UNGUARDED

TAMARA SEDA gets Unguarded about the importance of having a positive attitude and staying focused on her goals during different transitions in her life and career. She had never traveled outside of her native Mozambique until she flew to Liberal, Kansas to attend a community college. Although she'd only played volleyball until she was 17, she blossomed into a basketball star and was able to transfer to UTEP. Since graduation she has played pro in Spain and has also played for the Mozambique National Team. Episode features guest host Hyun Kim. 

IKE UDANOH gets Unguarded about how he was able to use jealousy, envy, and anger to further his career while admitting that it got in his way at times. The graduate of Wayne State, a DII school, started his pro career playing in Uruguay and Qatar and always felt like he could compete at a higher level while comparing himself to other players who were already doing so. In addition to those two countries he has played in Austria, Finland, France, Kazakhstan, Italy and is currently playing in France. The Detroit-native of Nigerian-descent is based in Milan where he lives with his wife and daughter. Catch up on his life and funny antics on YouTube and TikTok. Episode features guest host Hyun Kim. 

Valeriya Berezhynska gets Unguarded about her past struggles with self-confidence and how that's motivated her to apply her life coach certification to help pre-teen girls with their sense of self-worth. She talks to us about growing up in Ukraine and later adjusting to life in America as a high school student. She has played professional basketball in France, Poland, Turkey, and is currently in Spain. The 13 year pro is a graduate of Rice University. Episode features guest host, Hyun Kim. 

Toccara Renee gets Unguarded about the importance of embracing her sexuality and standing in her truth after the death of her mother as well as healing from the trauma of sexual assault. She talks about how identifiers can be empowering and her mission to show up and support the communities she identifies with. The Southside Chicago-native graduated from Iowa State before playing pro basketball in Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Colombia, Taiwan, Finland, Romania, Israel, Switzerland, Australia and France over 11 seasons. She currently lives in Los Angeles where she serves as an advocate and mentor for LGBTQ athletes when she's not busy working on her publishing company that focuses on telling the stories of the communities that hold meaning for her life.

Esther Wallace gets Unguarded about the importance of vulnerability in her life and career. She talks about her struggles with admitting that she was suffering from injuries such as concussions and her need to always have things in perfect order. A former overseas baller who played and coached in England, she is the founder of Playa Society, a successful clothing brand celebrating women that has been worn by stars from the WNBA, NBA, USWNT and more. The Springfield, MA native played and graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson, has a Masters from England and previously worked at MIT. 

Taylor Wurtz gets Unguarded about her Christian faith and what role it has played at different moments in her life and career. A graduate of University of Wisconsin she is currently in her 7th season playing basketball overseas where she has played in Luxemburg, Norway, and France. The Bard, Wisconsin native is currently playing in Spain where her fiancé Preston Purifoy, a fellow overseas baller, is also playing. 

Peter Philipakos gets Unguarded about his struggles finding his footing after retiring from his soccer/football career, managing with his OCD and finding new creative passions to pursue. A native of Glen Cove, New York, Peter attended St. John's and American University and played professionally for nine seasons in Greece and Czechoslovakia. He currently lives in Athens.

On the 1st episode of our 3rd season Abiola Wabara gets Unguarded about how she deals with anger and racism stemming from growing up Black in Italy. Abiola played pro basketball for 10 years which included stops in Israel, Spain, Hungary, Italy and UK. She currently lives in Houston and in addition to her full-time job as a digital strategy consultant she is a successful painter and runs Globall Life, a service that helps athletes prepare for the workforce outside of sports.

Liad Suez-Karni and Katia Levitzky get Unguarded about the 2011 strike of the Israel women's basketball league (Jori's rookie season in Israel) which involved limiting the number of American players on the teams in an effort to protect the development of national players and how others tried to pit American players and Israeli players against each other. They also discuss how both sides can help each other improve. Liad was a captain of the Israeli National Team and has played in Poland, France and Israel. Kat was born in Ukrania but is a naturalized Israeli citizen who played in Romania and Israel. They both played at Villanova University and are currently retired.

Sydney Wiese gets Unguarded about what she appreciates about being able to play in the WNBA and play overseas, what she likes about the overseas lifestyle, the importance of checking in with yourself and embracing the constant endings and beginnings in our lives, how the fun really begins when the tag of being a player from the W fades and her overseas teammates see her as just one of them, and how her heart will go on and on. Syd is a Phoenix-native who graduated from Oregon State and is currently a member of the Los Angeles Sparks. She won a gold member as a member of the USA basketball team at the 2015 World University Games and has played pro in Australia, Israel and Spain.