As the Las Vegas Aces prepare for the 2024 WNBA season, in which they aim to become just the second team to ever three-peat as league champion, they will do so without a top HBCU star on their roster.
The Aces announced they had waived former three-time SWAC Defensive Player of the Year Angel Jackson.
Initial news of Jackson’s release was reported in an article posted by the Aces, which was later edited with her name removed. Local team reporter Callie Lawson-Freeman later confirmed the news.
The Jackson State product was released, she took to Twitter after the news of her release, and she simply said, “15 will be back.”
15 will be back🙌🏾
— Angel🖤 (@hooper_angel15) May 7, 2024
Jackson was selected with the 36th and final pick of this year’s WNBA Draft by the Las Vegas Aces.
This made her the seventh HBCU player ever to be taken in the WNBA draft and the second Jackson State player to be selected in the previous three years (Ameshya-Williams Holliday, 2022).
She was aiming to become the first HBCU player to make an active WNBA roster since 2008, when former Howard center was a member of the Washington Mystics.
The Las Vegas Aces are set to play their preseason opener this Saturday at the University of South Carolina (alma mater of star player A’ja Wilson) against the Puerto Rican national team.