Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark dominated the WNBA Draft headlines, but there was another Angel who is the talk of the HBCU sports world. Jackson State center Angel Jackson was selected in the third round of the WNBA Draft by the Las Vegas Aces on Monday night.
She is the second player from Jackson State drafted in the last three drafts, following in the footsteps of Ameysha Williams-Holliday who was selected in the third round by the Indiana Fever in 2022.
Both players were coached by Tomekia Reed, who celebrated the moment via Twitter/X on Monday night.
“You have NO IDEA how proud I am!!!!” Reed tweeted. “Our 2nd player to get drafted!!! Angel I’m so very proud of you BABY!!!”
Reed’s assistant, LaShonda Cousin, was exuberant as well.
“Man so proud of you Angioooo!!! You’ve accomplished everything that you came to Jackson State to do!!! 2x DPOY, All-Conference, 2x Regular Season Champ, Conference Tournament Champ, NCAA Appearance, and now WNBA Draft Pick!!! Keep Shining, love you.
There were more than just Jackson State students, fans, and alumni cheering Angel Jackson on. HBCU supporters from all over celebrated her selection. She’s only the seventh player from an HBCU to be selected in the WNBA Draft. The full list is below.
1997 Denique Graves (Howard)
1998 Karen Wilkins (Howard)
2002 Jaclyn Winfield (Southern)
2002 Amba Kongolo (NCCU)
2002 Andrea Gardner (Howard)
2022 Ameshya Williams-Holiday (Jackson State)
2024 Angel Jackson (Jackson State)