Rickea Jackson came off the board quickly at the 2024 WNBA draft in Brooklyn, New York, much to the delight of her former teammates and the organization that selected the Lady Vols forward with the fourth pick.
A video clip of the Los Angeles Sparks watching the draft showed the team's reaction to Jackson's name being said by WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, known as BAM, on Monday night. Former Lady Vol Rae Burrell, who was drafted in the first round by the Sparks in 2022, and former South Carolina player Zia Cooke, a childhood friend of Jackson's who was drafted by the Sparks in the first round in 2023, were smiling and celebrating in the video.
The Sparks were hype about No. 4! ? pic.twitter.com/zCPEFFDauu
— Los Angeles Sparks (@LASparks) April 16, 2024
"I'm so excited to play with Zia. It's so full circle," Jackson said. "We grew up knowing each other. We played AAU together. We live like an hour away from each other. That's my best friend, so we're still really close.
"I feel like basketball is always bringing us back together in the craziest ways. We took our four visits together coming out of high school. I'm so excited to play with my girl. I feel like this is just going to reconnect us on that deep level again."
Jackson became the fourth consecutive Tennessee player to be taken in the first round following Rennia Davis in 2021, Burrell in 2022 and Jordan Horston in 2023 to set a school record. Horston earned a spot on the WNBA All-Rookie Team in her debut season in the WNBA.
Four straight first-round picks for the first time in @LadyVol_Hoops history ?? pic.twitter.com/Uov142BFxq
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) April 16, 2024
Jackson had been projected as the No. 3 pick by Chicago, but when the Sky took South Carolina center Kamilla Cardoso, it opened the door for Jackson to land on the West Coast.
"I'm definitely excited," Jackson said. "I'm just grateful that L.A. believed in me. They see something in me, and I see something in them, too. I had great talks with them prior to the draft, so I'm just grateful for it all."
Jackson, a 6-2 forward who can score inside and out, has a pro-ready game. She also is ready for the bright lights and star power of Los Angeles, and the Sparks noted her outfit change at the draft on the team's social media.
It's the outfit change for us. ? @iamthathooper x #WNBADraft pic.twitter.com/SdRXW9XlIg
— Los Angeles Sparks (@LASparks) April 16, 2024
"Rickea Jackson is a competitor that will complement our quick style of play very well," said Raegan Pebley, the general manager of the Sparks. "She proved herself as a leader and go-to scorer on her team at Tennessee and led multiple categories in the SEC. Rickea has so much versatility in how she can score and who she can defend. We are excited about the potential she brings with her to become a dynamic player on both ends of the floor."
The 6-2 forward from Detroit played her final two college seasons at Tennessee after transferring from Mississippi State and 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. The Sparks had scouts at Tennessee games in Knoxville on three occasions.
"Playing at Tennessee and Mississippi State, it's prepared me for this moment because life is just trials and tribulations, how you get through those, and I feel like I've overcome a lot of adversity," Jackson said. "I've continued to stay strong, and that's what got me to where I am today."
Jackson missed eight games early in the 2023-24 season with a lower left leg injury that required rest to recover and then she had to ease back into action. She returned in late December and helped lead the Lady Vols to a tie for fourth place in the SEC and hit the go-ahead basket against South Carolina in the SEC tourney before Cardoso won the game on a three-pointer at the buzzer. The Gameco*cks finished the season undefeated and won a national title. Jackson posted 33 points and 10 rebounds in her final game at Tennessee against NC State in the second round of the NCAA tourney.
"I just want to work on getting in tip-top shape after the injury," Jackson said. "My conditioning was in the game trying to get back. I feel like when I'm in tip-top shape, world-class shape, that's when I'm playing my best both ends of the floor."
A dream come true ? pic.twitter.com/Su7ZHQKeTB
— Lady Vols Basketball (@LadyVol_Hoops) April 16, 2024
The Sparks took Stanford center Cameron Brink with the No. 2 pick – as expected Iowa's Caitlin Clark went No. 1 to Indiana – so Jackson will have another first round rookie in training camp. Pebley said the organization's first round picks are foundational players.
"I'm honored, honestly, that she said something like that about Cam and I," Jackson said. "I feel like what Cam and I bring is foundational. I feel like we're willing to put in the work. We're willing to do whatever as rookies. I'm just excited to get started."
Jackson became the 19th all-time Lady Vol basketball player selected in the first round of the WNBA draft. Overall, Tennessee now has had 44 players taken by the WNBA in college drafts and 46 total including elite drafts, which had allowed teams to pick players that had already graduated from college and gone on to play professionally in the United States or overseas.
— Lady Vols Basketball (@LadyVol_Hoops) April 16, 2024Sending all the love from Knoxville ?
Couldn’t be prouder of @iamthathooper!! pic.twitter.com/9V5QBM6073
The names include Daedra Charles, Bridgette Gordon, Tamika Catchings, Diamond DeShields, Candace Parker and Alexis Hornbuckle.
"To be in the conversation with those greats is so crazy and mind blowing to me," Jackson said. "I'm just grateful to have Candace come to our games sometimes, have Tamika Catchings, have Jordan Horston in my ear, and they continue to support me. Jordan texted me how much she was proud of me, texted me a little bit about the process.
"Tamika and I speak every now and then. She's always pouring into me. I just call her my big sister. Just to have that contact with a Tamika Catchings, it's like, whoa. She doesn't even know it, but when she came to our practice and she was acting like she knew me, you don't even know but I was over here like, 'Girl, you're Tamika Catchings.' That was pretty cool to experience, though."
Rickea Jackson
