Jackson becomes fourth consecutive Lady Vols selected in first round
The Los Angeles Sparks didn’t wait long to take Rickea Jackson off the board, taking the former Lady Vol forward with the fourth pick of the 2024 WNBA Draft
Jackson became the fourth consecutive Tennessee player to be taken in the first round following Rennia Davis in 2021, Rae Burrell in 2022 and Jordan Horston in 2023 to set a school record. Horston earned a spot in the WNBA All-Rookie Team in her debut season in the WNBA. Jackson will join Burrell in Los Angeles.
The 6-2 forward from Detroit played her final two college seasons at Tennessee after transferring from Mississippi State. She finished as the official SEC leader in scoring in 2023-24 at 20.2 points per game and averaged 8.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Jackson shot 48.5 percent from the field and 78.0 percent from the free throw line after missing eight games early in the season due to a lower leg injury.
The fans are LOVIN’ it!@iamthathooper signing autographs as we inch closer to the 2024 #WNBADraft presented by @StateFarm pic.twitter.com/rDzVKiAzKS— WNBA (@WNBA) April 15, 2024
Jackson finished her college career with 2,261 points in 127 games to claim the No. 6 spot at Tennessee, including transfers. In 2023-24, she passed Tamika Catchings (2,113 points in 127 games) and Candace Parker (2,137 in 110 games) – had Parker played four seasons she likely would have claimed the all-time spot – and finished behind only Cindy Brogdon (3,204), Chamique Holdsclaw (3,025), Jill Rankin (2,851), Bridgette Gordon (2,462) and Patricia Roberts (2,447).
This article originates on GoVols247.
LSU football’s Brian Kelly firing puts Tigers’ 2026 recruiting class in jeopardy: Can Frank Wilson salvage it?
LSU football recruiting was sliding under Brian Kelly, whom the Tigers fired Sunday after a 49-25 loss to Texas A&M, but the 2026 class still has potential with a pair of five-star commits. How did the program get here? Does interim coach Frank Wilson have a shot at keeping it together? Sources explained to 247Sports.
The remarkably fluid world of college football has produced another significant wave with Sunday’s news that Brian Kelly has coached his last game at LSU.
On-field results ultimately led to the abrupt breakup, yet that downward trajectory also reflected on the recruiting trail where a lot of the shine that Kelly generated upon his arrival in November 2021 had begun to rust.
The Tigers’ high school recruiting gradually declined in each of Kelly’s four cycles — from a glistening No. 5 national ranking in the inaugural 2023 class to No. 7 (2024), No. 10 (2025) and a current No. 11 standing for 2026 with just more than a month remaining until the Early Signing Period.
Transfer portal reliance was a major component, just like it has been for so many other national programs. LSU has never been lower than No. 8 in the Team Talent Composite era.
Considering how things were trending in high school recruiting, though, Kelly was in danger of dipping into uncharted depths from a roster standpoint.
Nonetheless, the current recruiting class could still be an integral foundation for the next staff.
The Tigers’ quantity might not match what other blue-blood programs have accumulated in the 2026 cycle, yet 14 of their 16 commitments are rated with four stars or more, qualifying them as true blue-chippers.
Baton Rouge (La.) University Lab five-star Lamar Brown (No. 5 overall, No. 1 defensive lineman), Pensacola (Fla.) Pine Forest five-star edge rusher Trenton Henderson (No. 29 overall, No. 5 edge rusher) and New Orleans Edna Karr four-star defensive lineman Richard Anderson (No. 64 overall, No. 7 defensive lineman) headline LSU’s 2026 recruiting class.
Can this incoming class be salvaged?
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