“I just remember it was a lot of sweaty boys.” A girl in Indiana always thought as she played basketball with her twin brother and his friends. But she had no choice, there were no local girls’ teams in the vicinity. She briefly walked away from the sport for a year since she didn’t like being the only girl on her brother’s team. Fast-forward to the year 2025, the same girl became a household name in the States–Ashlynn Shade, a rising star of the UConn Huskies.

After the said year-long break, she had her basketball in hand in fourth grade as she joined an all-girls team, and her passion was immediately sparked. “Typically with little kids, you may see a kid who’s athletic, but she was clearly very, very athletic and just really skilled for her age,” Ashlynn’s high school coach Donna Buckley said about her. “I remember watching her just doing some skill work and just being mesmerized by her skill level at such a young age. … From early on you could just tell that her skill set was off the charts, and she was going to be really special.”

Well, Ashlynn proved her right. Moving to UConn Huskies, Ashlynn Shade became a crucial piece of the team, as rightly pointed out by Paige Bueckers. “She’s just a gamer. She’s been that way since she showed up on campus,” Bueckers said. “She just has this, just this aura about her that everything she does, she does with passion, and she does it 110%. There’s never a time when Ashlynn isn’t giving that activity it’s all. So, you never count Ashlynn out. She’s always going to show up and be consistent in being a gamer. We love that about her.”

So, fair to say that Shade’s journey from being a fourth grader to a collegiate star offers plenty of anecdotes. And back then, she probably never thought that adulting as a professional basketball player would also require her to juggle the world of NIL deals.

What are Ashlynn Shade’s NIL deals as of 2025?

According to On3, Ashlynn Shade has an NIL deal with Bleeding Blue for Good. Bleeding Blue is the official NIL collective for student-athletes at the University of Connecticut. The details of the Ashlyn deal are not available on On3.

Her social media presence is strong, with around 34K combined followers on ‘X’ and Instagram. Social media postings also generate income for the Huskies star, but the precise amount remains publicly unverified.

Which high school did Ashlynn Shade attend?

The 5 ft 10 Huskies guard showed great potential right from her early basketball days. She attended Noblesville High School. As a junior, she led her team to the Class 4A state championship and was the Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year. Shade’s high school stats were impressive with 1,698 points, 606 rebounds, 282 assists, and 314 steals at Noblesville.

Coach Buckley paid close attention to Shade’s development. When Shade was in middle school, Buckley had her working out with her varsity team at Noblesville. She even played her in during summer games. “As a middle-schooler, we could put her in varsity games in the summer and she could just take over,” Buckley said. “I mean, you could just see the writing on the wall very early that this kid was just different.”

After three years with Noblesville High School, Ashlynn transferred to La Lumiere School in her senior year. “While this decision was not easy, I am confident I am making the best decision for my personal development and family,” she wrote in an email to IndyStar. The move, roughly two-and-a-half hours from home, prepared her for college life. And it came with the right balance. “I knew the transition from being at home going to college was definitely going to be one of my top challenges,” she told UConn WBB Weekly. “I think that transition definitely helped me and the support system I had there taught me how to be more independent and do things on my own while still knowing I have my family with me.”

Even though the school didn’t win any titles, Shade’s performances didn’t go unnoticed. She received several individual awards, including the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Player of the Year for her class. Shade also earned spots on the All-Conference and All-Region teams. In her final year, she earned a spot in the All-State team, averaging 24 points and nine rebounds. With a five-star rating, Shade was a 15th-ranked recruit by ESPN in the Class of 2023. With offers from Indiana, Louisville, Stanford, Notre Dame, and Tennessee, Shade eventually joined UConn.

What is Ashlynn Shade’s net worth and salary?

Specifics about Ashlynn Shade’s net worth are not available in the public domain as of March 2025. Playing in her second season with the UConn side, Ashlynn’s career is in the early stages. She does not receive any salary as she is a collegiate player.

But everything is sure to come up roses for her as the star is very much dedicated to basketball. “Basketball is my life,” Shade said in an interview. “It just molds me every single day as a person, especially as a person, because it’s just the gift that keeps on giving.”