« Women’s Basketball 2021-22

Aisha Sheppard

School
Virginia Tech
Position
G
Major
Broadcast Journalism

Classroom

Sheppard graduated from Virginia Tech in just three years. She has also successfully defended her thesis in her graduate program already, where she carries a 3.9 GPA.

Sheppard has been on the ACC’s Honor Roll every year since her sophomore year, earned Athletic Director’s Honor Roll every semester since the Fall of 2018, and earned Dean’s List recognition several times.

For all of her success as a student-athlete, Sheppard was named the recipient of the 2021 Skelton Award for Academic Excellence in Athletics.

Character

“I have had the privilege to coach many young women, but what makes Sheppard exceptional is her unyielding commitment and desire to serve others. She positively impacts the lives of others through her selfless and caring attitude. She is extremely thoughtful and her charming personality leaves those that interact with her feeling empowered. Sheppard truly personifies the Virginia Tech motto, Ut Prosim—servanthood, leadership, and courageous actions.”
-Head Coach Kenny Brooks

Community

Sheppard has been involved with multiple organizations and acted in various leadership roles at Virginia Tech.

She served as a member of Hokie Women RISE, a group that organizes leadership programming for female student-athletes. Sheppard has also been an active member of the Virginia Tech Athletic Department’s “Next-Level Leadership Program,’ a three-year leadership academy which allows promising student-athlete leaders to connect monthly and participate in discussions to develop and expand their leadership skills. Additionally, Sheppard serves as the head of athlete relations for “Blacksburg UNCUT,” an organization that works to give student-athletes a platform to share their stories.

In response to her terrific leadership, Sheppard has been selected for many roles that allow her to serve her teammates. She was named the community outreach representative, which allowed her to help create and communicate with her team about upcoming community service opportunities. She was also named a team captain and the team’s time management representative.

For all of her efforts, Sheppard was selected to receive the 2021-22 Skelton Award for Academic Excellence in Athletics. It recognizes one male and one female student-athlete each year who have excelled not only in the classroom, but also in their leadership and in the community.

Competition

In her time at Virginia Tech, Sheppard has earned several prestigious accolades and become the school record-holder in multiple statistics. She is the program’s all-time leader in three-point field goals scored and has the top two individual seasons in terms of three’s made. Sheppard is also one of only seven women to ever score 1,500 career points - and she will likely finish her career as the Hokies’ all-time leading scorer.

Last season, Sheppard was named an AP All-America Honorable Mention, while also earning an All-ACC first team nod.

She enters her fifth season at Virginia Tech having been selected to the preseason all-conference team and named to the Wooden Award Watch List.