Sophia Young-Malcom (2002-05) Led Lady Bears to 1st National Title
3/31/2021 3:37:00 PM | Women's Basketball
(This is the 24th in a series of features on Baylor Athletics' 25 for 25, which honors Baylor's top 25 athletes in the 25-year history of the Big 12 Conference (1996-21). Selected by a panel of Baylor experts, the final list was picked from a pool of over 100 candidates that came from all 19 intercollegiate sports that the school offers. Through April 1, two honorees per week will be released and will also be featured during game broadcasts on the Baylor Sports Network from Learfield IMG College.)
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
With this year's NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament being played in San Antonio, the city she's called home for the last 15 years, Sophia Young couldn't help but think back to the Baylor Lady Bears' first national championship in 2005.
"I was thinking about that a couple days ago, and I was like, 'Oh my gosh, I'm old!''' said Young-Malcolm, a 2016 Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame inductee and the Most Outstanding Player of that 2005 Final Four. "It's crazy to believe that it's been that long, and it's crazy to believe how far Baylor has come."
The Lady Bears have won two national championships since Young-Malcom left and just made their ninth Elite Eight in the last 11 NCAA Tournaments, losing to top-seeded UConn, 69-67, on Monday.
Of the 2005 NCAA Tournament run that included beating three No. 1 seeds, Young-Malcolm said "it wasn't easy, but it was, because we knew the work that we put in. And it made it fun, just to have that group of people."
Growing up in the West Indies, Young-Malcolm thought basketball was boring and gravitated to other sports. As an exchange student at Evangel Christian Academy in Shreveport, La., though, "basketball became my happy place."
"Being away from my family . . . basketball became the place where I went to not think about where I was," she said. "That's when I fell in love with it. And because I didn't know anything about it, it was like, 'Oh my gosh, there is so much to learn.'''
Kim Mulkey remembers learning about Young-Malcom from Bo Roberts, the father of Baylor Coordinator of Basketball Operations Jennifer Roberts and an AAU basketball coach in Shreveport.
"He told us that this girl is so athletic and so raw," Mulkey said. "And boy, was he right. Watching her at practice, I was like, 'OK, we need to get a commitment from her before anybody else finds out about her.' She really didn't have anybody that knew about her or recruited her, and we were very fortunate to get on her early. You could see the athleticism, but she hadn't played the game very long."
As raw as she was, Young-Malcolm had one of the most impressive freshman seasons in program history, averaging 14.2, 10.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game. She set a Baylor and Big 12 record with 25 rebounds against Auburn in the WNIT championship game.
That was only the tip of the iceberg, though. A three-time first-team All-Big 12 pick, Young-Malcom averaged 18.4 points and 9.3 rebounds as a junior in leading the Lady Bears to a 33-3 record and the 2005 national championship.
"Every day, every game, every year, you just saw something new that she had developed and worked on," Mulkey said.
Big 12 Player of the Year and consensus All-American as a senior, when she averaged 22.2 points and 10.0 rebounds, Young-Malcolm was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft by the San Antonio Silver Stars.
Becoming the face of the San Antonio franchise, Young-Malcolm was a three-time All-Star in 10 seasons with the Silver Stars before retiring five years ago
"My mindset was every year I had to do something different, I had to learn something different," she said, "because I felt like there was so much that I didn't know when I compared myself to other players that were playing my position. Watching Lauren Jackson, you're like, 'Oh my gosh, how do I make that move?'''
Returning for the 10-year reunion of the 2005 national championship team, Young-Malcom said what made that team special is that "we had each other's back."
"Even though we had a lot of close games, we always knew who to get the ball to," she said. "If we needed a 3, we knew to get the ball to Emily (Niemann). Chelsea (Whitaker) bringing the ball down the floor, me posting up, everybody just knew who to get the ball to at the right time. Having that team where everybody knew each other's strengths, that's what made it spectacular."
Sophia and her husband, Jermaine Malcolm, still live in San Antonio and have two children, 4-year-old daughter, Skye; and 3-year-old son, Sevyn. Out of basketball for the moment and doing real estate on the side, Sophia is considering getting back in the game.
"I've been feeling the itch," said Young-Malcolm, now 37, who coached high school basketball and select teams in San Antonio, "so I've been praying about it and just seeing what opportunities open up, in that sense. But, I'm definitely wanting to get back into coaching."
Previous:
Darold Williamson, Men's T&F (2002-05)
Jeremy Wariner, Men's T&F (2003-04)
Tiffany Townsend, Women's T&F (2008-11)
Odyssey Sims, Women's Basketball (2010-14)
Kelly Shoppach, Baseball (1999-2001)
Daniel Sepulveda, Football (2002-06)
Brette Reagan, Softball (2006-09)
Yossiana Pressley, Volleyball (2017-21)
Kiara Nowlin, Acrobatics & Tumbling (2013-17)
Johnathan Motley, Men's Basketball (2013-17)
Shea Langeliers, Baseball (2017-19)
Bayano Kamani, Men's T&F (1998-2001)
Jason Jennings, Baseball (1997-99)
Brittney Griner, Women's Basketball (2009-13)
Robert Griffin III, Football (2008-11)
Dawn Greathouse Siergij, Soccer (1997-2000)
Benedikt Dorsch, Men's Tennis (2002-05)
Corey Coleman, Football (2013-15)
Whitney Canion Reichenstein, Softball (2009-14)
Trayvon Bromell, Men's T&F (2014-15)
Stacey Bowers-Smith, Women's T&F (1996-99)
Andrew Billings, Football (2013-15)
Benjamin Becker, Men's Tennis (2001-05)
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
With this year's NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament being played in San Antonio, the city she's called home for the last 15 years, Sophia Young couldn't help but think back to the Baylor Lady Bears' first national championship in 2005.
