FHS Sports: Iyanna Cotten Signs Commitment Letter To Play Basketball At D1 St. Peter’s U

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It’s official: Iyanna “YaYa” Cotten will play basketball for the St. Peter’s University Peacocks in Jersey City next year.

Cotten signed her commitment letter to the NCAA Division 1 university November 8 at Franklin High School in front of a large contingent of family, friends and fellow players.

“It means a lot to me,” Cotten said of the commitment letter signing. “All the hard work I put in, showing my family that all the sacrifices they made didn’t go to waste, I can’t wait for the next chapter.”

In her first three years as a Lady Warrior, Cotten racked up 637 points, 252 rebounds, and 133 steals. The team’s 2020-21 season was cut short by the Covid pandemic closings, and she contracted the virus herself in late 2021, further constricting her totals.

It was Cotten’s ability to bounce back after suffering those setbacks that impresses her former coach, Audrey Taylor.

“I’m so super proud of her, her resilience to stay with it, still believe in herself, still believe that she could get this opportunity,” Taylor said.

“This is probably the most exciting out of all, just because her journey was so many ups and downs,” she said.

Cotten has been playing basketball since the 4th Grade, playing on traveling teams as well as the Franklin High School squad.

It’s the travel that her mother, Ty-Wanna Cotten, remembers.

“We’ve been all over the country playing basketball,” she said. “It gets exhausting, it gets expensive, but today, all I could say to her was thank you, thank you for letting us be a part of the ride.”

“When I woke up this morning, I said to (husband) Derek, Happy Signing Day,” she said. “It was just amazing from 5 a.m. until now. The tears of joy, the happiness, all of the love that we’re being shown here tonight.”

Derek Cotten said the process getting to signing day was long.

“Just wondering whether or not this day was going to come,” he said. “There were doubtful days, but we just had to keep her motivated, and here it is.”

The day’s celebration was the result of “a lot of years of hard work, dedication on her part,” he said.

Cotten said she plans to study sports management and minor in business while at St. Peter’s.

She said she picked the school for several reasons.

“It was close to home, and the coaching staff was really great to me when I visited the school,” she said. “It was a great feel for me. I’m ready for next year.” “

“She said the recruitment process was “stressful at first, but once I saw St. Peter’s it was an easy pick, pretty much.”

Basketball wasn’t Cotten’s first sport, she said. Soccer had caught her fancy first.

“When I played basketball, that was a new thing for me,” she said. “But once I started loving it, I knew that was going to be my thing.”

FHS Athletic Director Ken Margolin predicted Cotten will do well at St. Peter’s.

“She’s going to have a great college career in basketball, but more importantly she’s going to get an education and she’s going to have a great job when she’s done,” he said. “She’s a very talented athlete but also very talented academically.”

“She’s a Division 1 athlete, awesome, we don’t have tons of those,” he said. “A great kid, great student, hard worker, quiet leader, never complains on the court, just plays.”

Here are some scenes from the event:

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