Former WNBA player and Commack alumna, Samantha Prahalis, has had a highly successful career, and she’s not done yet.
Prahalis grew up playing many sports, but later decided to stick with basketball, which she started playing in elementary school.
“As a kid I just played all the sports and then I followed my brother and played […] any sport he was playing […] For some reason basketball just stuck, I don’t think there was like a particular reason why I liked it […] I was following his lead and…I just loved basketball,” said Prahalis.
Prahalis represented the United States as a player on the U18 team in 2008 and the U19 team in 2009. During 2008 and 2009, she competed in world championships for players under 18 and the world championships for players under 19 respectively. The United States won first place during both championships.
“Being on those teams is pretty elite, so I just think it maybe opened up other people’s eyes to me being on the roster. I thought it gave me great experience to play with other like top kids in the country in my age group and then playing against other top kids in like other countries […] I think it was just a really good experience overall and I think to be highlighted on that team, on that roster, whenever you’re highlighted like USA basketball it’s really special,” said Prahalis.
After playing for Ohio State, a Division 1 school, Prahalis was drafted in the first round by the Phoenix Mercury in 2012.
“[Being in the WNBA] was really cool, it was surreal, it was like a full circle moment…It just felt like all the hard work had paid off in that moment […] I was so appreciative and so grateful for the people that helped me to get to that moment …,” said Prahlis
She would later play for both the New York Liberty and the Los Angeles Sparks during the 2013 and 2014 seasons respectively.
After her time in the WNBA, Prahalis played for multiple international teams. She also participated in the women’s EuroCup in 2014 and 2015 for Romanian team ACS Sepsi and Turkish team Mersin.
“[In] women’s basketball, although we had…so many talented people like you still had to play overseas half the year to make a lot of money […] It was like a supplement income, but I actually made more overseas so it was just kinda like a natural transition for someone who played like in the states, they also played overseas,” said Prahalis.
Playing overseas wasn’t always easy, as Prahalis was far from her family and friends, but she has fond memories of her time in Italy.
“The food was good, the people were […] nice, I was on the water […] , my family came to visit me […] The whole experience overseas wasn’t my cup of tea,” said Prahalis.
After her final season, Prahalis finished her degree and went into high school coaching for three years, and later coached at the college level. Prior to coaching, she did not believe that she would join the profession.
“My college coach used to always tell me I would be a basketball coach […] and I would just be like ‘No I’m not, no I’m not’ […] and then he was right,” said Prahalis.
When Prahlis was home in between her time overseas, she volunteered at Commack High School with Coach Conroy. This was when she found her desire to become a coach and a mentor to young athletes.
“That was kind of …[when]…a lightbulb went off and [I] was [thinking], you know this could kind of be like my second act,” said Prahalis.
Prahalis now works as the Director of Player Development and Advanced Scouting at St. John’s University. This was a change from her previous job at James Madison University.
“Well I was at James Madison as an assistant coach and then I had my son, so […] me and my husband wanted to come back to Long Island, so […] our son could grow up around family,” said Prahalis.
Prahalis has aspirations for her career, planning to become a head coach in the future at a college.
After playing in the WNBA, and multiple international leagues, Prahalis still has more ambition for her career, while raising her son.◼️
