Jaz Shelley headed to University of Oregon
Jaz Shelley has chosen the path she will be pursuing for the next four years, committing to the University of Oregon.
Along with her parents, Caz and Phil, Jaz has recently returned from a whirlwind tour to the USA, partaking in official visits at the University of Nebraska, Oregon State University and the University of Oregon, ultimately deciding that the University of Oregon was the best fit for her moving forwards.
Shelley, fresh off of her Southern Peninsula Senior Women’s MVP and Defensive Player of The Year awards, along with winning the entire league’s Golden Hands (Assists plus steals, minus turnovers) and being named in the All Star 5, joins fellow Southern Peninsula players; Ella Hellessey, Eliza West, Grace McRae, Abbey Noblett, Alysha Marcucci and Courtney Middap in the NCAA Division 1 Women’s competition.
The University of Oregon is one of the most highly respected Women’s Basketball programs in the United States of America. For the last two seasons, the “Ducks” have made it to the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament before being knocked out each year by the Countries #1 ranked team.
Jaz could not contain her excitement since making her decision “Oregon just felt right; I feel they have a culture and environment where I can continue to be challenged on and off of the court”. Jaz continued “Oregon have also recruited some incredibly talented European players, so it’s a really international team and we all just got along so well”.
UO have some of the most talented players in College Basketball, however, most noticeably, Jaz will have the opportunity to go head to head daily and learn from Sabrina Ionescu. Ionescu has an incredible resume including; National Point Guard of the Year and Pac-12 Player of the Year in 2017-18. With ten career triple doubles to her name, the most ever in NCAA Women’s history, Sabrina can do it all and will be able to provide Jaz with some invaluable learning and development opportunities. Shelley noted that Sabrina was a contributor to her decision to commit to Oregon, “the opportunity to play, train with, and be mentored by the best guard in the country was a key factor for me, which I think will help take my game to the next level”.
Jaz will depart for UO in 2019, providing herself the opportunity to get ahead with her studies before her Basketball commitments kick into full gear for the 2019-2020 NCAA season.
There could not be enough thanks from Jaz for her time at Southern Peninsula, “I’m just really thankful to the Sharks family for the ongoing support through my Basketball journey so far, and I am looking forwards to the next chapter”.
The Southern Peninsula Basketball Association would like to congratulate Jaz and her entire family; Mum Caz, Dad Phil, Sister Sam and Brothers Luke and Austin. We wish Jaz the very best of luck with the next chapter of not just her Basketball career but her life. Fingers crossed we may see her Oregon Ducks face one of her fellow Southern Peninsula Sharks during non-conference play.