Birmingham's Darieal Wimbley earns lacrosse scholarship to Howard University

Darieal Shana Wimbley
Howard LAX

Birmingham, AL - Three years ago, Darieal Wimbley had never heard of lacrosse. Next month, she will head to Howard University in Washington, D.C., on a lacrosse scholarship.

It’s a historic event for the recent Ramsay High School graduate. Wimbley is the first girls athlete from a Birmingham city school to sign an NCAA Division I lacrosse scholarship.

Wimbley has Ramsay assistant principal and lacrosse coach Yancey Williams to thank for her improbable college sports choice. Wimbley had been a member of the Rams’ highly successful basketball program throughout high school. She also played soccer until Williams introduced lacrosse to the students one day during Wimbley’s sophomore year.

"He came to our P.E. class and had a trash can full of (lacrosse) sticks and some balls," Wimbley recalled. "I looked at him and said to myself, ‘What in the world does this man have with him?’ He started talking about lacrosse and we played it in the gym."

It still took some convincing from Williams for the 5-foot-7 Wimbley to join Ramsay’s lacrosse club team that spring.

"I was playing soccer and I didn’t want to play lacrosse," Wimbley said. "He kept asking me, so finally I went out there and fell in love with it.

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