BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — When Sydnei Marshall looks back on the Alabama A&M game on New Year’s Day in 2026, she doesn’t start with scoring the winning basket. She begins with fear.
“I was scared,” the 5’9 Mississippi Valley State senior guard said during a Zoom call with The IX Sports.
Until then, she had often entered games to stop someone else from scoring. That day, she had to trust herself with the ball—and with the work she had put in.
Her family and faith had been preparing her for moments like this long before Marshall blossomed into one of the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s (SWAC) top two-way talents. Late nights shooting in the gym. Long conversations. Steady encouragement. Each repetition and reassuring word helped build the confidence she would eventually need when the stakes were highest.
Tattooed on her outer forearm, Romans 8:18 offers a glimpse of the faith beneath her fire. For a player who lives, breathes, and eats defense, its message resonates with the demands she embraces: fighting through screens, diving for loose balls, and making opponents work for every inch. Each possession asks her to endure, sacrifice and keep going, trusting that something greater lies ahead.
Marshall’s built for tough moments.
So, when the ball landed in her hands in a tie game in overtime, Marshall didn’t hesitate. Three dribbles to the right. A quick crossover to the left. One more dribble. A determined drive down the lane. A soft shot that kissed the glass and swished through the net. Moments later, MVSU celebrated a stunning 74-72 victory. It was Alabama A&M’s only conference loss.
“Being put in on both sides of the ball, it was just okay,” Marshall said. “Now I got to get a bucket. Now I got to show I’ve been putting in all this work, and now I have to pull through for my team. It was exhilarating. I really enjoyed that moment because it was a wake-up call to myself that I could really do this, and that I’m really talented at the end of the day, and I could stop doubting myself.”
‘I still feel his presence’
Of course, confidence has never been an issue on defense.
Marshall sticks to opponents like Velcro, shadowing ballhandlers so tightly that separation feels like a luxury. With her arms and legs pumping like pistons, Marshall turns every possession into a test of patience, leaving frustrated ballhandlers searching for breathing room and wondering how to shake a defender who refuses to let go.
Yet beneath that relentless defensive intensity is something far more personal.
Marshall misses her father, Johnny James Marshall II, who passed away six years ago. His memory remains a source of strength and inspiration. Before every game, she prays, drawing comfort from memories of a father who showed up to watch her cheer, run track, and play soccer. Those moments continue to fuel her desire to honor him through her effort, competitiveness, and leadership.
Marshall remembers her dad as someone who always made time for her despite his demanding work schedule. He wanted to know how she played, whether she was happy with her performance and, most importantly, whether she was enjoying herself.
“I’m still dealing with that today,” Marshall said candidly. “Our relationship was amazing. I couldn’t ask for anything better. … He was just very supportive of anything that I wanted to do. … He was coming to watch me cheer even when I wasn’t playing because I would play for the girls and I would cheer for the boys, and he would just show up regardless. … It’s a void that’s missing. But I still feel his presence a lot.”
She hasn’t had to grieve alone. James and his staff have supported Marshall, who played her first two years collegiately at Three Rivers College, where she averaged 4.9 points in 56 games. They’ve given her space to process her emotions, whether by crying or talking with James when needed.
“I’ve lost both my parents as well,” James said. “It’s always something you’ve got to deal with. So I’m just glad to be there for her. I try to fill that void for her. … I sent (the team) a reel today in our group text about, ‘I’m hard on you because I love you.’
“I said to Sydnei ‘I know you got it. I know you got the game. She got a chance to be all SWAC. She got a chance to be SWAC Player of the Year. She got a chance to play professionally, but she still has to work. I want her to be great.”
‘One of the best two-way players’
Long before James recognized Marshall’s potential, her competitive spirit was taking shape on the basketball courts around Memphis.
Growing up on the outskirts of the city, Marshall absorbed its gritty, blue-collar mentality, fueling her desire to outwork others and prove herself. In a place where hoops is a way of life, nothing was handed to her. Everything had to be earned.
Marshall loved the physicality.
“Everyone knows Memphis,” Marshall said to The IX Sports during SWAC media day. “You got to get out the mud.”
Defending with a disposition to dominate, Marshall quickly learned that defense was her ticket to earning a run in pickup games.
Scoring would come, but that wasn’t her focus.
James, however, saw a dimension to Marshall’s game she hadn’t fully embraced, which unlocked her offensive gifts.
“We watched the film on her, and I just liked the way she played defensively,” James said. “And then I knew she could play offensively. She kind of—you see, she was waiting her turn. Down the stretch last year, you know, we had to tell her. I said, ‘Hey, you got to go.’ Said, ‘We know you got the bulk of the talent. It’s time for you to shine.”
