Overcoming Adversity: Annika Shah's Journey to Basketball Stardom
2/14/2025 1:27:00 PM | Women's Basketball
STORY BY: Samantha Roach, Cal Poly Athletics
Through adversity and injury, Cal Poly senior point guard Annika Shah defied the odds, becoming one of the best Division I women’s basketball players in the country. From tearing her ACL, to her height disadvantage, to coaching changes, Annika Shah has had an arduous athletic journey that has turned her into a leader.
Shah’s sophomore year of high school was setting her up for success. She became the first and only public-school sophomore to be on the California All-State team. She was also the Division I MVP for the Central Coast Section. The summer after her sophomore year, she was in contact with many UCs, some ivy league universities, and various colleges around the central coast. She had not received any offers yet, but she knew she was on the perfect path for her basketball career.
“After my sophomore year, I could feel I was getting close,” said Shah.
Then, her junior year, it all changed. Shah faced a career altering injury: tearing her ACL. She went through the process of calling the college coaches that were interested in her and breaking the disheartening news.
“I had to call all these coaches and say, ‘Hey, I tore my ACL, it’s a nine-month recovery so I’m basically out the whole year,’ and they gave me this spiel saying they are going to stay in touch with me, follow me during this recovery, and then I never heard from them again,” said Shah.
Around six months into her recovery journey, Shah was faced with another challenge: the COVID-19 pandemic. While the injury and the pandemic were horrendous occasions for Shah, they were also blessings in disguise because these moments led up Shah’s offer from Cal Poly.
“The first division one school to call me during my injury, kind of near the later part of it, probably around six months right when COVID hit was Cal Poly,” Shah said. “My parents and I got on a zoom call with Cal Poly thinking that they just wanted to talk to me. They were giving me this spiel about Cal Poly athletics and the school. Then near the end, Coach Faith said that she wanted to offer me a full ride to come play basketball at Cal Poly.”
Being that this was Shah’s first division one offer, it was a shocking moment.
“My jaw dropped, my heart was pounding, because that was my first ever division one offer. I couldn’t be more grateful to go through the adversity I went through with my knee because not only did it land me here, but I was able to come back stronger with a different mindset that I wanted to give my all to Cal Poly because they took a chance on me,” explained Shah.
A legendary achievement
— Cal Poly WBB (@CalPolyWBB) January 26, 2025
Hear Annika Shah talk about reaching 1,000 career points scored as a Mustang ??#RideHigh pic.twitter.com/qSyWlKgsDY
An Annika Shah three point shooting appreciation PSA:
— Cal Poly WBB (@CalPolyWBB) December 30, 2024
Anni leads the entire Big West in threes made! ?? #RideHigh pic.twitter.com/ncWgLTVZxf
Adding on to her strenuous journey, Shah also had an athletic disadvantage measuring in at 5 foot 3 inches tall. The average D1 women’s basketball player height is 5’6 as stated by the All-American Bowl. With Shah being a point guard, she was at an even larger disadvantage because they tend to be at least 5’8, as reported by Dynamic Sports. However, due to Shah’s determination, she did not let this stop her.
“Being an undersized player, it was always like I had to work a little bit extra to get someone to commit to me,” Shah said.
Shah has always been committed to becoming the best player she could be. “I didn’t have that many friends in high school because on Friday and Saturday nights I was in the gym,” said Shah.
This determined mindset has not changed. Shah came into Cal Poly with a different set of coaches than she has now which posed a challenge. Her sophomore year, there was a coaching change introducing head coach Shanele Stires.
“I grew a great relationship with the previous coaches I had, I wish them nothing but the best and I still keep in touch with all of them to this day, but with Coach Stires coming in and the energy this new staff brought, it was something that I really enjoyed,” said Shah.
While Shah enjoyed the high energy of the new coaching staff, she knew she was going to have to work incredibly hard to secure her position.
“It was tough because my sophomore year we were kind of in a rebuilding stage. We had a lot of changes that happened, but that’s all part of the business. I knew going into that coaching change that I had to work my butt off because my position was at risk,” Shah said.
Shah shared that she had a mindset change with the new coaching staff that put her into high gear.
“I worked my butt off and changed my mindset just to attack everything that year. It ended up working out for me because I did not want to leave this place. I love SLO and I love Cal Poly,” Shah said.
As a result of her drive, Annika Shah has solidified her spot as a remarkable Cal Poly athlete. She ranks in the top 15 all-time in program history for career points. Although Shah has had an excellent career, she remains humble.
“I’m just grateful to be in the position where I get to be a leader for this team,” said Shah.
Her humility extends into her achievements as well. Shah recently joined the 1,000-point club on Jan. 25th, and she was focused on her family and teammates rather than just herself in that moment.
“I wasn’t necessarily counting down the points that I needed to hit 1,000 or anything because I’m just focused on the game, but I did know the moment I hit it because I looked at my family and they gave me the signal that I did it. To be able to do it in front of my family was a very special moment just because they’ve sacrificed so much for me,” said Shah.
She also recognizes that basketball is a team sport, and she would not have achieved this accomplishment without her teammates and coaches.
“It’s never a single player that accomplishes 1,000 points, there are 100,000 other pieces that contributed to me getting 1,000 points. So, to all my teammates that ever assisted me and my coaches that believed in me and given me opportunities, I couldn’t thank them enough,” said Shah.
As Shah wraps up her senior season at Cal Poly, she is looking at her future after she graduates.
“I want to play basketball overseas for a little bit. Once I’m done playing basketball, when I go into the real world and have to work, I’ll be solid wherever I go because I’ve done the work at Cal Poly and I understand how the real world works,” Shah said.
Shah’s story through adversity and her legacy will live on well past her time at Cal Poly. She has shown Cal Poly what it means to be a true Mustang student-athlete.
“I want to be remembered as someone who was a great teammate. There are all these accolades that go into numbers and statistics, but the impact that I had on my teammates is what is important to me. For me to be remembered as a teammate that cared for everyone around her, a teammate that was there for her teammates, just someone that is a reliable friend and did the extra to be a good person is what I want to be remembered as.”
