PHILADELPHIA — Normally, North Philadelphia is a vibrant, excited area of America’s inception city. But on this Tuesday, during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, 6 p.m. feels more like 6 a.m.
As I ride through Germantown, one of Philly’s multiple Muslim enclaves, the remnants of Ramadan are evident. Thobes, abayas and hijabs flood the streets like modest ribbons, while the groups of men, women and children that wear them calmly whisk through what’s typically the peak of heated post-work traffic with the intention of getting home to break the obligatory fast that accompanies this month with their families.
Seventeen-year-old Shayla Smith is no different. The shining star of Universal Audenried Charter School’s women’s basketball team is also oddly serene. If you were to take a picture of our table at this neighborhood cafe, the 5-foot-10 teenage Muslimah wouldn’t immediately present as the vicious downhill backcourt threat who has made history in Philly and captivated the coaching staff at Penn State, where she signed in December to play next season.
Much of that misconception is because of the hijab that’s worn underneath the Nittany Lions cap on her head. The Islamic garment doesn’t historically scream the word that best describes Smith on the court: “Hooper.”
“I started wearing the hijab when I was like 6 … to me, it’s normal,” Smith said when explaining her decision to wear her hijab and stay modestly covered in accordance with her Islamic faith en route to becoming a local sensation on the hardwood, with some of her social posts generating around 10,000 likes.
“There are Muslims everywhere [in Philadelphia]. It wasn’t until I started posting my clips on TikTok that I realized it was a thing. They’ll be in the comments like: ‘Oh, you can play basketball in that?’ ‘They’re going to make you take that off!’ I didn’t really see comments like this until social media because there are a lot of girls who play ball with the hijab on in Philly. I’m just the one getting the attention.”
According to 2024 polling, Philadelphia is home to about 300,000 Muslims. However, per local Islamic community leaders, this number could be higher given the lack of proper polling procedures. While some of this ummah can be attributed to Philadelphia’s vibrant immigrant community, the 2020 census revealed that Philly is a majority Black city with close to 40% of its residents identifying as African American. This means that most of Philadelphia’s Muslim population is made up of Black Americans who are native to both this country and Philadelphia — like Smith. The city has even been dubbed “The Mecca of the West” among the Black American Muslim community.
Because of the response she received on social media, Smith began to realize the life she was accustomed to is not as ordinary as it seems. Yet, instead of being shaken by ignorant and often Islamophobic comments, Smith was inspired by them.
When speaking to CBS Sports at the fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant, Smith detailed her ambitions to represent her city, culture, religion and sport. She also revealed her desires to expand past the Philadelphia city lines and become a global inspiration. In the process, Smith gave us a glimpse of the competitive fire that was stoked by the social media backlash. Smith first unleashed this flame during an interview with Philly’s WHYY public radio station when she confidently revealed the goal she’s set for herself.
“I want to be the first woman in the WNBA that wears the hijab.”
Without context, the statement sounds like hubris. And it’s certainly bold. Smith is a public school guard in a basketball region dominated by private schools. She ranks outside the top 100 in the 2025 recruiting class, according to 247Sports. Yet, Smith already has her sights set on making the WNBA and setting a new precedent.
However, we’re not talking about just any public school hooper. We’re talking about a local phenom who scored over 800 points this season and set Philadelphia’s public school scoring record with more than 2,500 career points. A record she broke in dramatic fashion.
“I didn’t think I would break the record that game,” Smith said. “I was 47 points away. I didn’t think I would score 47 points that game, but my shot was falling.”
Honestly, this record-setting performance was just another night at the office for Smith.
On the season, she averaged over 28 points a game to lift Universal Audenried Charter to their league championship and a city title. The program, whose trajectory changed once Smith enrolled in classes, was also in the hunt for a state championship before losing in the tournament’s Final Four.
So, how is it that a literal generational scorer and culture-changing guard flew under the radar for so long? Is it the high school she chose to attend? The lack of consistency on shoe-brand circuits? … Is it the hijab?
Well, at its core, recruiting and scouting is a guessing game. Some NCAA programs will not take the risk on a prospect like Smith — despite her acclaimed résumé — without the scouting services crunching the numbers. And unfortunately, there aren’t enough scouts at these platforms to attend a public school game in South Philly to see the magic Smith is producing on a nightly basis.
Smith understands that recruiting and scouting are subjective fields. So, when deciding on a college, she only desired to go to a program that needed and wanted her.
“It was Penn State, St. John’s and Florida,” she said when revealing the top three finalists from her recruiting process. “Penn State just felt like home. Out of all the schools that recruited me, they felt like the one who wanted me the most.”
Penn State’s lead recruiter in Smith’s process was assistant coach Sean Blair. Blair had been recruiting Smith since he was on the coaching staff at Monmouth. Once he returned to his alma mater, he continued to pursue Smith because he was enamored by her prolific scoring ability.
“I knew I wanted to recruit Shayla after watching her play for the first time when she was in the ninth grade. I love players that are great at a specific thing and she’s just such a natural scorer,” Blair explained. “You know if you’re gonna make a trip to watch her that she’s going to put the ball in the basket and show off her fearless mentality.”
With Penn State believing in her the way she believes in herself, it only felt natural for a Philadelphia underdog to begin her success story with the Nittany Lions.
Although the story Shayla is writing may come in a form that most Americans haven’t seen, the moral and its ideal outcome are the same.
“I want to be a winner,” she said plainly. “I want to be one of the best to ever do it.”
The Ramadan sawm may have dulled the already smooth Smith a little more than usual, but the narrative she has for herself is very clear. She also knows that, as a Black Muslim, she’ll inspire an underrepresented community of women basketball players with her story since, according to Pew Research Center, Black Muslims are a growing demographic that now accounts for 20% of all the Muslims in the United States.
“I love my religion. I’m not going to take my hijab off for anybody,” she said. “You don’t have to choose between your religion and your passions. You don’t see anyone, professionally, playing basketball in the hijab at all. I want the world to know that it doesn’t matter what you look like, where you come from, none of that. If you’re good, no one’s going to be able to deny it.”