It's been a whirlwind July for Jasmyn Cooper.
The 6-foot-1 forward from Easton, Mass. is fresh off of leading her MCW Starz 17U squad to the finals of the Select Events Power 24 championships. But Cooper's biggest achievement of the month came two weeks earlier when she committed to play college basketball at Syracuse on July 7.
Cooper's decision was one of New England's most highly-anticipated among the 2025 class leaders. The Nobles star is the 54th-ranked senior in the nation by ESPN, a combined three-time MIAA and NEPSAC champion, and one of the most versatile talents in the region right now.
For those wondering if college coaches really care about scouting the intangibles like hustle and body language — Cooper has direct experience.
Syracuse offered Cooper nearly two years ago, a far-reaching early move from new head coach Felisha Legette-Jack. Cooper felt her first phone call with Legette-Jack was different from most other coaches.
"She noticed the things that I really do pride myself [on] in my game, which are the things that go unnoticed," Cooper said. "The hustle plays, the rebounding, your mannerisms, how you treat your teammates — that's the first thing she told me on the phone. I really appreciated that, versus some other phone calls that are more like, 'Oh my God, I loved that you were scoring this much, this many points, and you got this steal into a layup.' Sometimes during the recruitment process, all of the unnoticeables don't go noticed, and I just really appreciated Coach Jack telling me that she saw what I prided myself in."
Legette-Jack took over a Syracuse program that had experienced plenty of on-court success in prior seasons. But it was recovering from off-court scandal after Quentin Hillsman resigned in 2021 following an investigation into alleged bullying and an abusive team culture.
Legette-Jack and her staff have quickly righted the ship. Syracuse made the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season behind Dyaisha Fair, the third-leading career scorer in Division 1 women's basketball history. Recruits like Cooper are noting the shift under Legette-Jack, a Syracuse native, university Hall-of-Famer and former 1,500-point scorer.
"She literally bleeds orange," Cooper said. "I can see it in the postgame press conferences, the way she talks about her team, the way she, like I said, likes to highlight the little things. She really does like to tell everyone's story, and she's just helping us do that through basketball, which is something I really did love."
Cooper, now the highest-ranked high school recruit in Legette-Jack's time at Syracuse, joins St. Luke's point guard Camdyn Nelson (Greenwich, Conn.) as New England natives in the 2025 recruiting class. Because of her versatility, Cooper can plug Syracuse's roster needs. The Orange are currently loaded with quality point guard and post play, so the coaching staff and Cooper have talked about fitting into a connector role on the wing who can shoot, facilitate and attack mismatches.
Related: Girls Class of 2025 watch list
They also discussed Cooper's off-court contributions at length — a key topic that helped her final decision. Cooper wants to advocate for progress in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), a passion that has grown since she's been at Nobles. She liked the opportunities available under Syracuse's career management department.
"It was very refreshing to hear them say that they really do promote [advocacy], and that they are really pushing athletes get out of their comfort zone, and really go and speak on things that they really care about," she said.
From the outside, Cooper's basketball career might seem to be a string of successes. She won the MIAA Division 2 title at Oliver Ames as a sophomore in 2021-22. Then she transferred to Nobles and reclassified, and has won two NEPSAC AA championships in two years. She raked in big-time offers along the way — also including schools like Wake Forest, Boston College, Marquette and Columbia — and was ranked for the first time last summer.
But Cooper admits, she struggled. The pandemic allowed some players to separate themselves, but for Cooper, it was an isolating time. She also preferred to keep a low profile on social media despite feeling pressure to flaunt her achievements and stature. To Cooper, her commitment is the reward of staying true to her values as a basketball player and person.
"The person I was during COVID versus the person I am now are two completely different people," she said. "Seeing that growth — just appreciating myself more, just consistently staying a great teammate — I'm very proud of the growth I would say I saw in myself through my high school career."
Here are some notable girls basketball commitments from this week:
- Charlotte Adams-Lopez announced her commitment to Brown on Wednesday, choosing the Bears over UMass Lowell and NJIT. The 5-foot-8 point guard helped Bishop Feehan win the MIAA Division 1 state championship last winter and plays AAU ball for the Honey Badgers.
- Kaylee Dupuis (Derry, N.H.), a 6-foot-1 wing who plays for Pinkerton Academy and Team Saints, committed to the admissions process at Division 3 power Assumption on Thursday.
- Cranston, R.I. native Olivia VanPatten also committed Thursday to Hofstra. VanPatten, a 6-foot-1 forward who plays AAU for Mass Rivals, was an All-NEPSAC Honorable Mention on a St. George's squad that captured the Class B title last winter.
