April 29, 2008
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State women's basketball head coach Beth Burns announced Tuesday that Jessika Bradley (Sacramento, Calif.) is transferring to the Aztecs from Baylor University. Bradley, a 6-3 forward, has two years of eligibility remaining and will be able to play for SDSU beginning with the 2009-10 season.
"We're very excited to welcome Jessika Bradley to the Aztec family," Burns said. "Jessika's size, length, strength and skill set are terrific for a basketball player of any size. At 6-3, she has great versatility in her game - she can face-up, handle the ball and pass, yet she can also pound and command a double team down low. She had a double-double (this past year) against Oklahoma, and they have the biggest front line in basketball. She's just a huge addition to our team and will be a fierce competitor in the Mountain West Conference.
"We've known Jessika since her EBO days (San Diego club basketball) playing for coach Marlon Wells. She and Paris (Johnson) and Jerica (Williams) are friends and former teammates. Coming from Sacramento (Sacramento HS), she also knows and has played with Quenese (Davis), Coco (Davis) and Kim (Spinardi)."
Bradley played in all 32 games for the Lady Bears last season, starting six times for a team that was ranked as high as fifth in both national polls and opened 2007-08 with a 20-1 record. Bradley averaged 6.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game, posting a pair of double-doubles highlighted by a 10-point, 10-rebound performance against then No. 10 Oklahoma. She notched 10 multi-block games, grabbed five or more rebounds 14 times and contributed six or more points on 13 occasions.
As a freshman, Bradley logged minutes in 33 contests and earned her first career start versus Oklahoma. She finished second in the Big 12 Conference among freshmen in blocked shots with 0.79 per game and was fourth on the team in offensive rebounds.
"I chose San Diego State, because of the people," Bradley said. "I have played with six of the current players on the team and I liked the fact that coach Burns and (assistant) coach (Jualeah) Woods not only are good coaches, but are also good people and are easy to talk to. I just liked the whole atmosphere."
Bradley signed with Baylor after a successful four-year career at Sacramento High School in Sacramento, Calif. She was a four-time first-team all league pick and was named the conference co-MVP as a senior in 2006, when she averaged 24 points, 16 rebounds, six blocks and five assists per game. She helped the Lady Dragons to four Capitol Athletic League titles and a runner-up finish at the state tournament her final campaign.
A two-time Cal-Hi Sports Division III all-state honoree, Bradley was a three-time team captain, a Street & Smith honorable mention All-American and an adidas Top Ten Camp All-Star. As a prep, she was rated the 45th-best player in America and No. 12 forward by the All-Star Girls Report, and played during the summer of 2005 for the San Diego-based Lady EBO (Elite Basketball Organization), alongside current Aztecs Paris Johnson and Jerica Williams.
Bradley, who intends to major in communications with career plans as a sports broadcaster, will enroll in classes at SDSU this July.
"Jessika will come in this summer, work hard on the court and in the weight room, and will be ready to get after it in the 2009-10 season," Burns said. "After her redshirt season (08-09), she will join an extremely talented class of Jerica, Paris, Coco, and Allison (Duffy). She is a perfect fit for our program and we couldn't be prouder that she'll be wearing the Red and Black. Her parents, Vickie and Paul Bradley, can join our ever growing family fan base in Sacramento!"