Jackie Young

Jackie Young grew up in Princeton, Indiana, and attended Princeton Community High School. Her high school career became one of the most statistically significant in Indiana basketball history. Over four seasons, Princeton posted a 97–9 record with Young, while she averaged 30.8 points, 10.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 3.5 steals per game. She shot 58.3% from the field, 38.2% from three-point range, and 85.8% from the free-throw line.

Young led Princeton to 53 consecutive wins and the 2015 Indiana Class 3A state championship. In the title game, she scored 36 points, setting the Class 3A final scoring record and the highest single-game total by a player in an Indiana girls’ basketball state title game since 1980. As a junior, she scored 1,003 points, setting the Indiana girls’ single-season scoring record and becoming one of the few players of either sex in the state to score 1,000 points in a season. As a senior, she averaged 34.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 3.8 steals while leading Princeton to a 27–1 record.

Her high school recognition included 2016 Naismith National Player of the Year, McDonald’s All-American, Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year, IBCA Senior Supreme All-State, IndyStar Miss Basketball, and four all-state selections. She was ranked among the top recruits in the country before joining the University of Notre Dame.

Young played three seasons at Notre Dame from 2016 to 2019. As a freshman, she was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team after averaging 7.3 points and 4.6 rebounds. She moved into a larger role as a sophomore in 2017–18, starting all 38 games and averaging 14.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 3.7 assists. During Notre Dame’s 2018 NCAA title run, she averaged 16.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in the tournament. In the national semifinal against UConn, she scored 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, tying one of the highest scoring marks by a Notre Dame player in an NCAA Tournament game. In the national championship against Mississippi State, she hit the game-tying jumper late in the fourth quarter and made the steal that led to Arike Ogunbowale’s winning shot.

As a junior in 2018–19, Young became one of Notre Dame’s most complete players. She averaged 14.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 5.1 assists, was named ACC Tournament MVP, Second-team All-ACC, AP Third Team All-American, and a Cheryl Miller Award finalist. She recorded two triple-doubles in the same season, becoming the first Notre Dame player to do so. She finished her Notre Dame career with averages of 12.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists over 109 games and helped the Fighting Irish reach back-to-back national championship games.

Young entered the 2019 WNBA Draft after her junior season and was selected first overall by the Las Vegas Aces. In her rookie season, she played point guard after primarily playing shooting guard in college. She averaged 6.6 points, 4.5 assists, and 3.3 rebounds and was named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team.

Her role expanded in the following seasons. In 2020, she averaged 11.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists. In 2021, she continued to develop as a scorer and finisher, averaging 12.2 points while improving her efficiency. Her breakthrough came in 2022, when she averaged 15.9 points, shot 43.1% from three-point range, was named a WNBA All-Star starter, won the WNBA Most Improved Player award, and helped the Aces win the franchise’s first WNBA championship.

In 2023, Young helped Las Vegas win a second straight WNBA championship. She averaged 17.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.8 assists while shooting 52.3% from the field and 44.9% from three-point range. She was named an All-Star starter and selected to the All-WNBA Second Team. In 2024, she remained a major part of the Aces’ core, averaging 15.8 points and a career-high 5.3 assists. In 2025, she won a third WNBA championship with Las Vegas, earned another All-Star selection, and was again named to the All-WNBA Second Team. By the end of the 2025 season, she had played seven WNBA seasons, all with the Aces, and averaged 14.0 points, 4.2 assists, and 4.1 rebounds for her career.

Young has also played overseas. She joined Elazığ in Türkiye in 2020, but her stint was limited by the cancellation of the league during the COVID-19 pandemic. She later played for A.S. Ramat Hasharon in Israel and Perth Lynx in Australia. With Perth during the 2021–22 WNBL season, she became one of the team’s leading players, helped the Lynx reach the finals, was named Perth Lynx MVP, and finished as runner-up for the league MVP award.

Jackie Young has represented the United States in both 3x3 and 5x5 basketball. Her first major senior international achievement came at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, held in 2021, where she was named to the U.S. Olympic 3x3 women’s basketball team. The United States went 8–1 and won the first Olympic gold medal awarded in women’s 3x3 basketball. Young averaged 2.0 points and 2.6 rebounds during the tournament.

Young later became part of the United States women’s 5x5 national team programme. She was invited to national team training camps and exhibition games before being named to the 2024 USA Women’s National Team. She played in the 2024 Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Antwerp, Belgium, where the United States went 3–0. At the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Young helped the United States win its eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal in women’s basketball. She averaged 9.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and a team-high-tying 1.5 steals in 19.2 minutes per game while starting four of six games.

