Aniya Thomas - Graduate Assistant - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Aniya Thomas

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Graduate Assistant
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Aniya Thomas is in her second season as a graduate assistant for the Kansas women's basketball program after returning to Lawrence prior to the 2024-25 season.

In her first season on the sideline at KU, the Jayhawks won the Paradise Jam Island Division Championship to highlight the 2024-25 campaign, which finished with a fourth-consecutive winning record of 16-14. Kansas averaged 3,682 fans per game at Allen Fieldhouse, marking the second-largest average attendance in program history, and had a 15-game winning streak that spanned nearly the entire calendar year of 2024. S'Mya Nichols earned All-Big 12 First Team honors for the second consecutive season and received All-America Honorable Mention from the WBCA, while Elle Evans (honorable mention) and Regan Williams (All-Freshman Team) also received Big 12 honors.

Thomas played at Kansas for four seasons, appearing in 114 games from 2019-22, and was a three-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team selection. She scored 979 points while at KU, averaging 8.6 points per game over her career, including a team-high 12.6 points per game during the 2019-20 season. Thomas also led the Jayhawks in steals during both her junior and senior seasons.

Following her time at Kansas, Thomas played a graduate fifth season at Missouri State. She led the Lady Bears in scoring at 14.9 points per game and earned Second Team All-Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) honors in addition to claiming a spot on the MVC All-Defensive Team and All-Newcomer Team. She was a two-time MVC Newcomer of the Week and received honor roll honors in both semesters at MSU.

Thomas extended her playing career with two seasons of professional basketball. She played for Hamar-Þór in Iceland, averaging 22.6 points over 21 games in 2023-24, before moving on to Club Santos Del Potosí in Mexico in the summer of 2024, where she scored 15.0 points per game while appearing in 23 contests.

From Duncanville, Texas, Thomas graduated from the University of Kansas in May 2022 with a degree in Communications and a minor in Sports Management. She later received a master’s certificate in Professional Studies from Missouri State.