"I was thinking about that a couple days ago, and I was like, 'Oh my gosh, I'm old!''' said Young-Malcolm, a 2016 Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame inductee and the Most Outstanding Player of that 2005 Final Four. "It's crazy to believe that it's been that long, and it's crazy to believe how far Baylor has come."
The Lady Bears have won two national championships since Young-Malcom left and just made their ninth Elite Eight in the last 11 NCAA Tournaments, losing to top-seeded UConn, 69-67, on Monday.
Of the 2005 NCAA Tournament run that included beating three No. 1 seeds, Young-Malcolm said "it wasn't easy, but it was, because we knew the work that we put in. And it made it fun, just to have that group of people."
Growing up in the West Indies, Young-Malcolm thought basketball was boring and gravitated to other sports. As an exchange student at Evangel Christian Academy in Shreveport, La., though, "basketball became my happy place."
"Being away from my family . . . basketball became the place where I went to not think about where I was," she said. "That's when I fell in love with it. And because I didn't know anything about it, it was like, 'Oh my gosh, there is so much to learn.'''
Kim Mulkey remembers learning about Young-Malcom from Bo Roberts, the father of Baylor Coordinator of Basketball Operations Jennifer Roberts and an AAU basketball coach in Shreveport.
"He told us that this girl is so athletic and so raw," Mulkey said. "And boy, was he right. Watching her at practice, I was like, 'OK, we need to get a commitment from her before anybody else finds out about her.' She really didn't have anybody that knew about her or recruited her, and we were very fortunate to get on her early. You could see the athleticism, but she hadn't played the game very long."
As raw as she was, Young-Malcolm had one of the most impressive freshman seasons in program history, averaging 14.2, 10.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game. She set a Baylor and Big 12 record with 25 rebounds against Auburn in the WNIT championship game.
That was only the tip of the iceberg, though. A three-time first-team All-Big 12 pick, Young-Malcom averaged 18.4 points and 9.3 rebounds as a junior in leading the Lady Bears to a 33-3 record and the 2005 national championship.
"Every day, every game, every year, you just saw something new that she had developed and worked on," Mulkey said.
Big 12 Player of the Year and consensus All-American as a senior, when she averaged 22.2 points and 10.0 rebounds, Young-Malcolm was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft by the San Antonio Silver Stars.
Becoming the face of the San Antonio franchise, Young-Malcolm was a three-time All-Star in 10 seasons with the Silver Stars before retiring five years ago
"My mindset was every year I had to do something different, I had to learn something different," she said, "because I felt like there was so much that I didn't know when I compared myself to other players that were playing my position. Watching Lauren Jackson, you're like, 'Oh my gosh, how do I make that move?'''
Returning for the 10-year reunion of the 2005 national championship team, Young-Malcom said what made that team special is that "we had each other's back."
"Even though we had a lot of close games, we always knew who to get the ball to," she said. "If we needed a 3, we knew to get the ball to Emily (Niemann). Chelsea (Whitaker) bringing the ball down the floor, me posting up, everybody just knew who to get the ball to at the right time. Having that team where everybody knew each other's strengths, that's what made it spectacular."
Sophia and her husband, Jermaine Malcolm, still live in San Antonio and have two children, 4-year-old daughter, Skye; and 3-year-old son, Sevyn. Out of basketball for the moment and doing real estate on the side, Sophia is considering getting back in the game.
"I've been feeling the itch," said Young-Malcolm, now 37, who coached high school basketball and select teams in San Antonio, "so I've been praying about it and just seeing what opportunities open up, in that sense. But, I'm definitely wanting to get back into coaching."
Previous:
Darold Williamson, Men's T&F (2002-05)
Jeremy Wariner, Men's T&F (2003-04)
Tiffany Townsend, Women's T&F (2008-11)
Odyssey Sims, Women's Basketball (2010-14)
Kelly Shoppach, Baseball (1999-2001)
Daniel Sepulveda, Football (2002-06)
Brette Reagan, Softball (2006-09)
Yossiana Pressley, Volleyball (2017-21)
Kiara Nowlin, Acrobatics & Tumbling (2013-17)
Johnathan Motley, Men's Basketball (2013-17)
Shea Langeliers, Baseball (2017-19)
Bayano Kamani, Men's T&F (1998-2001)
Jason Jennings, Baseball (1997-99)
Brittney Griner, Women's Basketball (2009-13)
Robert Griffin III, Football (2008-11)
Dawn Greathouse Siergij, Soccer (1997-2000)
Benedikt Dorsch, Men's Tennis (2002-05)
Corey Coleman, Football (2013-15)
Whitney Canion Reichenstein, Softball (2009-14)
Trayvon Bromell, Men's T&F (2014-15)
Stacey Bowers-Smith, Women's T&F (1996-99)
Andrew Billings, Football (2013-15)
Benjamin Becker, Men's Tennis (2001-05)
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