million followers across all social media platforms, and has leveraged her success and is considered one of, if not, the wealthiest women’s basketball players in the nation, beating out teammate Flau’jae Johnson and Hailey Van Lith, UConn’s Paige Bueckers and national championship runner up Caitlin Clark of Iowa.
Unlike her professional counterparts, Reese said on the I Am Athlete podcast in April she has no plans to rush herself to the WNBA just yet, thanks to her success in the NIL space.
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“I am in no rush. The money I’m making is more than some of the people that are in the league that might be top players,” Reese told hosts Brandon Marshall and Ashley Nicole Moss.
As Reese enters her second season at LSU, her value on and off the court will continue to skyrocket, with the Tigers only growing since their national title run. Reese expects to be a major contributor once again in more ways than one.
