Cambridge, Massachusetts. The fact that she was born with one arm and the fact that her high school basketball coach kicked her off the team during her final year did not deter Baileigh Sinaman-Daniel from pursuing her dream of playing the sport that she fell in love with 15 years ago thanks to her childhood idol, LeBron James.
The guard, 22, of Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, became the first one-arm NCAA Division III women’s basketball player to score in a collegiate game because of her perseverance, according to her coach Martin Rather.
Regarding her historic basket from close to the three-point line, which snapped the net without hitting the hoop, Sinaman-Daniel remarked, “I kind of just shot the ball with the anticipation that I would have to go and get it back on a rebound.” I was even more shocked when the shot did go in.
Rather signaled the moment by calling a timeout right away.
My initial reaction was, “That’s history, and we should pause and celebrate it,” Rather said. Everyone simply flocked around Baileigh, congratulating her and giving her high fives.
A heartbreaking rejection at Mountain View High School set the Stafford, Virginia native on the path to history.
After roughly three years of playing for my high school, I tried out again my senior year as I always did, but I was cut, and the coach essentially informed me that I wasn’t wanted on the team, she said.
After two days of suffering and sobbing, she decided to take a risk while she was sitting in her car.
I could do this in college, I told myself. Why am I not pursuing this in college? said Sinaman-Daniel. I began sending emails to hundreds of coaches, regardless of the division. All I was hoping for was a maybe, or better yet, a yes.
When Sinaman-Daniel, a 5-foot-6-inch guard, used the transfer portal after two years at Warren Wilson College in North Carolina, Rather was intrigued by his perseverance.
Before a game on Tuesday, February 11, 2025, in Lexington, Massachusetts, basketball player Baileigh Sinaman-Daniel of Lesley University passes the ball during practice.Photo by Charles Krupa/AP
With the Lynx, Sinaman-Daniel has established a reputation for hard work at Lesley.
The club, which is experiencing its greatest season in 14 years and has advanced to the playoffs, has more individual practice sessions completed by her than any other player, according to Rather.
“I believe that having a player with Baileigh’s heart on their team would be beneficial for any team in this country,” Rather stated.
Given the dearth of one-armed collegiate basketball players who may have served as role models, the accomplishment is especially noteworthy.
It is uncommon to see someone playing basketball with only one arm. Sinaman, I believe there are maybe two or three of us at college.”Daniel said.”
The most successful one-armed college basketball player is perhaps Hansel Emmanuel of Austin Peay, whose coach calls him the greatest inspiration in collegiate athletics. However, there aren’t many other well-known one-armed players. Limitations do not define potential, as demonstrated by the athletic achievement of the 6-foot-6 men’s Division I junior whose arm was amputated at the age of six due to an accident.
Sinaman-Daniel’s on-court success has necessitated special training methods that have allowed her to build essential abilities because she was not always able to use the conventional balancing and ball control strategies used by two-armed players.
“I’ve had to tweak and adjust when it comes to taking passes, making good passes, and figuring out the right shooting form,” she said.
Seven weeks after her first basket, on her birthday, Sinaman-Daniel scored her second basket, which gave her breakout season even more delight.
The junior guard, who was born with a little right arm that she cannot use, is a psychology student at the institution south of Boston and hopes that her success will encourage others who are going through similar struggles.
I simply hope people see me as Baileigh when they look at me. In addition to being a basketball player, I hope people perceive me as someone who is capable of doing anything that everyone else is doing, she said.
Instead, she believes that her influence goes beyond the court.
He stated, “We’re demonstrating that we can win and have really good players who might not look like everyone else on our team.”
–The Associated Press/Rodrique Ngowi
