West Texas A&M Standout Parted With Basketball To Focus Her Attention On Becoming The Best Thrower She Can Be

By Mary Albl of DyeStat

Zada Swoopes has a name attached to basketball. Growing up in the Great State of Texas – the same home state as Sheryl Swoopes, the first player to sign a WNBA contract, although no relation – basketball was Zada’s first love.

“Basketball has been in the family ever since I was born,” Swoopes said. “But going into the seventh grade, track came around and I just wanted to try out shot and discus, and I fell in love with it the minute I tried it; it became the love of my life.”

Since then, Swoopes’ name has become recognizable as one of the best throwers in the history of West Texas A&M University, and a name trending as one of the top collegiate female throwers in the country.  

She heads into the NCAA Division 2 Outdoor Championships May 27-29 at the Grand Valley State Track and Field Stadium in Allendale, Mich., with a chance to become a three-time All-American. She holds the top mark in the shot put 58-1.25 (17.71m), second in the discus 184-1 (56.10m) and 15th in the hammer 186-1 (56.72m). She’s the first female thrower in program history to qualify in all three events. 

“The real good throwers have two things they can do real good, and then not very good at all in the third. For me, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime deal,” long-time throwing coach Randy Denham said of the rare talent Swoopes is. “Those (throwers) don’t come around that often.” 

Swoopes arrived on campus in the Panhandle town of Canyon, Texas in 2017 on a package deal to play basketball and throw for the track and field team – two passions she wasn’t ready to separate. Swoopes described that first year of college as “crazy.” 

“There was a lot of wear and tear on my body. As soon as basketball was done, I went straight to track, and basketball went on from the fall until spring, and then spring was outdoor track,” Swoopes said. “It was very time-consuming, but it was a good experience.”

Swoopes averaged 3.1 points per game her freshman year on the court and still managed to get in some indoor track, finishing third in the shot put at the Lone Star Conference Championships with a mark of 46-1.25 (14.05m). It wasn’t until outdoor track though when she found her permanent home. 

“I love basketball, but track, there’s just something about track; to have those groups of people that love the same thing as you, and they support and care for you like a family,” she said. “Whereas basketball, I didn’t fit in. When I got to track, I felt like I had never left.”

The 2018 outdoor season saw Swoopes establish herself as a top thrower as she won the NCAA Division 2 shot put title with a then school-record throw of 54-2.50. She also earned All-America honors with an eighth-place finish in the discus (159-5). She made the decision heading into her second year to focus solely on throwing. 

“To give up something that I love (basketball) was hard, but my heart was telling me to go with track,” Swoopes said. 

Since then, it’s been all eyes on throwing. A self-described perfectionist, the 5-foot-11 Swoopes has slowly blossomed into an elite triple-threat thrower for West Texas A&M. Dehman said there was never a thought of just placing focus on one or two events, as Swoopes’ athletic and competitive nature was born to embrace the challenge of all three.  

“I put in a lot of work and a lot of time when it comes to this sport,” Swoopes explained. “Everything is very technical and I just hammer a skill until I get it and then move on to the next. I do my research and take time to understand the throwing aspect rather than going with the flow.”

A typical practice day for Swoopes is usually spent focusing on just one throwing event at a time. 

“If I have a meet coming up soon, I’ll touch up some things, but usually each day I go to the field, warm up, and just get right on it.”

Swoopes finished her sophomore year making massive strides. At the 2019 Division 2 Outdoor Nationals, she finished second in the discus with a throw of 182-8 and third in the shot put (53-1.50).

Denham said once she dropped basketball, her ability to maintain her strength improved dramatically.

“Well, the weight room, she’s always embraced that, and she's very competitive in that,” he said.  "Her strength has gone from good to superior. I think that’s the biggest factor.”

Like so many student-athletes across the county, her junior year was a rollercoaster of emotions. She headed into the March 2020 NCAA Indoor Championships ranked second in the shot put and was finding success in the weight throw when the pandemic changed everything. 

“When we were told (at Indoor Nationals) we were done and we weren’t going to have an outdoor (season), I was heart-broken,” Swoopes said. “I remember I went back to the hotel and I just cried.”

Swoopes said she took that spring as time for self-reflection and how to better herself as an individual beyond the sport. 

“I told myself it's time to grind and really focus on things like taking care of myself, focusing on mental health, just focusing on things I hadn’t been able to focus on. And (then I) went back to the grind and throwing and getting ready for the upcoming season.”

It’s been that no-complain, grind-it-out attitude that has propelled Swoopes to new distances this year. She won her second national title, claiming the indoor shot put title with an indoor personal-best of 57-4.25.

This outdoor season she elevated herself to the No. 2 competitor in Division 2 history in the outdoor shot put with a mark of 58-1.25 as she helped lead her team to a conference title. Only Adriane Blewitt of Ashland in 2003 has thrown better.  

“She’s the most fierce competitor that I've had, probably ever,” Denham said. 

Swoopes’ development in the hammer has also reached new heights. 

Denham explained her first year he started her with the discus and shot put and slowly integrated the hammer – an implement Swoopes had to develop a new relationship with.

“It takes so long to learn the hammer, so sophomore year we started her with the indoor weight, and then moved to hammer. She wasn’t fond of either one of them,” Denham said with a laugh. “Once she found out she could do it, she took a hold of it just like the shot and discus. It was, ‘OK coach, I can do this;’ Yes you can.”

On May 16 at the West Texas Last Chance meet, she won the hammer with the second-best throw in program history, 180-6. When the NCAA Division 2 field was announced last week, she became the first female thrower in program history to qualify in the event. 

“Hammer has grown on me. At first I kind of hated it, and now I like it,” Swoopes said.

The goals for Swoopes this weekend is a rare triple All-American performance and to reach 60 feet in the shot put, something Denham knows she can accomplish. 

“I know she’ll be pumped at the national meet,” he said. “She has a way of turning her adrenaline into good throws. I know she can do it, it’s just a matter of it everything clicks that particular day, that particular time.”

Denham describes Swoopes as personable, humorous and a non-complainer.

"She has a good sense of humor. She can bring out the positive energy in people,” he said. 

She is set to graduate this winter with a degree in sports and exercise science. Then she plans to start her Masters, as she still has eligibility left due to the pandemic. In the meantime, she’s hit the Olympic Trials standard for the shot put (17.70m), and plans to see what she can accomplish, and make her name, in the throwing world. 

“You think she’s good right now, but she’s got more potential,” Denham said.