Schaefer And Co. Ink One Of Nation’s Top Classes
November 16, 2018 | Women's Basketball
By Brock Turnipseed, Associate Director/Communications
STARKVILLE – Back-to-back trips to the NCAA national championship game proved to be very beneficial to Vic Schaefer and Co. as the Mississippi State women's basketball team landed five of the nation's top players this week.
The reigning Naismith National Coach of the Year and his staff – Johnnie Harris, the 2018 WBCA Assistant Coach of the Year, Dionnah Jackson-Durrett, and Elena Lovato, opened the early signing period by inking five Top 100 players, including three of the country's premier guards and a pair of the nation's top forwards.
Mississippi State landed the highest-ranked player in program history in Michigan's Rickea Jackson. The Bulldog staff also went up to Tennessee to notch guard Jayla Hemingway and forward Esmery Martinez, a Dominican Republic native playing for Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga. It went to the nation's capital to haul in guard Aliyah Matharu, and Louisiana to sign guard JaMya Mingo-Young.
"This class is special!" Schaefer said of the five standouts. "Not only is it highly ranked and will allow us to continue to compete for championships, but these student-athletes will impact our University, our community and our state in many different ways.
"I want to thank my staff — Johnnie (Harris), Dionnah (Jackson-Durrett) and Elena (Lovato) for their tireless efforts in securing yet another Top 10 recruiting class. We appreciate so much the trust and confidence given to us by the families of these student-athletes."
Jayla Hemingway – Guard, 5-11, Collierville, Tenn. (Houston High School)
Jayla Hemingway received four star from ESPN, ranking 88th nationally and 24th at her position. Prospects Nation tabbed her No. 19 nationally, giving her four-and-a-half stars as the No. 3 wing in the Class of 2019. She was rated No. 87 overall, the 26th-best guard, by Collegiate Girls Basketball Report.
Hemingway inked with the Bulldogs after averaging 21.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.5 steals and 1.9 assists last season in leading Houston High School in Collierville, Tennessee, to a runner-up finish in the Class AAA state tournament. She shot 49 percent from the floor in guiding the Mustangs to a 28-6 record.
"Jayla plays the game extremely hard," Schaefer said. "I love her toughness, and she competes on every possession and rebounds the basketball extremely hard. We are really excited to have a player like Jayla joining our program. She reminds me so much of Dominique Dillingham from a competitive and toughness standpoint."
Hemingway, who enters her senior campaign closing in on 2,000-career points, was named to the Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Watch List for the 2018-19 season.
"I have an amazing relationship with the coaching staff," Hemingway said. "The style of play was a perfect fit for me and how I like to play. I also fell in love with the family atmosphere at MSU. I love to win. If you need me to go and score, I can do that. If you need me to guard the best player, I can do that as well. I believe my high motor, toughness, competitiveness and all-around basketball talent is what made Coach Schaefer offer me in the first place. I hope to have an opportunity to immediately contribute at the highest level."
Hemingway was named TSWAA All-State in 2017 and 2018. She was one of five nominees for the Commercial Appeal Sports Award Player of the Year for the third -straight year, and was Tennessee's Miss Basketball finalist a year ago.
The Commercial Appeal All-Metro First Team selection was also named to the 15AAA District All-Tournament Team in 2018.
Rickea Jackson – Guard/Forward, 6-2, Detroit, Mich. (Detroit Edison Public Academy)
With Rickea Jackson's signing, the Bulldogs landed the No. 3 player in the nation and No. 2 wing by Prospects Nation. ESPN rates the Detroit, Michigan, native the No. 9 player in the nation and second-best wing prospect.
Prior to her senior season, Jackson, the top player in Michigan, was named to the Naismith Trophy Watch List for the nation's top high school player along with fellow signee Jayla Hemingway.
"Rickea is one of the elite players in the country, a Top 10 player," Schaefer said. "Rickea has the skill set to do it all. She is going to be fun to watch. Not only is Rickea very talented, but she is just a special kid who is driven. We are very excited about what Rickea has the ability to do for our program here at State. She is going to impact it in so many different ways, and she is going to make everyone around her better because she is going to draw a lot of attention. She was the Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year last year, and she will have a chance to be the National Player of the Year this season."
Jackson earned the honor following a junior season that saw her average 21.9 points, 10.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.6 blocks per game in guiding Detroit Edison Public School Academy to a 24-1 record and a second-straight Michigan Class C state title.
Jackson, who tallied a combined 41 points and 17 rebounds in the state semifinal and championship games, was named Michigan's Gatorade Player of the Year and the 2018 Associated Press Michigan Class C Player of the Year. She was also tabbed to the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan (BCAM) Best of the Best All-State for the third-straight year.
"The family atmosphere is what really pushed me towards Mississippi State," Jackson said. "It was just an absolute feeling that I had received. When I came on my official visit, I had this feeling in my gut that this was the place for me. I held back on saying so because I wanted to give every school the same opportunity. When I returned on an unofficial visit, I knew for sure this was home and I had to say something."
Her standout 2018 season earned her MaxPreps Second Team All-America accolades, and she was also named to the Detroit News Dream Team.
As a sophomore she tallied 17.3 ppg, 10.2 rpg and 3.1 bpg to guide Edison to the first of back-to-back Class C state titles. Jackson was named BCAM First Team All-State and AP Class C All-State Second Team.
