Ex-Lobo De La Cerda is eager to start again, this time Down Under

From Roswell to Albuquerque to South Australia.

It is not a journey Jaedyn De La Cerda at any time envisioned making, but make it she will. And when she completes the remaining leg afterwards this month, De La Cerda will have a position title she’s normally required, that of expert basketball player.

“Professional basketball participant — that seems fairly excellent,” explained De La Cerda, the Roswell native and former College of New Mexico women’s standout. “I’ve never been to Australia but I really feel like this is this kind of a excellent opportunity. I’m so fired up.”

De La Cerda will participate in for the Southern Tigers in Australia’s NBL1 Central league. The workforce is based mostly in Noarlunga City.

and the journey continues… just in a distinctive spot 🇦🇺🦘 #wfwypf pic.twitter.com/BMWPgJ0sSH

— jaeeedlc (@dlc23_jae) Could 10, 2022

 

It’s not a spot or a team De La Cerda understood a lot about prior to obtaining an sudden possibility to prolong her enjoying job. Coming off a year in which she earned All-Mountain West honors and moved into the major 10 of UNM’s vocation scoring leaders, De La Cerda thought it was time to cling up her basketball sneakers.

“I wasn’t heading to play at all,” she claimed. “I was considering it was time to see what’s upcoming for me. But when this opportunity arrived up, my mom informed me she did not want me to have any regrets. Which is when I decided to definitely glimpse into it, and I appreciated every thing I heard.”

The prospect to perform in Australia arrived in roundabout fashion. It started out with a further previous New Mexico prep standout, Teige Zeller, who went on to play collegiately at Nevada after finishing her vocation at Los Lunas Substantial.

Zeller (now Teige Morrell) went on to engage in for the Southern Tigers and was NBL1 Central MVP in 2021. Her former mentor at Nevada, Amanda Levens, instructed UNM mentor Mike Bradbury about the Australian club, and matters eventually arrived with each other from there, De La Cerda explained.

“It’s kind of a lower-amount group, but it’s a chance to get my title out there,” she stated. “There are some really good women’s pro leagues in Australia, so with any luck , I can perform perfectly and climb the ladder. I have been in the health club like mad. It is a 4-month period, so I’m supplying it my very best shot.”

De La Cerda reported she’s been in call with crew officials, such as a recent player who encouraged her to give the Aussie league a test.

“She gave me a large amount of information and facts and we seem to be to have a lot in widespread,” De La Cerda reported. “I’ll be residing by the seaside, too. I’m surely down with that.”