Zamareya Jones Picked on Ann Meyers-Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Preseason Watchlist
10/28/2025 1:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
RALEIGH – Zamareya Jones of the NC State women's basketball team has been tabbed to the Ann Meyers-Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Preseason Top 20 Watchlist, as announced by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Tuesday. The award recognizes the best shooting guard in women's college basketball.
Jones is coming off a freshman season, in which she played 30 games and started in two. She registered 7.1 points and 1.5 assists per game, providing microwave scoring off the bench across 16.7 minutes per game. Jones finished with 10 double-digit scoring games and led the Pack in scoring on three different occasions. This includes a career-high 18 points at Louisville, where she went 7-of-8 from the field and delivered 16 (7-of-7 shooting) of those points in less than nine minutes.
The Greenville, North Carolina native went 4-of-4 from beyond the arc in the second quarter alone vs. Ole Miss to record 14 points and finished the season with 13 points, 11 in the second quarter, against LSU in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. She finished seventh in 3-point field goals made (35) and 3-point field goals attempted (100) as well as eighth in 3-point field goal percentage (.350) in the freshman record book. Prior to the season, Jones was named to the ACC Preseason Newcomer Watchlist.
The award is named after Ann Meyers-Drysdale, who is a Class of 1993 Hall of Famer and became the first player, man or woman, to be chosen for an All-America Team in four consecutive seasons. The award is in its ninth year.
Jones is one of five ACC shooting guards on the watchlist. The list will remain fluid as the season progresses to give players the opportunity to move on and off the list until the final five are selected. The list will narrow down to 10 in late January and the final five are announced in March. The award winner and presentation details will be announced at the Final Four. Fans will have the opportunity to vote.
The Basketball Hall of Fame announced the top 20 preseason nominees for the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Monday, as Zoe Brooks made the list.
NC State will officially open the season against No. 8 Tennessee on Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 4 p.m. at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina. Tickets for the game can be purchased HERE.
Ann Meyers-Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Preseason Top 20 Watchlist
Taliah Scott, Baylor
Delaney Gibb, BYU
Lulu Twidale, Cal
Ashlon Jackson, Duke
Elle Evans, Kansas
Tajianna Roberts, Louisville
Flau'Jae Johnson, LSU
Kaylene Smikle, Maryland
Syla Swords, Michigan
Zamareya Jones, NC State
Payton Verhulst, Oklahoma
Rachel Ullstrom, Richmond
Ta'Niya Latson, South Carolina
Laila Phelia, Syracuse
Ruby Whitehorn, Tennessee
Gianna Kneepkens, UCLA
Azzi Fudd, UConn
Destiny Leo, UNLV
Kara Dunn, USC
Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt
