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Jada Williams Decommits From UCLA Women's Basketball, Joins Arizona

The class of 2023 point guard will follow her high school teammate to Tucson, stacking the Wildcats' upcoming recruiting class.

Benjamin Royer

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One of the Bruins’ longtime commits has flipped her decision, choosing instead to join a Pac-12 rival.

La Jolla Country Day School (CA) class of 2023 point guard Jada Williams is no longer in line to join UCLA women’s basketball, as the five-star flipped her commitment to Arizona on Monday evening. Williams previously committed to coach Cori Close and the Bruins in March 2021, but a recent official visit to Tucson – along with the her Country Day teammate, post Breya Cunningham, committing there in June – likely helped sway Arizona into favor.

Williams isn't the first high-profile guard to flip from the Bruins to the Wildcats in the past year either. After five-star point guard Kiki Rice committed to UCLA in November, five-star guard Paris Clark decommitted from the Bruins and wound up committing to Arizona a month later.

With Williams’ decommitment, UCLA now only has one commit for the class of 2023. Four-star guard Amanda Muse committed to the Bruins on May 25 and remains a verbal pledge at this time.

Williams is a consensus five-star recruit and the No. 20 player in her class, according to espnW's HoopGurlz rankings. She stands as ESPN's No. 5 point guard in the nation.

The Bruins had been involved with Williams’ recruitment since she first burst on the scene her freshman year of high school. Before committing to UCLA, Williams played at Blue Springs High School (MO) for two seasons, averaging 19.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game her sophomore year.

Switching to Country Day ahead of her junior campaign connected Williams with Cunningham, who had UCLA in her top-two earlier this spring before committing to Arizona. Williams averaged 11.4 points, 4.1 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game alongside Cunningham, showcasing her all-around skills on the court.

Williams and Cunnigham took a joint visit to Westwood on May 9, posing with incoming freshmen forward Gabriela Jaquez and guard Londynn Jones in photos Jaquez shared via her Instagram account.

The Bruins’ top class of 2023 targets are largely off the table with three months left until the early signing period. Williams and Cunningham committed to Arizona, guard Amari Whiting committed to BYU and Muse is a UCLA commit. Europe has recently become a hot recruiting ground for the Bruins’ coaching staff, however, meaning UCLA could add recruits from overseas instead.

The incoming class of freshmen will likely help weather the smaller recruiting class for 2023. Rice, Jaquez, forward Christeen Iwuala, Jones and forward Lisa Sontag should be playing large roles in years to come, giving Close & co. a cushion to build out their future classes.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF JADA WILLIAMS/INSTAGRAM

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Benjamin Royer
BENJAMIN ROYER

Benjamin Royer is a contributing writer at All Bruins, in association with the FanNation and Sports Illustrated networks. Royer is a third-year student at UCLA, where he is a Sports contributor for the school's award-winning student-run newspaper, The Daily Bruin. Royer was previously the Sports Editor at The Valley Star, Los Angeles Valley College's independent newspaper, and he helped develop the Twinger Talk YouTube channel and The Double Play podcast. He is also a professional actor, previously appearing in programs on Showtime, ABC, Disney Channel, FOX and CBS.