How Transfer Student-Athlete Suni Davis '26 Found Her Team and Her Future
Fort Worth native Suni Davis ‘26 transferred to St. Edward’s University in Fall 2025. After spending the beginning of her college career as a business engineering student and a student athlete for the Colorado School of Mines, Davis was ready for a change.
Choosing St. Edward’s for Next-Level Athletics and Business
Davis’s experience in Colorado helped her learn what she wanted, not only in a career, but for the remainder of her college experience. Coming from a college that focuses solely on engineering, Davis learned from classes and internships that she was more interested in the business side of things instead of engineering.
“Just being from Texas and playing basketball, I knew that St. Edward’s had pretty good programs for business and basketball,” Davis said.
Davis, a point guard and shooting guard, entered the NCAA Transfer Portal (where student-athletes can declare they’re open to recruitment) and connected with the head coach of women’s basketball, J.J. Riehl, who helped her navigate her options at St. Edward’s. As she prepared to transfer to the hilltop, Davis was interning in Riverside, California, as a Supply Chain Intern with PepsiCo. In comparison to her previous internship with Michelin in Kansas, surrounded by cornfields, Davis enjoyed the activities and scenery of California offered, like spending every weekend on the beach.
Davis worked with beverages in the PepsiCo warehouse division, where all of the products are distributed. As the warehouse employees loaded up the trucks, Davis would track the time employees clocked in to when they began building their pallets with orders for deliveries to companies like Costco, WinCo Foods, and 7-Eleven. Here, she helped create a more efficient process by analyzing performance numbers and identifying inefficiencies.
Davis compared the support she received at her internship to the support she feels at St. Edward’s. Before she even started her first semester on the hilltop, she felt welcomed and supported through professional channels like LinkedIn.
“I submitted my internship to the Bill Munday School of Business on LinkedIn,” Davis said. “And they posted my internship! I just felt a lot of love in the community, even though I hadn't gotten here yet. Everyone was already super supportive.
A Smooth Transition to a Supportive College Community
After spending only a few months on campus, Davis is finding her groove with the help of her teammates on the Women’s Basketball team. They were quick to welcome her and show her around since the start of their summer workouts and into her first semester. The Women’s Basketball team is chasing a conference championship this year and has been working since the summer to reach their goals.
“[Head Coach] J.J. Riehl really brings us together. We're truly like a family. She focuses on our connections a lot. I would say she and I have a really close relationship,” Davis said. “Versus in Colorado, it was kind of business-y and very cordial. I feel comfortable here. I can go to J.J. about literally anything. She's super supportive and still pushes me.”
Davis has even taken on a leadership role in her first semester on the hilltop as an NCAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee representative. NCAA SAAC representatives give student-athletes a voice and protect their well-being, serving as a bridge between the student-athletes, athletic department, and administrators. Davis is also excited to join the Black Student Athletic Association Committee and hopes to help build the organization so that they can attend the national conference.
“The (girls) have become my best friends so fast. We spend so much time together, and I love being around them. Especially being in a new place, it's really hard to meet people, but they take me to events. I've been joining some clubs. They've been helping me get involved and make this place a home for me, which I was a little bit nervous about coming to a new school. It's been a really smooth transition because of them.”
Pushing for Excellence On and Off the Court
Pursuing a degree in Management, Davis’s favorite course so far is Introduction to Entrepreneurship with Professor Amir Sedeh. She likes that she can create an idea and see it from start to finish. She also hopes that this will prepare her to understand the ins and outs of business when she decides to join someone else’s company. Technically, this is Davis’s fourth year of college, but with an additional two years of eligibility for basketball, she plans to push her graduation date back by a year so she can continue playing.
Looking to the future, Davis is considering a minor in data analytics and taking MBA courses to get the true hilltop experience. Catch Suni on the court at the Recreation and Athletics Center as the Hilltoppers open their season playing Our Lady of the Lake University for Homecoming on Saturday, November 8, at 3 p.m.
