KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee women’s basketball head coach Kellie Harper confirmed Wednesday that she has received SEC Grants-in-Aid (GIA) and Institutional Financial Aid Agreements (IFAA) from highly-touted incoming transfers Rickea Jackson from Mississippi State University and Jasmine Powell from the University of Minnesota.
Jackson, a 6-foot-2 senior forward, and Powell, a 5-6 senior point guard, both hail from Detroit, Michigan, and made their decisions public via social media on March 2 and March 24, respectively. The graduates of Detroit Edison Public School Academy and Detroit Country Day School, respectively, will have two seasons of collegiate eligibility remaining, including the NCAA’s exempted season granted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jackson earned WBCA All-America Honorable Mention in 2020 and 2021 and All-SEC Second Team and SEC All-Freshman accolades in 2020. Powell made the All-Big Ten Second Team in 2021 as well as All-Big Ten Honorable Mention and All-Freshman in 2020.
Their additions push UT’s total of players from Michigan on the roster to three in combination with graduate guard Jordan Walker of Muskegon. It’s the most players from “The Mitten” with the Lady Vols since UT had three in 1992 and four from 1989-91, with the collection of players arriving via the “Michigan Pipeline” and helping UT win NCAA titles in 1987, 1989 and 1991. Among that group were Tonya Edwards (Flint, 1986-90), Daedra Charles (Detroit, 1988-91), Dena Head (Canton, 1988-92), Regina Clark (Saginaw, 1988-92) and Peggy Evans (Detroit, 1990-93).
“I am thrilled to welcome Rickea and Jasmine to our Lady Vol family,” Harper said. “I’m excited about Jasmine’s ability to create scoring opportunities for herself and teammates both in transition and in the half court. The versatility, skill set and size that Rickea has will allow her to be aggressive and make plays from multiple positions.
“We are excited to add all of our newcomers with our returning players and begin preparation for the 2022-23 season. I look forward to coaching them and seeing what we can all build together.”
Averaging a team-leading 20.3 points per game and adding 6.8 rebounds per contest in 15 starts for MSU in 2021-22, Jackson also averaged 1.5 blocks and 1.1 assists per game and shot 41 percent from the field, 24 percent on threes and 73 percent at the free-throw line. She tallied two double-doubles, eight games of 20 points or more, two games of 10+ boards and 14 out of 15 contests played with double-figure point totals.
During her career in Starkville, Jackson averaged 16.2 points and 5.3 boards while shooting 45 percent from the field, 30 percent on threes and 68 percent from the charity stripe. She started 58 of 67 contests, scoring in double figures 52 times, tallying 19 games of 20+ points (including three at 30+ and one at 40+) and six double-doubles. She went over 1,000 career points in the Jackson State game on Dec. 19, 2021, and finished the 2021-22 campaign with 1,085.
As a sophomore, Jackson averaged 14.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game, starting in 16 of State’s 19 contests. She entered the 2020-21 campaign tabbed to national player of the year watch lists for the Naismith Trophy, Wade Trophy and Wooden Award and was ranked as the No. 13 player in the country by ESPN before the season. Additionally, she was named a top-10 finalist for the Cheryl Miller Award after leading the team in scoring for the second straight year and posting double figures in 15 games.
In her freshman season, Jackson was named All-SEC Second Team and earned a spot on the SEC All-Freshman Team after ranking fifth among all players at 16.5 ppg. and eighth in field goal percentage (.480) during conference play. She was the only freshman that ranked inside the top 10 in both categories. She was a three-time recipient of SEC Freshman of the Week accolades and earned a spot on the SEC All-Tournament Team after averaging 20.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game in that event and earlier in the year was named the MVP of the Duel in the Desert tourney.
Powell, meanwhile, averaged 12.4 points, 5.7 assists and 4.4 rebounds in 2021-22, starting 18 of 19 games as a junior. She led the Gophers in assists per game and was second in points and rebounds per contest. She hit 23 three-point field goals and connected on 77 percent of her free-throw attempts.
For her career, Powell put up 12.8 points, 4.4 assists and 3.8 rebounds while starting 48 of 68 games, including 36 of 37 over the past two seasons. She shot 35 percent from the field, 33 percent on three-pointers and 76 percent at the free-throw line and recorded 44 games in double figures and nine with 20 points or more.
Powell was named second-team All-Big 10 in 2020-21 by the coaches and honorable mention by the media after tallying 14.5 ppg., 5.4 apg. and 4.6 rpg. in 31 contests as a junior while starting 12. That assist average ranked No. 3 in the league and 18th nationally.
She garnered consensus All-Big Ten Honorable Mention and Big Ten All-Freshman Team status in 2019-20 after producing 12.1 ppg., 3.1 apg. and 3.1 rpg. Powell led all Big Ten freshmen in points per game (12.1) and free throw percentage (.756) and also topped B1G freshmen in scoring in conference games only (13.1).
Off the court, the prospective journalism major was voted to the 2021 CoSIDA Academic All-District Team and was named Academic All-Big Ten as a sophomore.
Coming out of high school, both players were highly regarded. Jackson was a McDonald’s All-American who was ranked No. 5 overall and No. 2 among wings by espnW HoopGurlz. She led Edison to three state titles and left as the school’s all-time leading scorer. She will join rising senior Jordan Horston and incoming freshman Justine Pissott to give UT three McDonald’s All-Americans on the 2022-23 roster.
Powell, meanwhile, was a four-star prospect and the nation’s No. 78 ranked recruit overall by espnW HoopGurlz. The three-time all-state honoree led Country Day to back-to-back Michigan state titles in 2017 and 2018.
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-UT Athletics
