March 29, 2021
Jada Williams commits to UCLA
By Matt Ward
Breaking down one of the best scoring guards in the 2023 class
Welcome to The Next: A basketball newsroom brought to you by The IX. 24/7/365 women’s basketball coverage, written, edited and photographed by our young, diverse staff, dedicated to breaking news, analysis, historical deep dives and projections about the game we love.
Continue reading with a subscription to The Next
Get unlimited access to women’s basketball coverage and help support our hardworking staff of writers, editors, and photographers by subscribing today.
Already a member?
Login
Subscribe to make sure this vital work, creating a pipeline of young, diverse media professionals to write, edit and photograph the great game, continues and grows. Paid subscriptions include some exclusive content, but the reason for subscriptions is a simple one: making sure our writers and editors creating 24/7/365 women’s basketball coverage get paid to do it.
Head coach Cori Close and the UCLA Bruins have a reason to be excited. They have just landed one of the best players in the country in the class of 2023. Jada Williams, the No. 13 recruit in the class, according to ESPN, has verbally committed to the Bruins.
Williams chose the Bruins over the likes of Baylor, Texas, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Arkansas.
The 5’8 point guard from Blue Springs, Missouri, is the third-ranked point guard in the class and she can do it all on the court. Williams is likely the quickest guard in the class, has terrific handle, and can go and get a bucket at will. She really dictates the tempo and pace of a game, is an elite passer, can score at all three levels, and is especially good in transition.
Recently recognized as an All-State selection, after completing her sophomore season at Blue Springs High School, she was also recently invited to the Team USA U16 trials. Williams will compete this summer for a spot on team that will compete in the 2021 FIBA Americas U16 Championship in June.
UCLA could use more scoring punch, particularly at the guard position, and while Close and the Bruins need to wait a little over two more years for her arrival, Williams will bring an offensive package to Westwood that will be difficult for teams to stop, even in the loaded Pac-12 conference.
Williams is the first player in the ESPN top-25 in the 2023 class to commit to a school. UCLA has one top-100 commit in the 2021 class in Dominque Darius, who joined the Bruins as an early entry this season and played in 16 games for the Bruins.
