Alyssa Wilson began her track and field career in middle school simply as an extra way to stay in shape. She started with sprints and worked her way to shot put and discus. Her first love was basketball, but due to injuries, she wanted to shift focus.
As she transitioned into the start of her track and field career, Wilson and her father used YouTube videos to gain a better understanding of techniques for the field events in which she would compete.
“My parents were really involved in sports growing up for both my sister and I,” Wilson said. “They’ve always been dedicated with us, you know. They have always been there.”
Wilson’s sister, Bryanna, is also her teammate at Texas State as a thrower and grew up with Wilson’s hard work ethic. 
“Any sport we did growing up, we would learn it off Youtube,” Bryanna said in a press release. “She [Alyssa] would go to the basement with him and do turns relentlessly for hours.”
In high school, Wilson began collecting awards for breaking school records and was ranked No.1 in the shot put event by USA Track & Field. The recognition caught the attention of track and field coach John Frazier who would eventually recruit her to throw for him at UCLA in 2018.
Over the years, their relationship as coach and athlete grew strong, and when Frazier was offered a job at Texas State, Wilson knew she wanted to finish her college career with who she started with.
“He [Frazier] took a lot of like the good virtues that he had over there brought them over here,” Wilson said. “He kind of just built a good coaching staff amongst us so it’s working out well.”
Frazier took the job to be the director of track and field and cross country at Texas State last August. Working with Wilson during the recruiting process, Frazier reached out to Wilson’s dad to extend an offer for Wilson to throw for him. 
“From day one she had already broken the high school national record before she even got to UCLA,” Frazier said. “She’s probably the most dedicated athlete I’ve ever worked with in terms of making sacrifices to being the best she can be.”
For Wilson, one of her greatest accomplishments was back in 2021 when she was able to go to the Olympic trials. She had a poor performance at an outdoor NCAA meet beforehand, and being able to come back and place sixth in hammer and eighth in discus meant she was the top collegiate among the pros in attendance.
Now, she will continue her athletic career under coach Frazier to help fulfill her remaining athletic goals.
“I am planning to stay here in San Marcos to train under coach Frazier up until the 2024 Olympic trials and potentially like make that team.” Wilson said. “I’m also trying to make the World Team this summer.”
Wilson is a 14-time All-American, eight-time first-team All-American and six-time conference champion in track and field. During her 2022 campaign, she was awarded Sun Belt champion in the outdoor weight throw, discus and shot put, as well as Sun Belt Women’s Outdoor Field Performer of the Year.
Although Wilson’s obvious hours of training and work have been put in to reach new heights as a competitor, she said that it’s still about helping her team win meets. Wilson led the Sun Belt conference in hammer throw, shot put and discus, propelling her team to higher scores at every meet.
“As long as you individually as a person performed well,” Wilson said. “You know you’re going to help your team succeed.”