MURFREESBORO, N.C. - Chowan University has seen its fair share of professional athletes in the last 50 or more years. From Nate McMillan to Fred Vinson in the NBA to Jerry Holmes and George Koonce in the NFL, more than 50 Chowan graduates have gone on to play professionally in the sports of basketball, football, golf, softball, baseball, and even pickle ball.
Trayvon Lathan had a stellar basketball career playing professionally in Mexico while Mariano Yeh, who played tennis at Chowan, is now a professional pickle ball player. Shane Rademacher just finished up his 2nd season of professional baseball, playing this past summer with the Richmond Flying Squirrels, a MLB Double AA affiliate of the San Francisco Giants.
On the women's side Haley Cooper was drafted by the ASBA by the Performance Lab team after a standout four-year softball career at Chowan. Destiny Robinson, Monique Jones, and CC Vaughan all played basketball professionally overseas in Europe in recent years. These are just a few of the names that could be dropped when taking Chowan graduates in the professional ranks.
While all of these athletes made their marks over the years, it is a rare occurrence when five Chowan student-athletes are signed professionally in one year. That was the case this past summer when four of Chowan's five men's basketball starters from the 2024-2025 season were drafted to play professionally and one women's basketball player signed a contract to continue playing overseas.
Conference Carolinas Player of the Year, Daylan Askew, was drafted by the Horsens IC out of Horsens, Denmark. Askew and the Horsen IC will begin playing later this month and continue play around Denmark through February 2026.
Teammates at Chowan, Keith Reese and Aaron Ross were drafted by the Copa Elite Antioquia League in Colombia. Aaron currently plays for La Ceja and leads his team with 178 season points. Keith plays for the Guarne team and is fourth on the team in offensive rebounds.
RJ Wilson signed with the Belfast Stars in the Irish Superleague and will start play later this month as a forward. The Stars play out of Belfast, Northern Ireland and have three Irish National League Titles to claim ('98, '99, and 2020).
On the women's side, Danea Mackey is playing for the Rome City Institute as a graduate student working on her MBA. Danea is playing for the women's basketball team and will get exposure to professional scouts from all over Europe during her time with Rome City. The Rome City Institute is a unique experience that combines education and athletics and prepares athletes for future careers in both arenas.
Chowan fans can continue to follow the 'fab five' of 2025 on CU athletics social media pages along with the team social media pages. Want to be featured in one of our upcoming feature stories this year? Do you know a good story that just needs to be told that highlights current or past Chowan student-athletes? Email Meredith Long at longm@chowan.edu with your ideas.
