Alison Renee Schwagmeyer (born July 31, 1990) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. She played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Charleston Southern Buccaneers The Charleston Southern Buccaneers are the athletic teams that represent Charleston Southern University, located in North Charleston, South Carolina, in intercollegiate sports at the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Associati ...

and the

Quincy Hawks The Quincy Hawks are the athletic teams that represent Quincy University, located in Quincy, Illinois, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Hawks, members of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) since 1994, compete in that league in ...

before playing in Germany, Australia, Romania, Spain, and Serbia. In Australia, she helped the

Lakeside Lightning Lakeside Lightning is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is owned and managed by Lakeside Baptist Church. The Lightning play their home games at Lakeside R ...

win the SBL championship in 2018 and earned three consecutive SBL Most Valuable Player awards. She also played in the

Women's National Basketball League The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is a professional women's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Australia composed of eight teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the Women's sports, women's counterpart to the Na ...

(WNBL) for the

Perth Lynx The Perth Lynx are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Lynx compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at both WA Basketball Centre, Bendat Basketball Centre ...

Sydney Uni Flames The Sydney Flames are an Australian professional basketball team based in Sydney, New South Wales. The Flames compete in the Women's National Basketball League The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is a professional women's basketba ...

and UC Capitals.

High school career

Schwagmeyer attended Central High School in

Camp Point, Illinois Camp Point is a village in Adams County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,121 at the 2020 census, down from 1,132 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Quincy, IL– MO Micropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Camp Point is ...

. She earned four varsity letters in

and holds school career records for points (1,950) and steals (500). She was a two-time all-state selection for basketball and was the Herald-Whig Player of the Year in

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

in 2007.

College career

Schwagmeyer played her first two

seasons with the

. She averaged 8.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game and earned

Big South The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), ...

All-Freshman Team honors in 2008–09, and averaged 6.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per game as a sophomore in 2009–10. Schwagmeyer transferred to

Quincy University Quincy University (QU) is a Private college, private Franciscans, Franciscan college in Quincy, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1860, it has an enrollment of approximately 1,300 undergraduate and graduate students across five constituent sch ...

for the 2010–11 season and went on to be named the GLVC Player of the Year as a junior. She also earned GLVC First Team All-Conference honors and was named

Daktronics Daktronics, Inc. is an American company based in Brookings, South Dakota, that designs, manufactures, sells, and services video displays, scoreboards, digital billboards, dynamic message signs, sound systems, and related products. It was found ...

First Team All-Region. In 28 games for the

Hawks Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are very widely distributed and are found on all continents, except Antarctica. The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks, and othe ...

, she made 27 starts and averaged 17.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. In 27 games for Quincy as a senior in 2011–12, Schwagmeyer made 26 starts and averaged 18.0 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.0 steals per game. She subsequently earned first-team All-GLVC honors for the second year in a row.

College statistics

Source

Professional career

Germany (2012–2014)

In July 2012, Schwagmeyer signed with the GiroLive Panthers of the German

Damen-Basketball-Bundesliga The Damen-Basketball-Bundesligen GmbH (DBBL) is a company founded in June 2001, which manages the first and the two second federal leagues of women's basketball in Germany. The shareholders of the GmbH are AG 1. DBBL, AG 2. DBBL and DBB. DBBL is ...

. In 30 games in 2012–13, she averaged 14.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. After suffering an ankle injury in the off-season, Schwagmeyer returned to the GiroLive Panthers in January 2014. In 11 games to finish the 2013–14 season, she averaged 15.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.0 steals per game.

Australia (2014)

In April 2014, Schwagmeyer moved to Australia to play for the

Kalamunda Eastern Suns Kalamunda Eastern Suns is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of Kalamunda & Districts Basketball Association (KDBA), the major administrative ...

in the

State Basketball League NBL1 West, formerly the State Basketball League (SBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Western Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Western Australia partnered with the National Basketball L ...

(SBL). She was named Player of the Week for Round 15 for her back-to-back 20-point games. She averaged 19.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.4 steals per game for the Suns, earning All-Star Five honors.

Romania and Spain (2014)

For the 2014–15 season, Schwagmeyer moved to Romania to play for CSBT Alexandria. She played just one game for Alexandria, scoring 30 points in 20 minutes, before accepting an offer from a first division team in Spain. She joined Cadí La Seu D'urgell, but she left the team in December 2014 to return home following the death of her sister.

Return to Australia (2016–2020)

After some time away from the game, Schwagmeyer returned to Australia in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

to play for the

in the SBL. She produced a number of standout performances despite playing through injury most of the season. She averaged 20.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.5 steals per game in 23 contests, and was named the SBL's Most Valuable Player. Schwagmeyer returned to the Lightning in

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

as co-captain. She helped the Lightning improve from 11–11 to 17–5; played for the South All-Stars in the SBL All-Star Game; won five Player of the Week awards; and won her second straight SBL MVP award to go with All-Star Five and All-Defensive Five honors. In 27 games, she averaged 21.9 points, 8.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. Alison Schwagmeyer Lynx

Following the 2017 SBL season, there were hopes of Schwagmeyer joining the

of the

(WNBL) for the 2017–18 season after she had applied to become a permanent resident in Australia. The lengthy process meant she was unable to be part of the full squad due to import restrictions, but an injury to import guard

Courtney Williams Courtney Monae Williams (born May 11, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Williams completed her high school basketball career at Charlton County Hig ...

led to Schwagmeyer making her WNBL debut on October 27, 2017. She stepped straight into the starting five and had a big impact with her defensive energy against the

Dandenong Rangers The Southside Flyers are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. The Flyers compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at the State Basketball Centre. For sponsorship pur ...

