RIO GRANDE VALLEY – It was always, ultimately, going to be Jasmine Allen's choice where she went to college. 
 
The outside hitter had multiple schools interested in adding her to their volleyball programs. But there was one place she had at the top of her list for a long while – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. 
 
"UTRGV was the best place for me. It's very welcoming and it felt like home, somewhere I knew I'd be safe for a while," Allen, a freshman, said. "I love the support system I have here, not only from my family but with the community, the coaches, my teammates. Everyone really pushes you along in the right direction and as a freshman it helps a lot. I don't think I could've done this anywhere else, really." 
 
Allen is no stranger to the Valley. Her father, JeRon Allen, played basketball for legacy institution UT Pan American (UTPA) from 1996-98 after playing two years of junior college ball at Eastern Oklahoma State. Her mother, Veronica, is a Valley native and graduate of McAllen Memorial and UTPA. The Allens, now settled in JeRon's hometown of Dallas, visited the Valley often during Jasmine's childhood. 
 
Although Jasmine believes her parents always hoped that she would choose their alma mater, they didn't try to sway her decision. In fact, JeRon insisted Jasmine went on all of her official visits – even to out-of-state schools – by herself. 
 
"My dad's big on being self-sufficient. He was really big on me making the decision by myself. He made it like, 'I had my time here and this is your chance, your time. Yes, this is where I come from, but this is your journey,'" Jasmine said. "It really pushed me to explore and not be too comfortable just because my dad went here." 
 
Jasmine may be a Vaquero whereas JeRon was a Bronc, but that doesn't chance the fact that she's continuing his legacy in the same, albeit renovated, fieldhouse 25 years later. 
 
"There's a fancy, big new video board, the coloring and print on the court is a little different, the weight room and training room have changed, but it's still home, still the same arena I played in," JeRon said. "I'm glad she'll get to experience some of the things I experienced."
 
Jasmine won't be JeRon's first child to compete in his old stomping grounds. Jasmine's older sister, Jada, played volleyball at Houston Christian from 2018-22. The atmosphere in the UTRGV Fieldhouse when Jasmine watched her sister battle the Vaqueros reeled her in. 
 
"I'll never forget the first time I came to a match. The team had a warmup dance. I sat there in amazement because there were girls from all over the world and they were dancing together as a warmup and it just looked so in sync and it was so fun," Jasmine said. 
 
She attended three summer volleyball camps in a row as a high schooler and developed a connection with head coach Todd Lowery that sealed the deal. 
 
"She wasn't on our radar early but she came to a few camps and we saw something. She's a big arm. Her want was something that really drew us in," Lowery said. 
 
Fulfilling her dream of adding to the family's athletic legacy took a lot of hard work. Jasmine attended a rigorous and selective academic high school, the Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet. It followed a pre-law system – she took political science and government management classes, learned to do case work, visited the courthouse in Dallas often to sit through hearings. The law magnet did not offer any sports, so Jasmine played her prep volleyball at DeSoto High School and competed in club volleyball with Arete Athletics in McKinney. 
 
"It was pretty challenging. My school was 30 minutes away in downtown Dallas, so I'd go to volleyball practice in the morning, go home and take a shower, then go straight to school, then leave school and go back to DeSoto for volleyball," Jasmine said. "I had really hard classes, practice in the morning and evening, I was getting home late and had a whole different community at each place. I think it set me up for college. It pushed me as a student-athlete and taught me time management." 
 
The biggest hurdle Jasmine faced came during a preseason tournament at the start of her junior year. She went up for a kill and came down wrong on her left leg, resulting in a torn ACL and meniscus and knee surgery. 
 
"That shattered my heart. I had been working so hard, feeling I was going to get recruited. It was really scary," she said. 
 
The DeSoto athletic trainers, a supportive volleyball environment and her family helped Jasmine take a mature approach to the unfortunate situation. She used her recovery to "re-learn" volleyball from a different perspective and pushed herself to grow physically and mentally. 
 
JeRon passed many lessons from his playing days to his children. His time at UTPA was very influential to his life, full of long-lasting relationships and impactful experiences, and he's looking forward to watching Jasmine's life change while in the Valley, too. 
 
"UTPA allowed me to mature as a young man and opened my eyes to new experiences. I met my wife, which changed my life, made good friends and got a degree," JeRon said. "As an athlete, it's not going to always be golden arches and flowers. You have to persevere through adversity for the good times. Have faith, believe the next play or the next game will be better and keep pushing. That's what I learned through my time in the Valley and what I taught Jasmine and her siblings." 
 
The Vaqueros will make their home debut on Sept. 5 in a South Texas Showdown match against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Jasmine expects a family gathering in the stands, as there was when Jada and HCU were in town.  
 
"All of my tias keep telling me they have their clear purses and they're ready to watch," Jasmine laughed. "The support is amazing to have. I know it's going to help my teammates with families far away because my tias will cheer for everybody. They'll be here for the team." 
 
JeRon said Jasmine will have a solid fan base at every home match, and the Allens will also be hitting the road to support the Vaqueros. He's proud she followed his footsteps but knows this journey is hers and hers alone, and Jasmine's going to make the best of it. 
 
"It's going to be exciting to see my baby girl live her dream, and to do it at my alma mater is something special," JeRon said. "We're truly blessed and grateful that she'll have this opportunity to go to a great school and be in a great volleyball program." 

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