NCAA Champ Angel Reese Freely Flaunts Her ‘Bayou Barbie’ Baaaawdy For Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue

LSU basketball star Angel Reese is a girl that can do both.

After delivering on the court, the NCAA champion delivered in front of the camera as she nabbed a feature in the 2023 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue that hits stands on May 18.

Upon arriving on set, Angel was quite nervous but the publication reports that the  6’3 forward quickly found her groove.

“I had on thong bathing suits and I didn’t think I was going to be comfortable, but [everyone] made me feel really comfortable,” she revealed of her experience. “I work out a lot. I embrace my body and who I am and every mark on my body. I probably feel the sexiest in a bathing suit.”

The hooper swapped out her purple uniform for a purple two-piece swimsuit, reinforcing the idea that women can be both athletic and sexy.

Angel maneuvered into several poses for photographer Yu Tsai in Los Angeles, but the pic chosen for the cover features the LSU team captain throwing up her famous ring celebration — the same gesture that prompted critics to call her “classless.”

The pose was just another way for Angel to give her detractors the finger. *See what I did there.*

Angel aka the Bayou Barbie led the Lady Tigers to their first national title back in April and was awarded the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. All eyes were on the 21-year-old during this year’s March Madness as she captivated the world with her talent and passion for the game that helped catapult women’s basketball into the national sphere.

Although the world attempted to rip her to shreds for making the same John Cena hand movement as Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, she has always maintained her position that passion and trash talk is a part of the game and if it were men in their shoes, it wouldn’t have been controversial.

“Caitlin and I are cool,” Angel told Sports Illustrated. “It’s just being able to force people to accept that women can talk trash. The women’s side gets penalized for it, or we’re considered as not being ladylike and that we’re not playing by the rules. We work just as hard as the men. Women can be who we are. Women can be competitive.”

It’s that self-assuredness that led the hoop star to enter the transfer portal — leaving Maryland after two seasons and joining LSU under the guidance of Coach Kim Mulkey.

After breaking the NCAA record for double-doubles in a season (34), being chosen as first-team All-America selection, and intriguing the nation enough that 9.9 million viewers tuned in for the most-watched women’s championship game ever, the title win was the cherry on top for Reese.

The baller’s newfound fame has led to brand deals that put her net worth roughly at 1.3 million and her social media following at nearly 3 times that amount.

Until Angel enters the WNBA draft in another year, she will have her gaze set on another national title and becoming back-to-back champions. Although there is more to come for the star player, she is grateful for what she has accomplished thus far.

“Having so many people come back to me and say, ‘You guys have changed the game. You guys have been a part of history,’ I embraced that,” Angel shared. “Just being able to be a part of this has just been amazing for me this year, and it’s been a blessing.”

Be sure to grab an issue of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition featuring the model athlete on May 18.