Farmington standout Kjani Anitielu signs with CSU-Pueblo for basketball

Farmington standout Kjani Anitielu has signed with Colorado State University-Pueblo, a move that sends one of San Juan County’s most recognizable girls basketball players from the Farmington High School gym to the next level of college competition and education.

For Farmington, the signing carries more than roster significance. Anitielu, a Navajo and Samoan senior in the Class of 2026, gave local fans a familiar success story: a homegrown player who built her game in Farmington, starred for the Scorpions, and is now heading to Pueblo, Colorado, with a college scholarship opportunity in hand. For Navajo and Samoan youth across the region, her path shows that a local athlete can turn high school production, discipline and visibility into a college future.

Recruiting pages list Anitielu at 5-foot-8 or 5-foot-9 as a shooting guard and wing. MaxPreps identified her as Farmington’s No. 23 and a captain, and its 2025-26 stat snapshot showed 189 field goals made, good for 10th in New Mexico at the time of the listing. A separate stats page also showed 88 varsity points in an earlier snapshot, underscoring how much her role and output grew as the season progressed. She also played club basketball for the New Mexico Clippers, adding another layer of competition outside the high school season.

Anitielu’s name has become tied to a family basketball tradition in Farmington. A Tri-City Record profile said she is the youngest of four sisters, and that three older siblings had already gone on to play basketball at the collegiate level. The same profile called her “Bam-Bam,” a nickname that fits a player known locally for energy, toughness and a consistently central role with the Scorpions.

Her impact showed up in the biggest games, too. In March, she was named Farmington’s player of the game after a state-tournament win over Eldorado, then appeared in the Scorpions’ Class 5A state tournament game against Volcano Vista at The Pit in Albuquerque. More recently, the New Mexico High School Coaches Association placed her on its 5A Girls All-State First Team, confirming her status as one of the state’s top players.

CSU-Pueblo is getting a guard with proven production, postseason experience and a family basketball pedigree that has already deep roots in Farmington. For the Scorpions, and for the kids watching from San Juan County, that makes Anitielu’s signing bigger than a ceremony. It is a route map.