DETROIT (11/14/2019) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball program and head coach
Bernard Scott have announced the signing of two student-athletes to National Letters of Intent (NLI) to play with the Titans. Both prospective student-athletes signed on National Signing Day on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019 at their respective high schools.
The two signees are guards
Jaci Jones (Fort Wayne, Ind. / South Side) and
Maddie Puletti (Highland Heights, Ohio / Gilmour Academy) and are set to join Detroit Mercy prior to the 2020-21 academic school year.
"This is always an exciting time of the year for our program because we get to add to our Titan Family!" said coach Scott.
The two guards are set to join a young roster that features five freshmen currently and 10 players that are either in their first or second year of collegiate basketball. It's the fifth signing class in head coach
Bernard Scott's tenure at the helm of Detroit Mercy women's basketball.
Take a look at a little more information on each signee:
Jaci Jones // Guard
Hometown: Fort Wayne, Ind.
High School: South Side
Height: 5-6
Career Highlights: A four-year letter-winner for South Side High School in Fort Wayne for the Archers and coach Juanita Goodwell ... Also lettered in softball (two years) and football (one year), serving as the kicker for the varsity football squad in one season ... Earned First Team All-SAC and First Team All-Northeast Indiana and was selected for the Indiana All-Star Classic as a junior in 2018-19 ... