University of Houston Diver Alexa Massari Is Inspired to Pursue Modeling After SI Swimsuit Photo Shoot

Fellow 2024 brand stars encouraged the college athlete to explore her newfound passion.

Alexa Massari was photographed by Derek Kettela in Belize. / Derek Kettela/Sports Illustrated

Alexa Massari has been diving for much of her life. It’s a passion that she developed and cultivated as a kid growing up in Huntington Beach, Calif. It’s a skill that brought her to the University of Houston, where she currently competes as a Division I diver.

Though an important part of her life—and one that will continue to be as she takes her remaining two years of eligibility at the University of Houston—diving is far from her only passion. In the classroom, she is a dedicated communications major with a minor in marketing. Following graduation, she hopes to use her degree in service of a broadcasting or public relations career.

And posing for the 2024 SI Swimsuit Issue helped Massari discover another passion: modeling. It wasn’t something that she had considered prior to her brand feature in Belize. But her experience posing on the white sand beaches inspired her to seek further opportunities in front of the camera.

Alexa Massari was photographed by Derek Kettela in Belize. Swimsuit by Ola Vida. / Derek Kettela/Sports Illustrated

“I want to continue something [like] this,” she tells us during the 2024 issue launch party in Hollywood, Fla. It was her experience during launch weekend that really drove home her desire to pursue other modeling gigs. “This [weekend] has been really inspiring, and the women I’ve been talking to have made me feel confident. They’re like, ‘If I can do it, you can do it.’ They have this love and appreciation for what they’re doing, and they want to share it.”

Massari plans to take that encouragement and try to find an agency to help with her newfound passion. Ultimately, “I would love to do a corporate job as well as a little side modeling,” the athlete explains.

Alexa Massari was photographed by Derek Kettela in Belize. Swimsuit by Ola Vida. / Derek Kettela/Sports Illustrated

Check out Massari’s full 2024 SI Swimsuit Issue gallery in Belize.