WORCESTER, Mass. - Former Worcester Academy basketball standout Aliyah Boston is headed to the Indiana Fever after being selected with the first overall pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft. 

At her old stomping grounds, people saw her potential from the moment she took the court. Boston moved from the Virgin Islands to central Massachusetts at age 12 in pursuit of a future in basketball, and she walked into Worcester Academy with hopes and dreams like any high school freshman.

As former teachers like Julie Berberian recall, she wasn’t shy about sharing those aspirations. Berberian also serves as Worcester Academy’s associate athletic director. 

“I was Aliyah’s health teacher when she came in the ninth grade,” Berberian said. “One of the first classes we do is about goal setting. Aliyah’s goal was to make it to the WNBA.”

Goals alone, however, weren’t what set Boston apart - it was her follow-through. Very rarely does someone set such a high bar at such a young age, let alone clear it with so much room to spare. 

“It’s every teacher’s dream, right?” Berberian said. “To watch their students reach their goals, and Aliyah has been awesome. She’s reached every step and done everything within her powers to get to that goal. She has such a work ethic that’s beyond anybody’s.”

Her time at Worcester Academy is best measured by the banners she helped raise in the gym: Three consecutive Massachusetts Player of the Year awards, three McDonald’s All-American selections and two Class A championships.

Even early on, she had the intangibles that take a great athlete to the next level.

“You come and watch her at practice, she’s in there helping the younger kids,” Berberian said. “Even on the outside, her presence was so positive, she was such a humble kid and she worked hard at everything she ever did here.”

When Boston left for South Carolina, the Worcester Academy community followed closely as she owned the big stage. After winning a couple national titles, an NCAA Tournament MVP and a host of other accolades, she left the Gamecocks with a stellar 129-9 record in games where she was on the floor. 

It came as no shock to anyone she was picked number one. Walter Pope, head of security at Worcester Academy, said Boston was destined for stardom.

“Not a surprise at all,” Pope said. “If there was a quicker way to find out, we would have found out sooner, but the purpose and the goal, she hit it right on the point.”

Her longtime fans believe she’s more than ready to go on and be the face of a franchise for years to come. 

“Hardworking, determination, always focused, leader amongst her peers, she definitely worked for everything she got today and deserves it,” Pope said. “It wasn’t given. Blood, sweat and tears, she made it happen and we’re all so excited for her.”