SEDONA PRINCE

Redshirt Sophomore - 6’7 - Forward - Liberty Hill, Texas

The Oregon Women’s Basketball team may be reloading, but that doesn’t mean they’ll have less firepower than before. With the addition of five five-star players, Kelly Graves says his team is “talent wise, {the} best group we’ve ever had...”

And though that may be difficult to believe - now that Sabrina Ionescu, Ruthy Hebard, and Satou Sabally have all leveled up to the WNBA - players like Sedona Prince are the reason why Graves is so excited to see his young team in action.

At 6-foot-7, Prince is tied with Stefanie Kasperski (1986-90) as the tallest player in Oregon Women’s Basketball history, and Kelly looks to utilize her unique blend of size and athleticism in a similar role as that of Nikola Jokic on the Nuggets.

The redshirt sophomore comes into the season as an under-the-radar player, considering her skill level, after an unfortunate accident and a questionable decision by the NCAA forced Prince to sit out her first two seasons in college.

But now that she’s healthy and ready to go, Duck fans should be very excited to watch a player that can dunk, hit the mid-range jumper, and the three, all while providing a presence in the post that has been fine-tuned with practices against Ruthy Hebard.

Liberty Hill High School

While starting in all 154 games during her time at Liberty Hill High School, Prince tallied 2,759 points, 1, 493 rebounds, 385 assists, 424 steals and 924 blocks. ESPN listed her as the No. 8 recruit in the nation and was named the 2018 Texas Girls Coaches Association Basketball Athlete of the Year.

Prince made an early impression by participating in the Jordan Brand Classic and making the 2018 McDonald’s All-American team. She competed in the U16, U17 and U18 FIBA competitions where she reached two Americas Championships and a World Championship. She suffered a broken leg in the FIBA Americas Championship in Mexico City while playing for the USA U18 national team.

Freshman Season (2018-19)

Prince was inactive during her freshman season at Texas while she healed from her broken leg. The talented young prospect was forced to ride the bench, and elected to leave Texas on June 5, 2019 “due to medical reasons.”

RS Freshman Season (2019-20)

On July 15, 2019, coach Kelly Graves announced that Sedona Prince would be joining the flock. Prince was physically ready to return to the court for the 2019-20 season, however, her battles took place against the NCAA.

Prince submitted a waiver to the NCAA for immediate eligibility at Oregon based on the fact that she didn’t actually play a game at Texas due to her injury, but was denied on Dec 11, 2019.

Oregon basketball legend Sabrina Ionescu was one of many who weighed in on the NCAA’s decision to deny Prince immediate eligibility for the 2019-20 season, and many fans of Prince united under the hashtag #FreeSedona

A little over a month later, Prince took to social media to express her thoughts on the NCAA’s rule that forbade Oregon from covering Prince’s $22,000 worth of medical debt that accrued when she went to get a screw fixed in her leg. Sedona wrote:

I usually don’t open up about a personal subject like this, but I feel like it needs to get the attention it deserves. Due to my injury last year, I received a call informing me of the $22,000 I owe in medical bills, which has gone to collections. As a 19-year old collegiate basketball player, no one should have to go through this, especially since I was under the care of my institution during the time of the hospital visit.

The University I now attend is unable to pay this debt because of NCAA rules, and I am now deeply saddened that I will carry this burden for the rest of my life. No student athlete should ever have to struggle with this or walk away with debt from playing the sport they love. I hope my past experience opens the eyes of many, and prevents other student athletes from falling victim to the negligence that I’ve experienced. #scoducks.

Prince then joined forces with Grant House, an ASU swimmer, and others to form a class action anti-trust lawsuit against the NCAA.

We here at ATQ applaud Prince’s resilience and leadership in her fight for increased player protection. We also can’t wait to see her take her talents to the court after an especially long build up to her collegiate debut.

SCO DUCKS!

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports