2024-2025 women’s basketball player previews: Kyla Jones

Northwestern’s newest guard from Brown might be its biggest star yet

Ahead of Northwestern women’s basketball’s exhibition game against Parkside on Nov. 3, we continue our player previews with the Wildcats’ biggest transfer acquisition: Kyla Jones.

Who she is

Graduate student; 5-foot-9, from Chicago, Illinois; Transfer guard from Brown

2023-2024 stats

26 games (26 starts), 34.7 minutes per game, 17.1 points per game, 4.7 rebounds per game, 2.8 assists per game, 0.4 blocks per game, 1.6 steals per game, 45.7% FG%, 28.3% 3P%, 70.3% FT%

2023-2024 review

Kyla Jones had a career year during her senior season. She was consistently the best player on her roster and barely missed any time, starting in all but one blowout 90-35 win against JWU-Providence. Building off her previous season, Jones increased her output in nearly every category. She led Brown to a 16-11 record, their best win percentage since the 2005-06 season, and a respectable 7-7 conference record in the Ivy League. The Bears missed the NCAA Tournament, so their season ended March 3 against Yale, but Jones still came to play, dropping 23 points and 11 rebounds in a 76-57 win.

Even though the Bears missed the opportunity to achieve any team accolades, Jones sure racked up a ton of individual accolades over the course of her season. She was named to the All-Ivy First Team and received Ivy League Player of the Week honors twice, becoming the 23rd Bear to score 1,000 points during her Brown career.

Jones played some of her best basketball against her toughest opponents. In four total bouts with Princeton and Columbia, both of whom achieved a 13-1 conference record and made the 2024 NCAA Tournament, she averaged 20.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists. Jones rises to the occasion when competition presents itself.

Strengths

Jones’ strengths lie in her ability to score the ball, rebound at a high rate for a smaller guard and impact the defensive side of the ball. Jones averaged 17.1 points per game last season at a reliable 45.7% FG percentage. Her speciality is driving to the hole, but she has expanded her skillset over the last two seasons to incorporate a little more range into her game, making her a true three-level scorer. Standing at 5-foot-9, Jones demolishes the boards for her size, averaging 4.7 rebounds per game last season. This will be extremely helpful for a Wildcats’ team that had only three players average over four rebounds per game last season, with only one being a guard.

Jones also brings a ferocity and aggressiveness to the defensive side of the ball. Averaging 0.4 blocks per game at her height is quite impressive. However, her quick hands defensively might be more impressive. During her sophomore season, Jones averaged a whopping 2.7 steals per game. Her numbers have since come down to a still very impressive reality (1.6 steals per game) following her Chris Paul-esque sophomore campaign. However, the possibility is there. Jones will be a nightmare for guards on the perimeter night in and night out.

Weaknesses

Jones displays very few weaknesses. She is an all around phenomenal, dual threat guard who has the ability to lead a team. The one area that she could improve upon is her efficiency, mainly in relation to her turnovers and three point shooting. Acting as Brown’s offensive engine last season, Jones often had the ball in her hands. She also often had the ball taken out of her hands, averaging a career high 4.2 turnovers per game. Protecting the ball is one thing that Jones needs to improve upon, but ultimately turnovers are a byproduct of an extremely high usage rate, which Jones had.

Another area where Jones could improve is her shooting from deep. Last season, she shot 28.3% from three, a poor but not entirely abysmal percentage. But if you view her percentage in the scope of her entire career, you’ll see that she shot 8.6% from three in her sophomore season and 25% in her junior season. While Jones is in no way a three point specialist, her commitment to improving from downtown and incorporating that shot into her game has elevated her play style and made her even more dangerous to guard. That needs to continue at NU.

Expectations

Jones will make an immediate impact on this Northwestern squad. As arguably the most talented scorer on this roster, she will most definitely start for the ‘Cats. For a Northwestern team that averaged 66.1 points per game last season, Jones can bring some much needed scoring to the table and possibly act as a focal point for this Wildcat offense to play through. I see her drawing a lot of attention and double teams as she skillfully drives towards the basket, opening up the game for her Wildcat teammates like Melannie Daley and Caileigh Walsh who led the team in scoring last season. Although the Big Ten is far more competitive than the Ivy League, it is not crazy to say that Jones has a good chance to lead the Wildcats in scoring in her first season in Evanston.

Jones will also provide a steady defensive presence on the perimeter and contribute to cleaning the glass. But most importantly, she will improve and evolve to fit her role. She has shown improvement in every season prior and does not look close to stopping anytime soon. She has been the focal point of her offense for the last two seasons, but just like her three point shot, Jones is willing to evolve her game for the good of her team. Coming in for her first year of Northwestern basketball, there are a lot of unknowns circling Jones. There is no telling what she will look like as a part of this Wildcat unit. But one thing is for certain: Kyla Jones will immediately improve the Northwestern Wildcats.