NCAA champion reflects on Central Coast roots
Stanford basketball star Haley Jones talks about her NCAA Championship and roots in Santa Cruz.
Share
Updated: 5:40 PM PDT Apr 9, 2021
Stanford basketball star Haley Jones talks about her NCAA Championship and roots in Santa Cruz.
Share
Updated: 5:40 PM PDT Apr 9, 2021
Stanford basketball star and NCAA champion Haley Jones was raised in the gym of Santa Cruz High School. Her parents, Monique and Patrick, met as students at the school. They fell in love and after playing college basketball, both returned to Santa Cruz to coach the high school's girls basketball team. Jones and her brother Cameron were at practice every day, learning from their parents and the players. "We were there at all the practices. We would be there in the pregame talk. We would do the ball girl and ball boy stuff. Cameron would do stats while I sat with my parents on the bench. I was just immersed into the game at a very young age."Jones started playing basketball in the third grade but it was not the only sport she played. She did gymnastics, played soccer, and her brother Cameron says she excelled at all of them. "Haley is the type of person where she had never played volleyball before and within two weeks, she is the best player on the team. She is just one of those special, special athletes." It was in high school that Jones committed fully to basketball and enrolled at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose. Between her dominance in the league and her exceptional play at the highest levels of AAU basketball, Jones began to gain the attention of some of the top college basketball programs in the country. "We would go to tournaments and you would see coaches like Geno Auriemma watching their game, or Tara VanDerveer," said Cameron. In 2019, Jones was named the top prospect by ESPN. She narrowed her list of schools to five: Notre Dame, Oregon, South Carolina, Stanford and UConn. She chose the elite program in her own backyard, committing to Stanford. Jones said, "The thing that set Stanford apart for me was the full vision. I get the academics. I get the athletics. I get to be coached by a hall of fame coach, and the thing that really set it apart for me was the girls on the team."That decision has paid off. As a sophomore, Jones and the Cardinal defeated Arizona in the NCAA National Championship game, 54-53. Jones was named the Most Outstanding Player after scoring a team-high 17 points and eight rebounds. “Right after the game. it just didn’t feel real...When we had our parade back at campus and saw everyone I thought, 'wow this is actually happening. We won.'" Jones is eligible for the WNBA Draft in 2023.