In 2026, Young was part of the USA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Team. She helped the United States finish 5–0 while averaging 7.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in five games. Her international record includes Olympic gold in both 3x3 and 5x5 basketball, national-team training camp participation, and World Cup qualifying experience.

Jackie Young plays as a guard and has experience at both point guard and shooting guard. At 6 ft 0 in, she combines size for her position with scoring efficiency, passing, rebounding, and defensive versatility. Her best WNBA seasons have shown improvement as a three-point shooter, mid-range scorer, playmaker, and transition threat. She is also used as a defensive guard capable of pressuring ballhandlers and switching across perimeter assignments.

Jackie Young was born in Princeton, Indiana, and is the daughter of Linda Young and David Wayne Edwards Sr. She also has a brother, David Wayne Edwards Jr., who played football at the University of Nebraska. Young’s athletic background is connected to her family, as her father was also noted as a high school basketball and track athlete.

She attended Princeton Community High School before moving to Notre Dame, where she played three seasons of college basketball. Outside basketball, she has taken on commercial and community-facing roles, including serving as a spokesperson for Towbin Auto Group in Southern Nevada. Her public profile is closely tied to her career with the Las Vegas Aces and her achievements with USA Basketball.

Jackie Young’s legacy is still developing, but her career already includes achievements at every major level of the sport. In high school, she became Indiana’s all-time leading scorer across girls’ and boys’ basketball. At Notre Dame, she helped win the 2018 NCAA championship and reach another national title game in 2019. In the WNBA, she became a No. 1 overall draft pick, All-Rookie selection, Most Improved Player, All-Star, All-WNBA player, and three-time champion with the Las Vegas Aces.

Her international career adds further distinction because she has won Olympic gold in both 3x3 and 5x5 basketball. Young’s development from a scoring high school guard into a two-way professional contributor reflects one of the more complete career arcs among modern American guards. Her role in the Aces’ championship era places her among the central players in one of the WNBA’s strongest team runs of the 2020s.

Jackie Young’s high school awards include 2016 Naismith National Player of the Year, 2016 McDonald’s All-American, 2016 Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year, 2016 IBCA Senior Supreme All-State, 2016 IndyStar Miss Basketball, and four all-state selections. She also finished as the leading scorer in Indiana high school basketball history with 3,268 points.

At Notre Dame, she won the 2018 NCAA championship and helped the Fighting Irish reach the 2019 national championship game. Her college honours included ACC All-Freshman Team in 2017, All-ACC Honorable Mention in 2018, ACC Tournament MVP in 2019, Second-team All-ACC in 2019, AP Third Team All-American in 2019, and Cheryl Miller Award finalist recognition.

In the WNBA, Young was selected first overall by the Las Vegas Aces in the 2019 WNBA Draft and was named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team that season. She won the WNBA Most Improved Player award in 2022, became a four-time WNBA All-Star from 2022 to 2025, earned All-WNBA Second Team honours in 2023 and 2025, won the Commissioner’s Cup in 2022, and helped the Aces win WNBA championships in 2022, 2023, and 2025.

Internationally, Young won Olympic gold with the United States in 3x3 basketball at Tokyo 2020 and in 5x5 basketball at Paris 2024. She also helped the United States go undefeated at the 2024 Olympic Qualifying Tournament and the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament. Overseas, she was named to the All-WNBL First Team and was Perth Lynx MVP during the 2021–22 season.

Jackie Young is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). Born on September 16, 1997, in Princeton, Indiana, she became one of the most accomplished high school players in Indiana basketball history before building a championship career at Notre Dame and in the WNBA. Young plays primarily as a guard and has been used at both point guard and shooting guard, combining scoring, passing, rebounding, and defensive versatility.

Young attended Princeton Community High School, where she finished as the leading scorer in Indiana high school basketball history, across girls’ and boys’ basketball, with 3,268 points. She led Princeton to a 53-game winning streak and the 2015 Indiana Class 3A state championship. Her high school honours included Naismith National Player of the Year, Indiana Miss Basketball, Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year, and McDonald’s All-American.

At Notre Dame, Young helped the Fighting Irish reach two NCAA championship games and win the 2018 national title. She left college after three seasons and was selected first overall by the Las Vegas Aces in the 2019 WNBA Draft. With the Aces, she became a WNBA All-Rookie selection, WNBA Most Improved Player, multiple-time All-Star, All-WNBA Second Team player, and three-time WNBA champion. Internationally, she won Olympic gold medals with the United States in 3x3 basketball at Tokyo 2020 and 5x5 basketball at Paris 2024.