Malta centre Galea set for NCAA move after committing to University of Arkansas

Second international move for Galea after Elite Roma stint

Malta international centre Danika Galea has secured her next move in a basketball career with the potential for high-level success after committing to the University of Arkansas in the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division 1.

The move comes after the 6’3 centre committed to the Razorbacks, with an announcement from her representatives being made on Wednesday.

“We have commitment – Our class of 2024 Danika Galea from Malta has committed to University of Arkansas. Congrats @dan_galea. Keep working hard,” a statement on the agency’s socials read.

Last Summer’s FIBA Under-18 Division C winner and Most Valuable Player (MVP) Galea has shone for several years, both locally at Depiro and most recently in Italy at Elite Basket Roma and will now be heading to the top division of women’s collegiate basketball in the US to compete in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) on a sports scholarship.

Last August, Galea led Malta’s U-18s to a gold medal in Albania with a terrific showing which earned her the highest honour of the tournament as well as a place in the tournament’s all-star five. The 18-year-old finished as the competition’s top scorer with an average of 29 points per game and was a class above the rest on the boards with 19 rebounds a game.

The Malta starlet did all this after a successful first season in Rome which led to her earning another season overseas as preparation for this move over the Atlantic to Fayetteville, Arkansas when the next semester begins following her involvement with the Malta women’s national team this summer.

This will be Galea’s third involvement with the senior national team after being part of Angela Adamoli’s roster for the FIBA Small Countries Games which saw Malta take bronze ahead of her move to Italy, and last May for the Games of the Small States of Europe (GSSE 2023) where Malta finished in fourth place. 

Malta youth international Danika Galea is set to be the next Maltese athlete to head to the US after committing to the University of Arkansas. Galea will head across the pond after two seasons in Rome with Elite Basket Roma and success in the FIBA U18 Div C #MalteseAbroad pic.twitter.com/mk1wEYIPty

— Kurt Aquilina (@14Aquilina) May 22, 2024

With another season of overseas basketball under her belt, she is set for another round under new Malta coach Charles Bonnici, who was appointed Adamoli’s replacement earlier this year.

Such an addition will surely be a boost for the side which can balance out rotation in the centre position with Luxol stalwart Josephine Diaby previously being the main performer in that role. 

Galea follows fellow women’s national team players Kristy Galea and Sophie Abela who both played in the US at the collegiate level.