Olivia Jones, the No. 14 recruit in the girls' SC Next 100 class of 2026, has committed to the Vanderbilt women's basketball team, she announced Friday.
Jones is the highest-rated recruit and the first five-star to commit to coach Shea Ralph's program since No. 8 Mikayla Blakes in the class of 2024. Jones chose Vanderbilt over Miami, North Carolina and Maryland.
"I wanted a great education that also offered a great basketball program," Jones told ESPN. "I believe Coach Ralph and the Vanderbilt staff can prepare me to one day fulfill my dreams of becoming a professional athlete. Their staff is amazing and as I continued to get to know them more and more, I knew it was the place I needed to be."
A 5-foot-11 guard, Jones averaged 8 points, 3.8 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 2.2 steals for the gold-medal-winning Team USA at the U16 FIBA AmeriCup this summer. With her Nike EYBL squad Exodus, she filled the stat sheet on averages of 16 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2 assists per game, shooting 34% from the 3-point line.
She attends Long Island Lutheran, one of the top high school girls' basketball programs in the country. Other top recruits on the team's roster include Kentucky commits Savvy Swords (No. 19) and Emily McDonald (No. 23) and Duke commit Sanai Green (No. 25).
Jones plays a style similar to that of Blakes, who now is in her sophomore season at Vanderbilt. Both are quick off the dribble to the rim and can create their own offense, keeping the defense honest from deep. They can slide over and play some lead guard and are relentless defensively.
Jones will complement Blakes well for the couple of years they will play together interchangeably. They will create a higher pace of play and put pressure on opponents. When Jones arrives on campus next fall, she should have the opportunity to contribute right away as she will be one of the bigger guards on the roster.
Before landing Blakes, Vanderbilt had begun appearing on several high-profile recruits' final lists. Vandy is still in the mix for the No. 35 player in the country, Jhai Johnson, and four-star Sther Ubaka.