Women’s Hoops Adds Talented Transfer

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Seminoles.com) – Talented guard Bianca Jackson, who was an SEC All-Freshman Team guard at South Carolina, will be transferring to Florida State Women’s Basketball after all her paperwork was received on Tuesday.

Jackson, who is 5-foot-11 and hails from Montgomery, Ala., is expected to have two years of eligibility left after completing two seasons for the Gamecocks in 2017-18 and 2018-19. Ranked 54th in the 2017 recruiting class by ESPNW, Jackson is expected to redshirt in the upcoming 2019-20 season due to NCAA transfer rules before her eligibility years kick in.

“I’m excited to welcome Bianca to our Seminole family,” head coach Sue Semrau said. “She is talented, experienced and can play multiple positions. I have watched Bianca and her development since she was young. She comes from a strong high school and club program, and contributed at a high level in the SEC. It will be fun to compete with her rather than against her!”

The daughter of Alabama State’s women’s and men’s basketball coaches Freda Free-man Jackson and Lewis Jackson, respectively, Bianca Jackson brings another high-motor guard to the Florida State roster. As a freshman at South Carolina, she started 25 games and averaged 7.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and shot 39.4 percent (41-of-104) from deep.

Against top-ranked UConn on Feb. 1, 2018, she finished as the team’s leading scorer with 20 points, and also led the Gamecocks with 14 points against 15th-ranked Missouri on Jan. 7, 2018. In that season, Jackson recorded double figures in scoring against four Top 25 teams and three in post-season play.

This past season as a sophomore, Jackson helped South Carolina reach the NCAA Sweet 16 after playing in 32 games and averaging nearly 18 minutes per game. She recorded four games with 10+ points, highlighted by a 14-point effort at Purdue on Dec. 16, 2018.

In each of her first two seasons at South Carolina, Jackson’s opening games came against Alabama State, where her mother has coached in each of the last 21 seasons. She scored eight points in her collegiate debut vs. Alabama State in Columbia, S.C., then added 13 points at Alabama State in what was a homecoming game to begin this past season.

Playing her high school basketball at Brewbaker Tech Magnet, Jackson emerged as one of the top players in Alabama after averaging 24.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists in her senior year that also included three triple-doubles. She was crowned the 2017 Alabama Gatorade Player of the Year and earned several other state honors.

Florida State has been proficient at bringing in top-notch talent from the state of Alabama. The 2019 McDonald’s All-American River Baldwin (Andalusia, Ala.) is one of the nation’s best low post players who will make her Seminole debut in the 2019-20 season.

The Seminoles also added one of the best players in program history in Shakayla Thomas in 2014. The Sylacauga, Ala., native is FSU’s second all-time leader in points (1,971) and field goals made (851), and is one of two three-time All-Americans in program history.

Another Montgomery native in Courtney Ward (2007-11) was one of the best guards to ever play for the Seminoles, helping Florida State to two ACC co-regular season titles and an NCAA Elite Eight in 2010.