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Marshall delivered by scoring in double figures in nine of the Delta Devilettes’ last 12 games last season, averaging 8.5 points. In a concise resume of her skill set, she scored a career-high 18 points and had five steals against Alcorn State on Feb. 5. Marshall dropped17 points against Grambling State on Feb. 23. Then she had eight steals against Alabama State.
“She’s one of the best two-way players I’ve coached,” James said. “I’ve been coaching a long time. She don’t get enough credit for how she plays defense on the best players. Last year we had little depth that I could put her on the best player. This year she’s probably going to be my leading scorer, so I’m going to have to use her in multiple positions and try to keep her out of foul trouble.”
Marshall, who averaged 9.2 points per game last season, will be counted on to do even more this season. Marshall finished 16th in the SWAC in free-throw percentage (66.4%), 18th in steals (1.5), 19th in scoring (9.2), and 20th in blocked shots (0.5). Marshall scored in double figures 17 times. She had a solid stretch from Dec. 14 to Jan. 17, scoring in double figures in nine of 10 games.
A passing-lane piranha, the versatile Marshall recorded 11 multi-steal games last season. Her usage rate of 24.2% was in the top 80 nationally, as was her 2.7% steal rate according to HerHoopStats.
She’s willing to do whatever it takes to help MVSU enjoy a successful season. Despite Marshall scoring the opening basket, the Delta Devilettes dropped their season opener to Marquette on Tuesday. They travel to meet Chicago State on Thursday night.
“I just think if I can shut down the best player, then we have a better chance of winning,” Marshall said. “I personally delight in defense in this game. I try to devote my everything towards it. As long as offense is not one-sided at all because I put equal amounts of energy into it, but I feel like defense is more important, so I just focus on it a lot.”
It’s a sentiment that would make Jackie Young, one of her favorite WNBA players, proud. Marshall’s game resembles Young’s combination of lockdown defense and timely scoring. She also enjoys watching Chennedy Carter.
Marshall prepared for an increased workload this upcoming season by working through grueling summer workouts.
As sweat beaded across her forehead, Marshall worked to become a more consistent mid-range shooter. She trained individually with MVSU assistant coach Ashley Shields, a member of the 2008 Detroit Shock championship team, to improve her mobility and sharpen other aspects of her game with her personal trainer.
In a quiet gym where she bought a membership, Marshall routinely took 100 to 200 shots on a shooting machine. She also worked on transition 3-pointers and shooting on the move, determined to expand her offensive repertoire.
Years after those long nights shooting in empty gyms, Marshall keeps putting in the work that prepared her for basketball’s biggest moments.
A gravitational force of positivity, Marshall blends an infectious spirit with a blue-collar work ethic that makes everyone around her want to work a little harder. During SWAC media day, Marshall enjoyed dancing for the camera, posing for marketing photos in her green uniform, and smiling at everybody.
“This girl, she’s a hard worker, and I love being beside her,” teammate Bryana Block said. “I love that we compete against each other every day. We make each other better. When we do play pickup or five-on-five or anything, we’re usually always on opposite teams. We’re always guarding each other. Being with her and competing against her each day is fun. The future is bright for both of us.”
On the court, she makes opponents miserable.
Marshall brings joy from it.
“I love the movies,” a smiling Marshall said during media day. “I love to eat. I love to sleep. I love to do my own hair. I’m very family-oriented. I love my family. I love my friends. Yeah, I’m a pretty basic and chill girl.”
Marshall, who once feared having the basketball in her hands with a game on the line, now embraces the responsibility of leading MVSU.
She’s no longer content with simply stopping opponents. She wants to make the big shot, inspire her teammates, and help the Delta Devilettes compete for something special.
“The difference between this year and last year is that I feel like the players definitely want more, and we’re going to be playing a completely different style,” Marshall said. “This team works a lot harder, and I can lean on them and count on them. I feel like we can actually do something. Not that I didn’t feel that way last year, but it was kind of inconsistent. It felt like everybody wasn’t all in. Now, I feel like everybody is, and everybody wants it the same.”
Marshall knows difficult moments will come. They always do. But she’s no longer wondering whether she belongs in them.
Family lessons helped shape her character. The relentless work ethic forged around Memphis still fuels her. The scripture verse tattooed on her forearm continues to remind her that perseverance carries its own rewards.
“My faith is very important to me,” Marshall said. “It’s something that I just got into. Something that I’m putting more attention toward, and it’s something that I’m focusing on a lot more. To me (Romans 8:18), it’s God telling me that nothing now will affect me in the future. It’s just one of my favorite verses that I try to take to heart, and I try to remember it a lot.”
