Mama Dembele didn’t take long to take the next step in her basketball career after the USF season ended with a first-round loss in the NCAA tournament.
Dembele signed with the Valencia Basket professional team in Valencia, Spain. That’s about 4 ½ from where Dembele grew up in Manlleu, Spain.
Valencia is in second place in the 18-team Liga Endesa, the top professional division in the Spanish basketball league system. It plays in the 15,600-seat Roig Arena.
Mama Dembele has signed a pro contract with @valenciabasket!#HornsUp 🤘 | #RunWithUs pic.twitter.com/EVfJXhyB6V
— USF Women's Basketball (@USFWBB) April 16, 2025
She is the 24th USF player under head coach Jose Fernandez to go on to a professional basketball career.
The team noted Dembele’s background in a release announcing the move.
“Valencia Basket had the opportunity to strengthen its squad with a player from the youth team who hadn't competed in the Women's League and had been released. Mama Dembele fits all the criteria and will help the club in the decisive phase of the season,” the team wrote.
“The Spanish player arrives from the U.S. College Basketball League, where she was named her conference's defender of the year. She will help Rubén Burgos' team's outside game in their fight for the Endesa League playoffs, which begin next week.”
Dembele was already well-known in Spain’s basketball circles before she came to the United States to play collegiately – first at Missouri, then at USF.
She played in several junior leagues while growing up. Starting when she was 15, Dembele competed for three seasons in Liga Femenina 2.
The team noted, “Dembele gradually gained prominence, playing an average of 25 minutes per game in her junior years before crossing the pond to continue her development.”
She won bronze with the U16s at the 2018 European Championship and the U19s at the 2021 World Cup. In February 2020, she participated in the NBA Basketball Without Borders Global Camp organized by FIBA for young talents during the 2020 NBA All-Star weekend.
Her most recent success is gold at the 2022 European Championship.
She already passed her physical and has begun working out with her new team.