Jackie Young Bio
Jacquelyn Young, born on September 16, 1997, in Princeton, Indiana, is an American professional basketball player who plays as a shooting guard for the Las Vegas Aces in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). Standing 6 feet 0 inches tall and competing at the international level, she has built a résumé that includes three WNBA championships, four All-Star selections, and two Olympic gold medals. She also represents the Laces in the Unrivaled 3-on-3 league. Drafted first overall in 2019, Young has grown from a college champion into one of the most decorated guards of her generation.
Young first gained national recognition as a high school phenom, set records at the University of Notre Dame, and steadily developed into a versatile scoring threat and playmaker. Her career has been defined by consistent improvement, postseason success, and a willingness to embrace new roles. Today she is widely regarded as a cornerstone of the Las Vegas Aces and a fixture on Team USA’s senior rosters.
Early Life and Background
Jacquelyn Young grew up in Princeton, Indiana, where she attended Princeton Community High School and starred for the PCHS Tigers. She is the daughter of Linda Young and David Wayne Edwards Sr., a former standout high school basketball player and track athlete. It is said that Young inherited most of her athletic ability from her father, whose own exploits on the court helped shape her early competitive drive. She also has a brother, David Wayne Edwards Jr., who played defensive back for the University of Nebraska’s 1997 national championship football team.
Her high school career was nothing short of historic. Across her career, Princeton Community posted a 97-9 record, and Young became Indiana’s all-time leading scorer in girls’ or boys’ basketball history with 3,268 points, surpassing a 26-year-old mark set by Damon Bailey. She averaged 30.8 points, 10.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 3.5 steals per game, while shooting 58.3 percent from the field, 38.2 percent from beyond the arc, and 85.8 percent from the free-throw line. In her senior season, she led the team to a 27-1 record and earned the 2016 Indiana Miss Basketball award.
Young capped her high school career with national honors, including selection as a 2016 McDonald’s All-American and the Naismith Prep Player of the Year. As a junior, she had already set the Indiana girls’ single-season scoring record with 1,003 points, becoming the fifth player of either sex in state history to reach 1,000 points in a single season. Those performances made her one of the most decorated recruits in the country.
Path to Basketball
Young’s path to elite basketball began with her dominant high school career in Princeton, where she led the Tigers to the 2015 Indiana Class 3A state championship and scored 36 points in the title game. She led Princeton to 53 consecutive wins during her career and consistently drew attention from national recruiting services, ranking as high as No. 5 by Prospects Nation. Those results made her one of the most sought-after guards in the 2016 class.
She chose to continue her career at the University of Notre Dame, joining the Fighting Irish in 2016 and quickly establishing herself in the ACC. As a freshman she earned ACC All-Freshman Team honors in 2017, helping lay the foundation for a national title run the following year. Notre Dame reached the NCAA championship game in both 2018 and 2019, and Young was a key contributor on both rosters.
Her college development was steady and well-rounded. In 2019 she was named second-team All-ACC and earned ACC Tournament MVP honors, capping her junior year with one of the most impressive résumés in the conference. After three seasons she opted to forgo her senior year and enter the 2019 WNBA draft, where the Las Vegas Aces selected her with the first overall pick.
Jackie Young Career
Early Career (2019–2020)
Young’s rookie WNBA season in 2019 brought an immediate positional change, as the Aces shifted her from her familiar shooting guard role at Notre Dame to point guard. The transition produced solid playmaking numbers, as she finished eighth in the league with 153 total assists and ranked sixth with a 2.89 assist-to-turnover ratio. She averaged 6.6 points and 3.3 rebounds per game and was named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team after her first professional campaign.
During the 2019-20 offseason, she also signed a multi-year endorsement deal with Puma, adding a major sneaker partnership to her growing professional portfolio. She returned to the Aces in 2020 and averaged 10.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists across 40 games, showing clear improvement. That same offseason she began her international career with a brief two-game stint at Elazığ İl Özel İdarespor in Turkey before the league was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
WNBA Breakthrough (2021–2023)
By 2021, Young had settled into a new role as a play finisher rather than a primary playmaker, and she emerged as an early candidate for WNBA Most Improved Player before ultimately finishing behind Brionna Jones. Her scoring efficiency and shot selection continued to grow, and the Aces advanced to the semifinals of the 2021 WNBA Playoffs. The following offseason she moved to Israel, playing for A.S. Ramat Hasharon in the 2020-21 Israeli League, then signed with the Perth Lynx of Australia’s WNBL for the 2021-22 campaign.
