After Stanford, What’s Next For Haley Jones?

While the 2022-23 season didn’t end the way Haley Jones envisioned it for Stanford — with a 54-49 loss to Mississippi that concluded Jones’ senior season in the second round of the NCAA Tournament — Jones’ multi-dimensional life plan means she’s just getting started on what’s on tap for 2023.

“Yeah, my time at Stanford has been interesting,” Jones told reporters following the game Sunday. “I guess, you know, COVID, freshman year, that played into a lot of different things, and then the COVID season that’s unheard of. I never expected that to be part of my college experience.

“So then winning a National Championship, three Pac-12 Championships, 2 Pac-12 Tournament Championships; so I have a lot to be proud of for my Stanford career. It’s hard to feel that way right now, but I know at some point that will hit and sink in. I’m happy with my time at Stanford and the relationships I’ve made that are going to carry on past my playing days here. I’ve made a lot of great friendships. Yeah, I think my time at Stanford, I have a lot to be proud of.”

But Jones, who is expected to be selected early in next month’s 2023 WNBA Draft, has built a platform around more than basketball. Her work in the NIL space has been significant, ranking 20th among On3’s NIL valuations among all women’s college basketball players.

Most notably among that work has been her podcast at Players Tribune, Sometimes I Hoop, which has now completed eight episodes.

“So Sometimes I Hoop is really special,” Jones said in an interview earlier this month. “I don’t think that there’s any podcasts like it right now. And so I get to talk to some of the best collegiate basketball players who happen to be some of my best friends. And so I feel like I get a different side of them that other podcasts may get or how other interviews make it because of the respect that we have for one another — the friendship that we have, the trust stuff that we know. And so we’re able to talk about a variety of things.”

Everyone from Aliyah Boston to Caitlin Clark to her own teammate, Cameron Brink have already been on the show.

Somehow, she makes it work — the grueling intensity of playing for Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer, the Stanford education and its enormous demands, and making sure her voice is one that reflects a larger role in the culture beyond just pregame and postgame chats. She thanks her parents for helping her to navigate that schedule, to build in the rest time, too — even if it means a day hanging out with friends when she needs it.

“I’ve still been to two Final Fours, I won three PAC 12 championships,” Jones said. “But at the same time, I’m also getting one of the best degrees you can get, I’m making connections, my professors are literally the people who invented the theories we’re learning about. So like, it’s an unparalleled experience that I’m getting. But that idea of having this duality of my personality is really special.”

If there’s any mystery left, beyond which WNBA team will select Jones, it is what happens to the podcast once she gets to the WNBA. Jones chuckled at the question.

“It’s a great question,” Jones said. “I don’t have an answer to quite yet. In the works, still trying to figure out those details.”

If Jones’ career-to-date is any indication, it’s certain that she will.