MAIA, Portugal - Zion Neat, a recent Goshen College women's basketball alum who played for the Maple Leafs from 2022-2025, will soon play professionally for Juvemaia in Maia, Portugal. The team competes in Portugal's second division. Neat is the first Goshen women's basketball alum to turn professional.

"They are already in season, and as soon as my visa comes in the mail, I'll be on a plane the following day, ready to join them," Neat said.

Neat joined the Maple Leafs for the 2022-23 season after two years at Columbia International from 2020 to 2022. She then played three seasons at Goshen College, averaging 14.2 points across 85 games. Despite just three seasons at Goshen, she ranks 12th all-time in scoring. She is fifth in free-throw percentage, fifth in three-pointers made, fourth in single-season total points, and tied for fourth in single-season field goals. For Neat, learning she would be a pro athlete was the culmination of a year of dreams and prayers.

But there were still many hoops to jump through, and the process won't be fully complete until she steps onto the court in Europe. In early December, Neat's agent called to let her know that Juvemaia wanted her to join the team. Although it promised to be a time-consuming and stressful journey, Neat was all in. "Although I still feel stressed and will until the moment I'm on the court in Europe, I also feel extremely blessed to even still be playing this sport and having someone willing to pay me to do so," Neat shared. "So I'm taking all the hard parts that come with it. I love basketball, and I've worked incredibly hard to get to this point, so it's definitely a sense of relief knowing my hard work has paid off."

Neat was brought in by former Goshen head women's basketball coach Stephanie Miller, who is now the top assistant for Division I Bradley University. When Goshen alum Tyra Carver became the next head coach for the Leafs, Neat was completing her final year of a collegiate career that saw her score over 2,000 points. "The reason I got into coaching is to help motivate and inspire athletes to reach their full potential," said Carver. "Zion is the perfect example of someone who maximized her time, opportunity and skill set to reach her full potential." Carver noted Neat's relentlessness, dedication, commitment and discipline as key attributes to her character. "Those four traits, paired with her putting in the work, are what make her a professional athlete."

Neat discussed how her ability to score has always been what makes her special, and she sees no problem with that translating overseas. "The good thing about pro basketball is they play it with the same size ball and hoop no matter what country you're in," she shared. Neat is simultaneously intimidated and excited about being surrounded by other pro players, but mentioned that she has always played better when surrounded by better players. "I'm extremely thrilled about being able to travel Europe and play the sport I love full-time. Just the fact that I can trust and know I made the right choice of dedicating so much time and energy to this sport is really an amazing feeling."

Both Carver and Neat acknowledged the historical significance of Goshen's first professional women's basketball player. Goshen has seen successful men's basketball players in the pros overseas, such as Errick McCollum, currently playing in Turkey, and Demarkus Stuckey, currently playing in Serbia. "We spend a ton of time on player development, and it's good to see the time spent pay off," said Carver. "That time, paired with playing in arguably one of the most competitive conferences in the NAIA, truly excelled her development." Neat noted that Carver's belief in her and the hours she spent in the gym were monumental, as was coach Miller's belief in her, which allowed her to contribute in more ways than just scoring. "Overall, my time at Goshen helped me to understand that I am so much more than a basketball player, and it brought out the social worker in me. But it also helped me have a chance to be that basketball player for a few more years, and I'm forever grateful for that."