Owens Declared Eligible for WBB due to NCAA’s Blanket Waiver
12/16/2020 6:56:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Sophomore guard will play as early as Friday; McDaniel sidelined due to injury
WACO, Texas – The NCAA announced Wednesday a blanket waiver for transfer students at the NCAA Division I level, which activates Baylor's Jaden Owens and puts the Lady Bears active roster at 11 players.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all Division I basketball players will not have the 2020-21 season count against them, which prompted the NCAA Division I Council to make an exception Wednesday for Division I transfers who arrived at their current institution before the Fall 2020 term began.
The blanket waiver would have also made eligible senior guard Kamaria McDaniel. However, the former Penn State standout was sidelined with a left-knee injury earlier in the fall and underwent successful surgery, Nov. 30 to repair an ACL and meniscus tear. She will miss the 2020-21 season.
Owens came to Baylor after one year with UCLA as a backup point guard. She was a highly-touted high school point guard out of Plano West High School, ranking nationally as high as 14th overall and the third-best guard by espnW's HoopGurlz. The five-star recruit averaged 16.5 points, 4.0 assists 3.3. rebounds and 3.0 steals as a senior at Plano West.
In her freshman season with the Bruins in 2019-20, she averaged 9.6 minutes per contest in 28 games off the bench. She averaged 2.5 points, 1.2 assists and 0.6 steals per contest. Her assist-to-turnover ratio was 1.8:1, and she backed up All-Pac-12 point guard and recent WNBA draft pick Japreece Dean.
Owens will dress out for Friday's contest between Baylor and Northwestern State at 2 p.m. in Waco.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all Division I basketball players will not have the 2020-21 season count against them, which prompted the NCAA Division I Council to make an exception Wednesday for Division I transfers who arrived at their current institution before the Fall 2020 term began.
The blanket waiver would have also made eligible senior guard Kamaria McDaniel. However, the former Penn State standout was sidelined with a left-knee injury earlier in the fall and underwent successful surgery, Nov. 30 to repair an ACL and meniscus tear. She will miss the 2020-21 season.
Owens came to Baylor after one year with UCLA as a backup point guard. She was a highly-touted high school point guard out of Plano West High School, ranking nationally as high as 14th overall and the third-best guard by espnW's HoopGurlz. The five-star recruit averaged 16.5 points, 4.0 assists 3.3. rebounds and 3.0 steals as a senior at Plano West.
In her freshman season with the Bruins in 2019-20, she averaged 9.6 minutes per contest in 28 games off the bench. She averaged 2.5 points, 1.2 assists and 0.6 steals per contest. Her assist-to-turnover ratio was 1.8:1, and she backed up All-Pac-12 point guard and recent WNBA draft pick Japreece Dean.
Owens will dress out for Friday's contest between Baylor and Northwestern State at 2 p.m. in Waco.
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