Eisenhower center Jaeda Reed looks to pass during the 5A State tournament. The Texas State commit averaged 16 points and 10.7 rebounds per game this season.
The honors just keep coming for Jaeda Reed.
The Eisenhower star was named to the Oklahoma Coaches Association (OCA) All-State first team on April 12, adding yet another accomplishment to the senior’s already illustrious resume. It was the most recent of a slew of honors for Reed, who had already secured spots on other similar rosters.
Reed was also named to the OGBCA All-State first team, the Faith 7 team, The Oklahoman Class 5A All-State team, The Oklahoman ‘Super 5’ third team and the Tulsa World All-State honorable mention list.
Although Reed averaged 16.0 points, 10.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks her senior season, even she was surprised by all the recognition she has received this season.
“People will retweet it or share it, and I’ll be like, ‘Am I really in this?’” Reed said. “Then I look, and I’m like, ‘Oh, I am.’”
Of course, Reed didn’t just luck her way onto these rosters.
Under the watchful eye of Ike girls basketball coach Daniel Wall, Reed has experience steady growth in her skills over the past four years. Her points and rebounds per game jumped significantly from her junior year when she averaged 12.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks.
She has improved much more than only stats, though.
Reed has also noticed changes in areas that aren’t included on the box score, which she said has helped her utilize more of her 6-foot-2 frame.
“I feel as if I’ve come out of this comfort zone and have become less of a clumsy Jaeda by developing more skill in my footwork, balance wise,” Reed said. “It helped not just my stats, but also my game, such as my stamina getting up and down the court and contributing to the team.”
Those enhancements garnered her the attention of Texas State University, a Division I program.
The Bobcats were so interested in Reed’s abilities, they wasted little time producing her a scholarship offer.
Reed accepted the offer and is set to begin playing in San Marcos, Texas, later this year.
Wall said the agreement came nearly a quick as the offer.
“She did have some (Division II and NAIA) offers on the table, but it was too late,” Wall said. “Texas State got on her, they wanted her, and once they found out she was available, it was, ‘Bam, let’s sign her.”
Prior experience with the program played a major role in Reed’s decision process.
She participated in a basketball camp at the university last summer, and the more time Reed spent with the coaches and the players, the more she realized she had discovered her home for the next few years.
Reed said she thought feeling at home nearly seven hours away from immediate family and her two Shih tzu dogs, Smokey and Smoke, would be a daunting task, but Texas State gave her the comfort she sought, earning her trust in the process.
“When I was there, it just felt welcoming,” Reed said. “It just felt like they took me in as part of the team, and when I went on my official visit, they made it even more clear they were willing to take me in as their sister or their teammate.”
Reed said meeting new people is one of the most exciting aspects of moving so far from Lawton, where she has lived her entire life.
“I’ll miss it a lot, and i’ll het homesick,” Reed said. “It’s going to be weird going down there and not knowing anyone. When I’m in Lawton, I could just go somewhere random, and people will be like, ‘You’re Jaeda Reed! You’re the center for Eisenhower!’ And now going down there and nobody knowing me will be totally different.”
However, the vast number of leisure activities in the area will also make the transition easier.
“There’s a lot of shopping malls down there,” Reed said. “They also have a river that has a bridge over it that goes through the middle of campus, and everybody goes there for barbecues and just hanging out after class.”
Reed begins her journey in the Lone Star State during Fourth of July week before attending her freshman orientation and first team meeting of the season on July 6.
With the college experience beginning so early, Reed’s participation in the All-State games might be jeopardized.
The OGBCA game, scheduled for June 2 at Westmoore High, won’t present much of an obstacle, and neither will the Faith 7 Bowl, which will likely take place around the same time frame. The OCA game, however, presents more of a challenge thanks to its late date of July 26 at Oral Roberts University’s Mabee Center in Tulsa.
Reed is optimistic about the venture, though.
“Right now we’re working on the OCA one and getting to play in that,” Reed said. “I really want to play in the OCA one because that’s the one everyone has really been telling me about. They tell me they’ve had a lot of fun there and how it was good meeting new people, different players and playing with them.”