Me’Arah O’Neal, the daughter of former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal, announced her commitment to the Florida Gators women’s basketball team Sunday, according to ESPN.
The 6-foot-3-inch post player is a four-star recruit and the No. 33 ranked player in the country in the espnW top 100 rankings. She joined five-star guard Alivia McGill in Florida’s 2024 recruiting class.
She also chose the Gators over the reigning national champions, LSU, which is Shaquille O’Neal’s alma mater. Baylor, Tennessee and Kentucky were other schools in her final eight schools to choose from.
She plays a similar position as a post player to her Hall of Fame father, who played the center position in college and the NBA
UF head coach Kelly Rae Finley’s hot streak on the trail continued as she has now landed two five-stars in McGill and current freshman guard Laila Reynolds and now the four-star O’Neal.
The Gators women’s basketball team is 2-0 to start the season and will play the Florida A&M Rattlers in their next game at 8 p.m. Monday.
Contact Jackson Reyes at jacksonreyes@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @JacksnReyes.
Jackson Reyes is a UF journalism senior and The Alligator's Fall 2023 Sports Editor. He previously served as Digital Managing Editor and was a reporter and assistant editor on the sports desk. In his free time, he enjoys collecting records, long walks on the beach and watching Bo Nix.