Her 2022 WNBA season was her true breakout. She won her first WNBA championship with the Aces, was named WNBA Most Improved Player, and earned her first All-Star selection as a starter. She also won the Commissioner’s Cup that year and later added an All-WNBL First Team nod for her work in Australia, where she was Perth’s MVP and runner-up for league MVP. Across 2023, she captured a second WNBA title and another All-Star selection, and was named to the All-WNBA Second Team.
Las Vegas Aces Era (2022–Present)
The Las Vegas Aces have remained Young’s home since 2019, and she has helped lead the franchise to three WNBA championships in 2022, 2023, and 2025. Across those championship runs she has served as both a scoring wing and a defensive catalyst, complementing stars such as A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, and Chelsea Gray. Her four consecutive WNBA All-Star appearances from 2022 through 2025 reflect her status among the league’s elite guards.
Young’s 2025 postseason cemented her reputation on the biggest stage. In Game 2 of the WNBA Finals, she set a WNBA record for most points ever scored in a quarter of a Finals game, pouring in 21 points in the third quarter while tying her playoff career high with 32 points. That performance helped the Aces capture another title and further burnished her legacy as a clutch performer.
Playing Style and Strengths
Young is widely viewed as one of the most versatile guards in the WNBA, capable of operating as both a secondary playmaker and an efficient scoring wing. Her combination of length, footwork, and perimeter shooting makes her a difficult cover, while her improved court vision has added another layer to her offensive game. Defensively, her size and instincts allow her to guard multiple positions, and her basketball IQ has only sharpened with each season in Las Vegas.
Notable Events and Milestones
Among her most notable milestones, Young was the first overall pick in the 2019 WNBA draft, a 2018 NCAA champion at Notre Dame, and a three-time WNBA champion with the Aces. She also set the WNBA Finals record for points in a quarter during the 2025 postseason and has represented the United States in international competition, including Olympic gold medals in 2020 and 2024.
Jackie Young Career Wins
Across her professional career, Jackie Young has won three WNBA championships with the Las Vegas Aces in 2022, 2023, and 2025, and added a Commissioner’s Cup title in 2022. She earned WNBA Most Improved Player honors in 2022 and has been selected as a WNBA All-Star in each season from 2022 through 2025.
WNBA Highlights
Young’s first WNBA championship came in 2022, when the Aces completed a dominant run capped by her Most Improved Player award and her first All-Star selection. She added a second title in 2023 and a third in 2025, when her record-setting 21-point third quarter in Game 2 of the Finals helped seal the championship. Across those title runs she has been a consistent two-way contributor, capable of guarding the opponent’s best perimeter player while spacing the floor on offense.
Other Wins and Performances
At the collegiate level, Young won the 2018 NCAA championship with Notre Dame and was named ACC Tournament MVP in 2019. Internationally, she helped the United States win gold in Women’s 3×3 basketball at the 2020 Summer Olympics and gold in 5×5 basketball at the 2024 Summer Olympics. She also excelled in the WNBL with the Perth Lynx, earning All-WNBL First Team honors for the 2021-22 season.
Jackie Young Family
Family Background and Basketball Lineage
Young comes from a deeply athletic family in Princeton, Indiana. Her father, David Wayne Edwards Sr., was a star high school basketball player and track athlete, and her brother, David Wayne Edwards Jr., played defensive back for the University of Nebraska’s 1997 national championship football team. Her mother, Linda Young, has been a steady presence throughout her career.
Personal Life
Young keeps her personal life largely private and tends to share only limited details beyond her basketball commitments. She has been based in Las Vegas during the WNBA season while continuing to pursue international opportunities in Turkey, Israel, and Australia during the WNBA offseason. Publicly available information about her current residence, marital status, and family life remains limited.
2025 Season Performance
Jackie Young’s 2025 WNBA season with the Las Vegas Aces was defined by both individual brilliance and team success. She earned her fourth consecutive All-Star selection and another All-WNBA Second Team nod, reinforcing her place among the league’s top guards. Her scoring efficiency and defensive impact remained central to the Aces’ regular-season success, as they once again positioned themselves as championship favorites heading into the postseason.
The defining moment of her year came in the 2025 WNBA Finals, when she set a WNBA record with 21 points in the third quarter of Game 2 and tied her playoff career high with 32 points. That performance helped the Aces capture their third championship in four seasons, completing another dominant postseason run. Her ability to deliver in the biggest moments added yet another layer to her already impressive résumé.
Looking ahead, Young remains a central figure for the Aces and a likely candidate for future All-Star and All-WNBA recognition. With her Olympic gold medals, three WNBA titles, and a record-setting Finals performance, she has firmly established herself as one of the defining players of her era. Her continued partnership with the Aces suggests more championship contention lies ahead.
