Smith Business magazine-summer24-paperturn - Flipbook - Page 6
PROFILES
Nothing but Net Career
Gains for Former
UMD Basketball Star
When Abby Meyers, MiM ’23, transferred to
UMD for her 昀椀nal year of college basketball
eligibility, she wasn’t just chasing her hoop
dreams—she was creating a game plan for a
successful business career.
Meyers, selected by the Dallas Wings as the
No. 11 overall pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft, played for the
Washington Mystics and is currently playing for the London
Lions in the Women’s British Basketball League.
After a four-year playing career at Princeton University,
where she earned the 2022 Ivy League Player of the Year
award, the Bethesda, Md.-native returned home as a
graduate transfer to play for UMD coach Brenda Frese and
earn her master’s degree in the Smith School’s Master’s in
Management Studies program.
On the court, Meyers, serving as a co-captain, helped lead
the Terps to a 28–7 record and the program’s most recent Elite
Eight appearance in the NCAA Division I women’s basketball
tournament. In the classroom, she pursued her aspirations of
becoming a global sports marketing executive.
The opportunity to come home was a “no-brainer,” says
Meyers. The experience paid dividends in her development as
an athlete and a business professional, thanks to the invaluable
lessons in leadership she received from Frese and the Smith
School’s world-class faculty.
“Whether you’re on a basketball team, a cohort or any other
kind of team, it’s about understanding and getting to know
your teammates and earning their respect,” says Meyers.
Having graduated, Meyers knows she’ll take on every new
challenge with con昀椀dence in her work ethic and the support
from others who have helped her get to this point.
“My degree has been extremely impactful thus far in my
career because it has opened doors for me in a networking
capacity,” says Meyers.
Re昀氀ecting on her time at Maryland, Meyers says, though it
was brief, “I think I made the most of it, and I can go on to my
professional career with no regrets.”
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summer 2024
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