Carbondale Reporter

Head coach Kelly Bond-White announced the addition of Jaeda Whitner to the Southern Illinois University women's basketball team. Whitner, a 5-foot-5 guard originally from Mason City, Iowa, joins the Salukis after spending three seasons with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Bond-White highlighted the team's focus on acquiring versatile players with proven success. "A common theme in this class was to find multi-faceted players, but also players with proven track records of success," she stated. She added, "Jaeda was a young lady we studied from a championship program, within a physical and athletic conference. She was still able to get her shot off at an efficiency that would have ranked fifth overall in three-point shooting in the Missouri Valley Conference last year."

Whitner demonstrated her shooting prowess during the 2024-25 season by shooting .421 from three-point range. Notably, she hit multiple three-pointers in 12 games, including a standout performance against Texas A&M.

As a member of the Islanders, Whitner contributed to winning the Southland Conference Tournament in 2023-24 and helped them achieve their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. She participated in all 32 games that season, leading the team with a three-point percentage of .343.

Over her three-year tenure at Corpus Christi, Whitner played in 95 games and maintained a three-point shooting percentage of .385. Her departure from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi followed the retirement of coach Royce Chadwick. Bond-White noted, "Jaeda's departure from Texas A&M Corpus came after the retirement of one of the best coaches in our game, Royce Chadwick." She mentioned that Whitner was eager to return closer to home, "Hailing from Iowa, she was excited to get back to the Missouri Valley area to play her last season closer to home."

Before joining Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Whitner spent a season at Iowa Lakes Community College and was recognized as an All-Region First-Team selection.

The Southern Illinois University athletics department encourages fans to keep up with the latest news and information about the team through their social media platforms and the "Salukis" Mobile App.