Purdue player defied all odds

When Ajah Stallings stepped onto Purdue’s basketball court in 2018 as a walk-on, she set a goal: show the team she could compete at the Division I level although she had minimal use of her right arm. She did exactly that.

Stallings faced adversity from the moment she was born. Due to birth complications, Stallings ruptured the brachial plexus of her right arm, a network of nerves that sends signals from the spinal cord in the neck down to the hand. She did not have any arm mobility for the first few years of her life and has only gained about 20% range of motion since. Yet she did not let that deter her.

“How she would do it I had no clue, but she would walk the monkey bars better than any kid her age,” said Reatha Stallings, Ajah’s mother. “I realized she can do anything put before her.”

Stallings fell in love with basketball at an early age, even without any organized girls leagues. Instead, she played against her brother and other boys in her family’s home-installed court. 

“I had a really good support system growing up. (My family) didn’t treat me any different. They made sure I was just like everyone else when playing basketball,” she said. 

Stallings lacked the ability to dribble with or extend her right arm, and she could not rotate her palm. Some of her peers doubted she could stick with the game. That doubt, however, only motivated her to work harder. 

Her junior year, Stallings helped lead her North Central High School team in Indianapolis to a No. 2 ranking in the country. She was nationally ranked in the top 75 guards, but when it came time for college basketball recruitment, coaches seemed hesitant. 

“I would have coaches say, yes, she’s good, but I don’t know if she can play because of her arm,” she said.

Still, then-Purdue head coach Sharon Versyp took notice. When North Central played at Purdue’s team camp, Versyp was impressed by Stallings’ ball handling, passing and, above all, her positive attitude. 

“The passion that she has for the game is really second to none. I was in awe of her and just how inspiring she was to everyone around her,” Versyp said. 

Although she did not receive a scholarship at the time, Stallings knew Purdue had what she needed: a prestigious pharmacy program, excellent athletics and a close-knit basketball family. She decided to turn down her mid-major offers and join the Boilermakers.

It was a difficult decision, and Stallings faced many challenges during her transition to college. 

She realized that the balance of pharmacy school with Division I basketball was often not a balance at all. After finishing her basketball career, Stallings is completing her third year in Purdue’s pharmacy program, working as a resident assistant. Beyond graduation, she aspires to own her own pharmacy.

But early in her playing career, she sometimes felt discouraged when watching other players dribble so easily from the sidelines. Above all, she had no idea whether she would receive a scholarship.

Stallings earned Academic All-Big 10 honors twice. During her last home game at Mackey Arena, she scored Purdue’s final two points.

“It was one of the coolest moments for me,” Gearlds said. “I watched a young woman never give up and always battle. I will be forever thankful for the opportunity to coach Ajah and for what I learned in that short amount of time."

Photos courtesy of Purdue and Ajah Stallings