Rickea Jackson reacts to being selected by Los Angeles Sparks in 2024 WNBA Draft
Former Tennessee star Rickea Jackson is now a Los Angeles Spark after the franchise selected her No. 4 overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft on Monday.
Jackson, speaking with Holly Rowe of ESPN, gave a shout out to her family for helping her get to this point.
“My family is the reason why I’m here,” Jackson said. “I do everything for them. If it wasn’t for my brothers, I wouldn’t have even picked up a basketball. My mom instilled greatness and knowledge and always keeping God number one — that just really made me into the person I am today.”
Jackson played five total seasons of college basketball and was a difference-maker all five years. She led the SEC in scoring this past season, averaging 20.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, while leading Tennessee to a 20-13 (10-6) record.
Jackson started her college career at Mississippi State, playing three seasons with the Bulldogs. She led Mississippi State in scoring all three years, including as a freshman when she put up 15.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.
Jackson’s production dipped slightly to 14.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game as a sophomore in 2020-21, before she bounced back with an incredible junior season, before entering the transfer portal.
During her final year at Mississippi State, Jackson led the SEC in scoring for the first time in her career, averaging 20.3 points and 6.8 rebounds. However, after 15 games that season, she decided to enter the portal.
Rickea Jackson following in footsteps of Candace Parker
Jackson spent the 2022-23 season at Tennessee and was a lethal scorer for the Vols. She averaged 19.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in only 28 minutes per night. She opted to use her COVID year and play in 2023-24 as she once again led the SEC in scoring.
Over the course of her college career, Jackson averaged 17.8 points per game across five seasons. She appeared in 127 games, making 106 starts.
Jackson now follows in the footsteps of another former Tennessee star in Candace Parker. Like Jackson, Parker was taken in the first round of the WNBA Draft back in 2008. Jackson spoke on what it means to be mentioned in the same sentence as Parker, the two-time WNBA MVP.
“It means a lot,” Jackson said. “You know, Candace went to Tennessee, was at L.A. and to even be in that conversation is just crazy in itself. So, you know I just think it’s pretty cool.