Junior College Basketball Champs Find New Teams

After a crushing national championship, teammates pull together for one last ride before transferring to four-year programs.

By Nico Santiago

Jul 3, 2025

Summary

After a heartbreaking national title loss in 2024, basketball players stayed at Northwest Florida State despite Division I offers
The team overcame a mid-season slump to win the 2025 NJCAA National Championship
The team’s stars transferred to major Division I programs like Arizona State, Indiana, North Texas, and Texas State.

In January, Northwest Florida State College (NWFSC) had a strong Junior College (JuCo) team that wasn’t quite gelling, leading to inconsistency and a string of losses.

The Raiders had faced demons before: They had lost the 2023 national title in overtime, after leading with seconds left.

The loss horrified a tough group of freshmen who had come so close to glory. Multiple players had done enough to earn Division I offers, would they bolt?

Nevaeh Scott took time at home with family. Despite being a key piece on a national title contender with a quality Division I offer, Scott didn’t feel ready to leave Northwest Florida, and she wanted her teammates to stay. So she called Deborah Davenport, who was simultaneously mulling her own transfer, and persuaded her to stay. She did the same to Mekhia Chase, Jade Ondineme and Kyla McBride.

Kyla McBride had spent days in her room silent. She had been a backup, playing behind more experienced sophomores and Redshirt Freshman Davenport. She struggled to humble herself and adjust to JuCo coaching. After the championship loss, she blamed herself.

“I've only told one or two of my teammates, but I felt in overtime like it was my fault because I couldn't think. It reflected on my game because I had so many turnovers that we could have scored off of. It broke me down,” said McBride, “At the time I was such a mental midget that I couldn't even push through it.”

They all worked together throughout that summer, with each player adding key pieces to their game. Coming back, they stuck together when they hit their mid-season slump. Rather than come apart when results went south, they doubled down; the Raiders came back to win the championship together.

Yet only a couple of months after the end of this spectacular season, these national champions are scattering to the wind. Some of JuCo’s best have transferred to power programs like ASU, Indiana, Texas State, and North Texas. These Junior College stars also found 5 figures or more in NIL deals, in addition to their new homes for the next few years.