In an era of amateur basketball that runs on publicity and promotion, Fope Ayo is a stark outlier.
The Methuen, Mass. native (her first name is pronounced like “foh-pay”) has no social media presence as part of a family rule. To find the latest Ayo updates, you’ll have to follow the Mass Rivals accounts or find a rare highlight tape online. And she has plenty of off-court interests. Ayo was just a camp counselor at the Ron Burton Training Village in August, where she spent most of that time without a phone and instead took graphic design and STEM lessons.
But Ayo’s name is rapidly ascending regardless. In roughly three years, the 6-foot-4 center for Austin Prep has risen from a complete basketball beginner to a nationally-ranked, highly sought-after Power Five prospect. Her sudden stardom has validated the 1-on-1 workouts and trial-and-error games that tested her confidence.
“Encouragement from everybody around me is always really helpful,” Ayo said. “My parents, my friends, teammates, Coach U [Ushearnda Stroud] — and then just hanging out with other people who also have the same goal as me, seeing they're not stressed like that, and just knowing that it's alright. I'll get there. I just need to put in the work to get there.”