"My game will help the program in many different ways because I can stretch the floor and I am also a high-energy player. I love to have fun on the court even though most people cannot tell because I have the same face mostly throughout the whole game," Jackson said laughingly. "My mindset throughout the game is to win and nothing less. Offensively and defensively, I bring excitement and am a great teammate, especially when it comes to helping someone understand or improve something."
She was a fourth team all-state selection by the BCAM as a freshman after tallying 24.1 ppg and 8.3 rpg.
Like fellow signees JaMya Mingo-Young and Esmery Martinez, Jackson also has international basketball experience. She was named a finalist for the 2018 USA Basketball Women's U17 World Cup Team, a year after she was selected for the USA U16 National Team Trials.
Esmery Martinez – Forward, 6-1, Chattanooga, Tenn. (Hamilton Heights)
Forward Esmery Martinez joins MSU's front court after she wraps her final campaign at national powerhouse Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The 6-foot-1 Martinez is rated 49th nationally by espnW, including the country's eighth-best post prospect. She is tabbed No. 25 by All-Star Girls Report and 16th at her position by the Collegiate Girls Basketball Report.
"Esmery is a very talented four-player that can really stretch the floor," Schaefer said. "She actually plays two-guard on her national team, and we are hoping that she can really be a big guard for us before she leaves here. She will be just a tremendous stretch four for us when she gets here because she plays the game extremely hard. She is going to be coming off a knee surgery and we hate that for her. But we know that she is going to work extremely hard to get back."
Martinez has been a solid contributor for Keisha Hunt's Hamilton Heights program, averaging 18.3 ppg, 14.3 rpg and 5.9 bpg in her career.
"I wanted to become a Bulldog because I like the family atmosphere and want to play for Coach Schaefer," Martinez said. "I feel my energy and intensity will help the program. Mississippi State is a program of winners, and that's what I do best!"
Martinez, who averaged nearly nine rebounds per game as a junior, helped lead her team to a runner-up finish in the 2018 Geico High School Nationals Tournament. She was named to the all-tournament team after tallying 17 points and 18 rebounds in a semifinal win against Florida 8A champion Winter Park.
Martinez also has international basketball experience, logging minutes for the Dominican Republic's junior national team. In the 2018 FIBA Caribbean Women's Championship, Martinez averaged 8.8 points and 5.3 rebounds while representing her home country
She was also tabbed the girls' overall camp MVP of the Basketball Without Borders Americas 2017.
Aliyah Matharu – Guard, 5-7, Washington, D.C. (Bishop McNamara High School)
Aliyah Matharu, a three-star combo guard by ESPN and four-star recruit by Prospects Nation, enters her senior season rated 66th nationally by ASGR and 27th at her position by ESPN.
Max Preps tabs the three-star combo guard the sixth-best player in the state of Maryland after averaging 17.3 points in her heralded prep career for Bishop McNamara High School.
"Aliyah is a player who can score at all three levels," Schaefer said. "She can be that combo guard that we have been missing here for a while. Aliyah can finish at the rim contested, she has a mid-range game and she can stretch you. What is impressive about Aliyah is that she has a great offensive mindset and a tremendous skillset offensively. We are so excited to be adding a player like Aliyah who can score the basketball and has a great competitive spirit."
Matharu earned First Team Washington Catholic Athletic Conference All-League honors following a standout 2017-18 season that saw her help the Mustangs to a 21-7 record.
As a junior, Matharu averaged 18.3 ppg and made 46 3-pointers.
"Everyone [at Mississippi State] was so positive, and they made me feel like they would fully support me the most to guide me successfully through my major," Matharu said. "Since I started playing basketball, I've been dreaming of winning as many championships as possible, and I feel like here at State I have a high possibility of making that dream come true.
"The speed that I play combined with the tempo and the pressure defense they already play, that's what I want to be a part of."
She exploded onto the scene as a freshman, taking Forestville High School to the Maryland 1A state championship and averaging 13.9 ppg, 2.7 apg and 2.1 spg.
JaMya Mingo-Young – Guard, 5-7, Bogalusa, La. (Loranger High School)
JaMya Mingo-Young emerged as one of the top players in Louisiana, being named 3A Player of the Year.
A four-star prospect, she is currently listed as the No. 39 prospect overall by HoopGurlz as she returns from injuries that derailed her freshman and sophomore seasons.
The Loranger High School standout is also Top 100 overall and the country's 22nd best guard by ESPN, and 70th overall in the 2019 class by All-Star Girls Report.
"JaMya is another talented player who has experience with USA Basketball that we are excited to have joining our program," Schaefer said. "I know that she will have another great year and will be a candidate for player of the year in the state of Louisiana again. Last year she was coming off a knee injury, and she still had a great year and led her team to a state championship. That shows just how tough of a player she is. What impressed us about JaMya was how competitive and skilled she is as a player."
Mingo-Young bounced back from injury last season and earned Louisiana Sports Writers' Association (LSWA) 3A All-State accolades after guiding her team to the Class 3A state championship.
She was stellar on the court in 2017-18, averaging 21.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists.
"Mississippi State has one of the best programs and fan bases in the country, and I wanted to be part of that," Mingo-Young said. "The coaches are great and I just felt at home. I feel like my game could help us compete for more championships."
The Bogalusa, Louisiana, native had the opportunity last May to attend USA Basketball U17 national team camp in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
