Haley Jones Leads What May Be Stanford's Strongest Ever Freshman Class

In our 2019 freshman class, Hannah Jump is the best three-point shooter. Ashten Prechtel  is the best rebounder. And Fran Belibi is the most athletic.

Where does Haley Jones fit into this picture? Why was she named the number one recruit in the nation for 2019? What made her the 2019 Naismith Trophy Girl's National High School Player of the Year? Because she is the most well-developed all-around basketball player of the thousands of high school girls in this year's senior class.

Of course, the college game is different. Playing with and against twenty-one and twenty-two year old players at this level is a whole different ballgame. Last season in the Elite Eight, Stanford started one All American senior, one junior, two sophomores, and a freshman and lost to a Notre Dame team with four All American seniors and an All American junior for starters. All five were high draft picks by WNBA teams in April. Their junior, Jackie Young, was the number one draft pick.

In June, Haley will move into Stanford, probably take some summer classes, work out with her new teammates, play in a bunch of pick-up games, and make a lot of new friends. In October she'll start regular practices with the team. What can we expect when the preseason games start in November? Because of all the years of work she's put in to develop her natural talent and her basketball skillset to a level that will enable her to compete right off the bat with college players. I expect that she'll be able to contribute to our team from day one, because of her remarkable ability and all those years of preparation. She played in grade school, in middle school, on AAU Club teams, for the Archbishop Mitty Monarchs in high school, and for several USA teams. She's played in dozens of high-pressure, high-stakes games along the way, which have matured her beyond her years.  

The following video is of her Under 17 USA team, playing for the gold medal against France last summer in Belarus. I watch it from time to time in anticipation of her addition (and her teammates Fran Belibi and Cameron Brink) to the Cardinal team this coming season and in 2020/2021:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3pBo0Vh_mQ  

I well remember how excited I was when Chiney chose Stanford and was our first and only other number one national recruit. She didn't disappoint did she. Haley Jones is the real deal and she's going to play an important part in what I see as Stanford's finest decade to date. Sit back and enjoy - and get ready to cheer. There are a lot of great times ahead for this program. Go Card!! Go Haley!!