Arizona freshman forward Daniah Trammell is living the dream.
As someone who would've been “grateful for the opportunity to go play Division V,” getting the chance to come to the UA was one of the best moments of her life.
Her path to Tucson came via Becky Burke, who Trammell signed with when the coach was at Buffalo in November 2024.
Arizona head coach Becky Burke talks with forward Daniah Trammell (33) as she subs off in the third quarter against Cal State LA in their exhibition game, Oct. 30, 2025, in Tucson.
When Arizona hired Burke away in April, Trammell wasn't surprised.
"My God mom, Amber Gray, we always talked about coach Burke, we had a feeling she wasn't going to be at Buffalo for long, the way she coaches, she had to be somewhere like this,” Trammell said.
It was what came next that Trammell wasn't expecting.
“She ended up calling me and she was like ‘hey, I'm gonna be leaving’ and I was excited for her because you want to play for a coach like that and just to know that she's going to a higher level, that’s something that doesn't really happen a lot, so when she ended up calling me, it was like ‘you want to be a Wildcat?’
“I remember being in a room with my God mom, I was like, ‘I'm gonna be a Wildcat,’ like, ‘yes, I want to be a Wildcat!’ It was one of the probably like top five best moments of my life; not gonna lie.”
Arizona (10-6, 1-4) travels to No. 10 TCU (17-1, 5-1) on Saturday. Trammell, who is 6-foot-1, figures to be important against the Horned Frogs’ prominent front court.
Trammell has started 12 games for the Wildcats, scoring 9.3 points per game and grabbing 2.5 rebounds.
Amid the Wildcats' rocky conference start, Trammell isn't one to shy away from adversity.
Arizona forward Daniah Trammell (33) maneuvers past Northern Arizona forward Layla Davis (7) to attempt a shot in the first half during a game at McKale Center on Nov. 21, 2025.
In 2024, Trammell was one of 10 national finalists for Jersey Mike's Naismith High School Basketball Courage Award.
She said she was surprised she got nominated for that award, which she said recognizes overcoming obstacles.
“It's always been just my mom and my three siblings ... they gave up sports to get jobs in order for me to play AAU … just like always find a way to get things done,” Trammell said. “We never had no excuses, you know what I mean? We always found a way to get it done, like my mom was working three jobs as she was taking me to basketball practice and my sisters were going to high school.
“I had my little sister in elementary, so it was hectic, but we just always found a way to get it done,” she added. “So that's why there's no excuses ... but I'm blessed because it shaped me to the woman I am today.”
Trammell, from Cincinnati, was All-State twice and won a high school state championship while scoring over 1,000 points and getting more than 900 rebounds.
Burke said she got to spend a lot of time with Trammell’s mom and a couple of her siblings.
“We talk about gratitude a lot as far as just being grateful for the opportunity to be here," Burke said. "She would have been grateful for the opportunity to go play Division V somewhere, to get an education, to be poured into by a coaching staff and teammates in a family environment. ... I think her family, her mom, her siblings, her support system really knew that she had a future doing this, so it's really, really cool to see sacrifices within a family for somebody that has such a bright future in a sport and that's going to set them up for the rest of their life for success.
“Daniah plays and practices like she's grateful to be here and like this is an opportunity that she doesn't want to let slip away ... So you're just always really thankful to coach players that are happy to be here, that want to be here, that work their butts off every day to make sure they're holding up their end of the bargain and that's that's our opportunity to be here in Arizona.”
Since being at Arizona, Trammell's support system has grown, something that was evident when she got the opportunity to sing the national anthem before the UA gymnastics meet last week.
“I've always been a singing girl, but like I didn't really start stepping out of my shell until I got to college” Trammell said. “I have a great support system here, so I'm just like, ‘might as well just throw myself out there,’ and they all came and supported me.
“I'm over here looking at them like, ‘I’m nervous’ it’s like, ‘no, you got it,’” she said of her teammates. “So it just felt good they had my back, it was nice.”
Burke said she’s thankful to coach this group, which hasn’t had any locker room drama, and Trammell is an “incredible human being.”
Arizona Wildcats forward Daniah Trammell eyes the basket in the first half during a game at McKale Center on Dec. 22, 2025.
“Oh, it's amazing, she's one of the most hilarious, like, she's so funny, her and I have this really like funny banter, and she's just like an incredible human being,” Burke said. “You want when you're building a program to have great people in your locker room of phenomenal character and core values and morals and work ethic, and that's everything that she is.
“So it's just been fun to get to know her when she comes to the house, when we have team stuff at the house or when we get off the court and just get to see her personality come out.”
Waiting game for Perdue
On Wednesday, Burke said there wasn’t really an update on graduate student guard and leading scorer Mickayla Perdue, who is out indefinitely with a wrist injury.
Arizona guard Mickayla Perdue (0), right, sporting a brace on her wrist, talks with guard Mireia Jurado (8) just before the start of the third quarter of the game against UCF, Jan. 10, 2026, in Tucson.
With only one game this week, Burke said the Wildcats got the opportunity to focus on themselves on Monday and Tuesday before starting TCU prep on Wednesday.
“We're kind of just still waiting on a firm time frame, I don't think anything is solidified right now,” Burke said. “This week was so important for practice, too, just to have some more practices without Micky. UCF was our first game without her, still trying to navigate 24 hours earlier the news, so it’s something that we're still working through.
"I would choose any day of the week to have Micky versus not having her but there's nothing, I think, set in stone as far as return. I think it's all just going to be kind of play it by ear, see how she's doing, see how she's feeling, see how she's healing.”