. She finished with 10 points in the 88–78 win, including seven consecutive points from late in the third quarter to early in the final period. Delays in her permanent residency application saw Schwagmeyer watch from the sidelines for the remainder of the season. She was subsequently named the recipient of the Perth Lynx Coaches' Award. Schwagmeyer returned to the Lightning in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

for a third season. She won Player of the Week for rounds 5 and 10, won MVP of the All-Star Game, and helped the Lightning win the minor premiership and reach the SBL Grand Final. In the grand final, the Lightning defeated the

Mandurah Magic Mandurah Magic is an NBL1 West club based in Mandurah, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of Mandurah Basketball Association (MBA), the major administrative basketball organis ...

75–64 behind a 25-point performance from Schwagmeyer that garnered her Grand Final MVP honors. To conclude the year, she was named league MVP for the third straight year to go with All-Star Five honors. In 24 games, she averaged 22.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. Having received her Australian residency, Schwagmeyer signed a full-time contract with the Perth Lynx as an unrestricted player on June 14, 2018, rejecting European contracts and the chance to be closer to her partner to play in the WNBL. She averaged 14 points, 4.59 rebounds, 1.95 assists and 1.14 steals in the 2018–19 season, and was selected in the WNBL Team of the Week in round eight. Round eight featured her best game of the season, with 22 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals in a four-point win over the UC Capitals. Schwagmeyer returned to the Lightning in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, but only for the first seven rounds. Schwagmeyer returned to the Lynx for the 2019–20 season. She took a different approach to training in the off-season, shedding 10 kg to enter her second full WNBL season looking to play lighter. She missed the last three games of the season with a right foot injury. For the season, she earned WNBL Sixth Woman of the Year honors after averaging 15.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game with predominately a bench role. On July 1, 2020, Schwagmeyer signed with the

. During the 2020 WNBL Hub season in Queensland, she averaged 13.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.2 steals per game.

Serbia (2021)

On October 9, 2021, Schwagmeyer signed with

Crvena zvezda Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

of the

Basketball League of Serbia The Basketball League of Serbia (), commonly abbreviated as KLS, is a Serbian basketball league system, top-tier men's professional basketball Sports league, league in Serbia. Founded in 2006. It is currently not run by the Basketball Federation o ...

for the 2021–22 season. After the team's EuroCup season ended on December 22, Schwagmeyer was rested for team's December 26 match and then did not appear again in the new year. In six league games, she averaged 10.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game. In five EuroCup games, she averaged 9.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.

Return to Australia (2022–2023)

On December 9, 2022, Schwagmeyer signed with the

University of Canberra Capitals The University of Canberra Capitals are an Australian professional women's basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). The team is based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. In 2014 the University of Canberr ...

. She played two games for the Capitals in the

2022–23 WNBL season The 2022–23 WNBL season is the 43rd season of the competition since its establishment in 1981. The Melbourne Boomers were the defending champions, but were defeated in the Semi-Finals by Southside. The Townsville Fire won their fourth champion ...

Coaching career

In June 2024, Schwagmeyer was named head coach of the

John Wood Community College John Wood Community College (JWCC) is a public community college in Quincy, Illinois. It is one of 48, two-year, open-admission colleges of the Illinois Community College System organized under the Illinois Public Community College Act. History ...

women's basketball team.

Personal life

Schwagmeyer is the daughter of Mike and Sherry Schwagmeyer. She has one brother, Corey, and three sisters, Lori, Kim and Angie (deceased). Her sister Angie died in a car crash in St. Louis in 2014. Following the death of her sister, Schwagmeyer remained in the United States throughout 2015 and served as an assistant coach for the

Hannibal–LaGrange University Hannibal–LaGrange University (HLGU), formerly Hannibal–LaGrange College, is a private Christian university in Hannibal, Missouri, United States. It is affiliated with the Missouri Baptist Convention, which is part of the Southern Baptist Co ...

women's basketball team while also working at the Quincy YMCA. In February 2018, Schwagmeyer received her

Australian permanent resident Australian permanent residents are residents of Australia who hold a permanent visa but are not citizens of Australia. A holder of a permanent visa may remain in Australia indefinitely. A 5-year initial travel facility, which corresponds to t ...

status. In July 2019, Schwagmeyer married long-time boyfriend and fellow basketball player Courtney Belger. He too has played in Germany and in the

References

External links

Crvena zvezda profileQuincy Hawks college bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwagmeyer, Alison 1990 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Australia American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Romania American expatriate basketball people in Serbia American women's basketball players Basketball players from Illinois Canberra Capitals players Charleston Southern Buccaneers women's basketball players Perth Lynx players Quincy Hawks women's basketball players Shooting guards Small forwards Sydney Uni Flames players ŽKK Crvena zvezda players 21st-century American sportswomen