#13 DÉJA LEE
Year: Freshman
Position: Guard
Height: 5-9
Hometown: Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
High School: Semiahmoo Secondary School
Major: Biological Sciences
Déja Lee was a budding soccer star. She started playing when she was five, and as she got older, the center back was on track to play at the next level. Then, basketball came along and changed her course.
Initially, Déja wasn't interested in basketball, but with some convincing from her father, who played at St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, she joined her first local club team when she was in the third grade.
"I loved soccer and didn't want to play any other sport," Déja recalled. "Then, my dad finally just convinced me to play. He started his own club the following year and I've been playing ever since."
The sport continued to grow on her and became something she couldn't live without. Nothing compared to the pace and intensity of the game, so when she had to choose between basketball and soccer once she started high school, she chose basketball and never looked back.
One of the top prospects in her class in Canada, Déja was selected to the U16 and U19 national teams. She helped Team Canada win a silver medal at the 2019 FIBA U16 Americas Championship in Chile, while also traveling to Hungary for the FIBA U19 Women's World Cup this past August.
On the prep scene, Déja led Semiahmoo Secondary School to back-to-back BC Senior Girls 4A Championships. She was named the tournament's MVP as a sophomore and a first-team All-Star as a junior.
With all of her success, Déja caught the attention of numerous college coaches. Knowing she wanted to stay on the West Coast, she ultimately decided on UC Irvine because of both the basketball program and her desired major.
"The thing that separated UCI from the other schools was academically, they had a lot of people involved with neurology and neuroscience which is something I want to go into," Déja said. "The other thing was that I liked Coach T's vision for the team and what she had done with the program. I really believe in that vision of us becoming a championship team."
As she continues to put in the work on the court to help the Anteaters bring a Big West Championship to Irvine, Déja is also putting in work in the classroom as a biological sciences major with the goal of eventually attending medical school.
"I would love to play professionally overseas right after I graduate and then go to med school a couple years later," Déja said. "Paris (2024 Olympics) is also a goal of mine right now; to stay with the national team, keep being invited to camps and then hopefully making that roster."
Although she has big plans for the future, right now, Déja is focused on her freshman season at UC Irvine.
"I'm just looking forward to playing collegiate basketball and playing under Coach T," Déja said. "I'm really excited to see what we can do with this group."
