site.btaAmerican Basketball Player Khaalia Hillsman to Compete for Bulgaria after Obtaining Citizenship

American basketball player Khaalia Hillsman has been granted Bulgarian citizenship on Saturday and will be able to play for the country's women's national team. The naturalization process for the center position player was initiated months ago and completed in time for the upcoming EuroBasket 2025 qualifying games in November against Hungary and Finland.

"I am very happy that we will finally have a high-class foreigner to help the women's national team," Filip Videnov, the Executive Director of the Bulgarian Basketball Federation, who is also currently serving as acting President, told basketball.bg.

"There were a lot of difficulties in issuing the passport which delayed us. It has taken 7-8 months to get the papers in order, we finally muscled through with help from various places, but in the end everything is as it should be. In the recent matches, it is evident that the team has progressed and I hope that along with it, we will again go on the winning path," he added.

Hillsman was born on August 1, 1996 in North Carolina. She is 196 cm tall and the daughter of former player Benoit Benjamin, who competed in the National Basketball League (NBA) for 15 seasons during his career. After graduating from high school, Khaalia played four years in the NCAA for Texas A&M University. 

She started her professional basketball career in Poland for the local AZS Poznan, then spent two seasons in Israel - first in Maccabi Haifa and then in Maccabi Ramat Gan. A one-year stint with Russia's Dynamo Moscow followed, after which she played in the Mexican championship for Fuerza Regia Femenil in the summer of 2022.

Hillsman continued her career with Hungarian side TFSE-MTF Budapest, before moving on to Turkish side Antalya 07. Last season, the basketball player competed for another team in the same country, Izmit Belediyespor, where she was teammates with Bulgarian Gergana Ivanova. Since the beginning of this season she has been playing for Eurocup finalist Besiktas.

In her basketball career, she has also played in the WNBA for the Chicago Sky, and has also participated in training camps for other teams in the league.

Bulgarian women's national team selector Tanya Gateva also commented to basketball.bg on Hillsman's naturalization, "After a long wait, we finalized Khaalia's paperwork. Thank you to everyone who supported us and contributed to the development of women's basketball."

"Khaalia is extremely important for our team - with her 196 cm height and strong physical presence, she is having a strong season in the Eurocup and Turkish Championship with Besiktas, she will help us a lot in the rebounds and under the basket. As a true professional, she is ready to support us in our efforts to play better basketball. We are all looking forward to it!", concluded Gateva.