Iowa announced on Friday that Ava Jones, a forward who was signed in the 2023 class, has taken a medical retirement and will not compete for the Hawkeyes.
Jones was severely injured when she and her family were struck by an impaired driver in Louisville, Kentucky in July 2022, just days after committing to the Hawkeyes. The Jones family, who is from Nickerson, Kansas, was visiting Louisville for the Run 4 The Roses AAU tournament.
Jones' father Trey was killed in the collision; Ava suffered a traumatic brain injury, a broken collarbone and major damage to both knees. She has been rehabbing at the University of Iowa since her enrollment and had spent time with the team as her schedule allowed.
"It is with great sadness to announce that I am medically retiring from college basketball," Jones said in a statement through the team's social media. "My coaches, doctors, teammates and trainers have been amazing since the accident. While I will no longer be a member of the women's basketball program, I will still be on scholarship, receive a world-class education and forever be a Hawkeye."
“We wish Ava the best on the road to recovery and fully support the decision she made to step away from the game,” head coach Jan Jensen said in a university statement. “She worked tirelessly to get to this point, but she made the best decision for herself and her well-being.”
Jones has been posting sporadic updates on YouTube through her recovery, including the clip above, working out in an empty Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
TEAM IMPACT
While NCAA rules allow medical hardship recipients to transfer and continue athletic pursuits elsewhere — quarterback Spencer Petras was placed on hardship by Iowa after a shoulder injury, but is now in line to start at Utah State, for example — Jones said she would remain at Iowa and pursue her degree, so for all intents and purposes her athletic career is over.
While the decision is tough news for family and fans who would have wanted to see Jones take the court, even ceremonially, the realities of her injuries didn't make that possible. Under hardship rules, Iowa can continue to honor its academic commitment to Ava and her family while opening her roster spot for another player.
Since Jones was never able to be penciled in as a contributor to Iowa's rotation, there's no on-court "loss" for Jensen to work around. In a coldly basketball-only sense, this move is administrative.
The culture around Iowa's women's basketball team, though, is obviously, famously warmer than that.
While Jones no longer has a goal of donning the black and gold for a game, her continued presence at Iowa will undoubtedly be good news for her numerous friends on the roster, and we feel confident in predicting that there will be few dry eyes in the house if Iowa honors her on Senior Day in 2027.
We at Go Iowa Awesome wish the Jones family the best as Ava's recovery continues, and we hope her next chapter brings her health, joy and fulfillment.
