Kionna Jeter to forgo final year of eligibility with Towson women’s basketball to enter WNBA draft

Kionna Jeter, the first player in Towson women’s basketball history to earn All-Colonial Athletic Association first-team status in each of the three seasons she played for the program, will forgo her final year of eligibility and make herself available for the WNBA draft.

The redshirt senior shooting guard made her announcement on social media Tuesday afternoon, thanking the Tigers for continuing to recruit her even after she was struck by two bullets on Feb. 3, 2018, in her hometown of Spartanburg, South Carolina, to attend her uncle Quincy’s funeral.

“Thank you for gambling and taking a shot on me when I needed it most,” Jeter wrote. “Thank you for allowing me to jump to the highest of heights and being here for me every step on the way. To my teammates, I love you all to death. Thank you for pushing me, seeing things in me that I couldn’t see in myself. I will forever be a Towson Tiger.

“A kid from Spartanburg, SC who has dreams of making out my environment,” she continued. “Life is everything that it is supposed to be. This is the life I was blessed with, I played the cards I’ve been dealt. Since 3 years old, I’ve dreamed of going to the big leagues. With that being said, I have chosen to give up my final year of eligibility and opt-in to the WNBA draft.”

Associate head coach Zach Kancher added his support for Jeter.

In just 83 games in three seasons, Jeter leaves the program as its No. 3 all-time leading scorer with 1,582 points, trailing only Shanae Baker-Brice (1,806 in 121 games from 2006 to 2010) and Tanisha McTiller (1,605 in 118 games from 2010 to 2014). At her career average of 19.1 points, Jeter would have needed only 12 more games to overtake Baker-Brice for the school record.

Jeter was the second player in coach Diane Richardson’s tenure to reach 1,000 points, achieving that level in 56 games through her first two years.

Jeter also ranks fourth in all-time steals with 237, trailing Shniece Perry (325 in 101 games from 1996 to 2000), Baker-Brice (295) and Alis Freeman (278 in 125 games from 2003 to 2009). At her career rate of 2.9 steals, Jeter would have needed 30 more games to challenge Perry for the all-time lead.

In 2018-19, her first season at Towson, Jeter led the team and the CAA in scoring at 17.3 points and totaled 572 points, which ranked as the second-highest amount in a single season. She propelled the program to its first CAA tournament championship and an appearance in the NCAA tournament where the Tigers fell, 110-61, to No. 1 seed Connecticut in the first round.