Watson balances breaking records on the court with academics in the classroom

Chellia Watson is a senior sociology major with a minor in criminology. Academically, she’s filled her winter and summer semesters with enough courses to make sure she graduates on time.

She is just as driven athletically: the UB women’s basketball player is among the top scorers in the country.

With plans to go pro after exhausting her collegiate eligibility, Watson knows what she wants and how to get it, an ambition to which her teammates, coaches — and especially her opponents — can attest. 

“You see her out there being a feisty and fiery competitor on the floor,” says women’s basketball head coach Becky Burke. Burke is quite familiar with Watson’s “wow” factor: She was Watson’s coach at the University of South Carolina Upstate.

Watson transferred to UB in April 2022, after Burke was named head coach at UB.

Although this is Watson’s first season on the court with the Bulls, she’s already ensured it will be one of the most memorable in UB history. On Jan. 27, Watson scored 47 points in a loss at Toledo, setting a new school and program record, and edging previous recordholders Cierra Dillard, who scored 43 in 2019, and Mike Martinho, who recorded a 44-point performance in 1998.

In early February, Watson was the third-leading scorer in the country, behind only Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark and USC standout Juju Watkins. As of March 11, she was sixth in the country, averaging 22.7 points per game, which also leads the Mid-American Conference (MAC).

Watson will lead the Bulls as they take on Monmouth at 6 p.m. March 21 in Alumni Arena in first-round action in the 2024 Postseason WNIT. Tickets now are on sale.

Watson, a native of Winder, Georgia, began her basketball career at the University of Cincinnati. She played one season there before transferring to the University of South Carolina Upstate, where she played under the leadership of Burke.

Watson transferred from USC Upstate, following Burke to UB. Watson says she wasn’t ready to give up her coach halfway through her college basketball career, and Burke was happy to have her back on her team.

“There was nothing for her to have to get used to about me after she transferred to UB, since we’ve been together for so long,” Burke says.

However, NCAA guidelines mandate that transfer students sit out from games during their first season at a new school; hence, Watson’s “redshirt senior” designation after sitting out the 2022-23 season.

“I would tell people all the time that we have one of the best players in the conference, but she’s sitting on our bench because she just can’t play yet (due to NCAA guidelines),” says Sarah Tranelli, athletic communications director for women’s basketball, soccer, and men’s and women’s tennis. “But she learned a lot from that. She was able to see the game from a different lens, and I think she was able to pick up a lot about the conference and different teams from that, learning how she fits in.”

Off the court, Watson applies the same effort to her academics. Nearly midway through her last semester as a sociology major, she enjoys studying juvenile justice and workplace labor practices.

She credits UB’s academic support for helping her balance her coursework with her impressive career on the court. Before the semester begins, Watson says team members’ schedules already incorporate their practices and weight training commitments, so they can just focus on their academic components. 

“We have a lot of people that help us, like our APS [academic performance specialists]. We all have a specific person to work with us, so they make it easy,” Watson says.

She and her teammates also set aside time to do homework together after practice, which helps their academic performance while also connecting them as friends — on and off the court. 

“We hang out together and go eat together and do homework together and we’re friends in addition to just teammates,” Watson says.

Burke also notes the emphasis on academics for UB student-athletes. “It’s not really that we encourage them to balance school and sports,” she says. “There’s no choice. It’s not negotiable. If you don’t take care of your academics, you don’t play for us. Thankfully, student-athletes have so many resources available here to help them be successful.”

As a teammate, Watson shares her excitement and love of the game with the other players — being just as supportive of their accomplishments as they are of hers, “hyping up” her teammates and warming the hearts of those who watch.

“She’s the superstar of our team, and it’s rare that you find somebody with her temperament and her humility and selflessness,” Burke says. “Obviously, she’s a great player; she’s special and easy to play with because she creates so much for herself, which creates so much for others. I think the dynamics changed a lot for the better since she joined us. It’s been very cool to watch.”

Burke and Bulls fans hope there’s even more to come. Watson’s redshirt status means she’s eligible to play another season next year as a fifth-year student, where she’ll bring UB up the charts again.