When Fields Corner’s Taina Mair was selected as the 14th pick in the first round of the 2026 WNBA draft last April, she reminded her Boston neighbors that if you work hard enough, your dreams can take you anywhere.
In Mair’s case, that meant the West Coast, where the 5-foot-9 guard plays for the Seattle Storm.
Last Friday, though, she was back East, to attend a homecoming celebration in the gymnasium of Roxbury Prep, where she played ball in middle school and high school. Surrounded by hundreds of family, friends, coaches, and Roxbury Prep students and staff, Mair was presented with an official State House citation and a City of Boston proclamation declaring Sept. 4 “Taina Mair Day.”
Her younger brother, Tarik, Roxbury Prep Class of 2024, summed up what his sister’s accomplishments have meant to their family.
“Taina, you have made Mom proud; you made our entire family proud; you have made everyone in this building proud. It’s a blessing to come back where it all started,” he said. “No matter how far your basketball career takes you, I’ll always be the little brother who wants to see every single one of your dreams come true.”
State Rep. Chris Worrell, who helped organize the celebration, said Mair’s story “reminds us of what’s possible when talent meets discipline, when opportunity meets determination, and when a young person decides that where they start does not determine how far they can go.”
State Rep. Worrell congratulating Taina Mair at her celebration event.
Earlier this spring, Mair told The Reporter that her basketball career really began in Dorchester after she watched her older sister Trayna dominate BPS basketball. Wanting to do the same, she got to work shooting hoops on Westville Street and then soon after learned the fundamentals at No Books No Ball.
When middle school rolled around, she joined Roxbury Prep’s Mission Hill middle school team and coach Emma Simmons, now the principal at Roxbury Prep’s Dorchester campus.
“Taina has obviously always stood out. When you were that athletic, you can do anything,” Simmons said. “Her main sport was basketball, and she was incredible, but she was also the star of every single one of our sports.”
Simmons says it was Mair’s work ethic that really set her apart. “It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen,” she said. “What blew me away was her discipline. Taina could have easily skipped our school practices. She was playing for multiple teams at that point.
“Instead, she showed up every single day for a small middle school team, often before or after her other team’s practices, with all her homework finished, and still gave 150 percent.”
Already a leader by eighth grade, Mair joined the high school squad. “At that time, the high school was new, and her talent and ability were already surpassing what we were able to provide,” says Athletic Director David Duane.
“I’m proud and confident now, with the hard work and foundation laid by former athletic director Dwayne Robinson, a legacy we are trying to continue today, that in the future, we will have many more Taina Mairs who accomplish all their dreams and goals as scholar-athlete alumni here at Roxbury Prep.”
Mair went to Holderness Academy for a year and then completed high school in Andover at Brooks Academy. As a senior, she averaged a triple-double and earned Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year honors.
Former Brooks head coach, Ushearnda Stroud, who was in attendance at Friday’s homecoming, said that in high school and even now, Mair proudly represented her Dorchester and Roxbury Prep roots. She told the crowd of current students: “She represents you all, the city of Boston, everywhere she goes. She is Boston-born and raised, and she wears that like a crown.”
Mair played one season at Boston College, where she was the backbone of the Eagles squad, starting all 33 games, averaging a team-high 36.6 minutes per outing, finishing second in scoring and steals, and tied for fourth in rebounding.
She also set the single-season freshman assists record with 217, the second-highest single-season mark in program history, earning her a spot on the ACC All-Freshman Team.
Mair then entered the NCAA transfer portal at the end of her freshman season. Coaches came calling, but it was Duke University’s Kara Lawson who won her over.
Over her three seasons, Mair became one of five Duke players to reach 1,000 points and 500 career assists. During her collegiate career overall, including her first year at Boston College, Mair posted 1,367 points, 610 rebounds, and 675 assists – the seventh most in ACC history.
In her senior year alone, No. 22 was named to the All-ACC First Team, All-ACC Defensive Team, and voted the ACC Tournament MVP.
Back at Roxbury Prep last Friday, 10th graders Aliadis Bimenteo and Naliya Faulcon, both on the girls’ basketball team, were just two of the 600-plus students who seemed inspired by Mair’s story.
“It’s awesome to see her full-circle moment. She started at Roxbury Prep and can give inspiration to other Roxbury Prep students,” said Bimenteo, who lives in Dorchester. “She’s a prime example of how, if you follow what you’re passionate about, it can come true for you.”
Mair’s sister Trayna said that who her sister is off the court has made her the best role model for the next generation of athletes. “Beyond the accolades, the contract signings, the crowds, what makes me the proudest is who she has remained through it all,” she said.
“Success changes so many people, but Taina has stayed grounded, gracious, and humble at every single step of her journey.”
For all that, Mair isn’t just a mentor for the female athletes. Boys’ basketball captain Sergio Ruano said that he and his teammates look up to Mair as well. “She shows that anything is possible if you put your mind to it,” said the senior point guard.
After all the praise on Friday, it was time for Mair to take the podium. Her message was simple.
“I hope that today I planted a seed of hope in anyone who needed it but also hope that I inspired those who are already role models to continue to be powerful examples for the youth, because sometimes all it takes is for one person to believe in you to see that it is possible.”
Later, in an interview with The Reporter, she said, “For Dorchester kids, I just want to say that your dreams are never impossible. You have to dream big.”
