Jones signs with Howard College

Navasota High School student-athlete Jakayla Jones signed a national letter of intent Tuesday, April 27 with Howard College to play basketball. The six-foot post player will receive a full athletic scholarship which includes tuition, fees, books, and room and board for the next two years.

Howard College, located in Big Spring, Texas, competes in the Western Texas Junior College Athletic Conference. Other members include Frank Phillips, Clarendon, South Plains, Midland, Western Texas and Odessa.

Jones is a multi-sport athlete who earned letters in volleyball, track and basketball. She was a four-year letter winner for Coach Tommy Gates and the Lady Rattler basketball team. Jones earned First-Team All-District honors all four years and was selected to the All-State team her junior and senior seasons by both the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches and Texas Girl’s Coaches Association. She was also selected to the TGCA All Star Legacy team this past March.

Jones received numerous other offers but said she chose Howard College because it was the right fit for her. “I enjoyed my visit to Big Spring,” said Jones. “It’s a good size community with over 28,000 people, so its big but not too big. The school is small, so the class sizes will be small. I liked the people and I was very comfortable with the basketball staff and the others I met while I visited. It will be a good fit for me.”

Howard College Head Coach John Ishee was elated to add Jones to the Lady Hawk roster. “Jakayla will be a real asset for our program,” explained Ishee. “She’s intelligent, a person of strong character, and a basketball player who is only going to improve and get better. She comes from a high school program that teaches toughness and discipline. Our program just got better by adding Jakayla.”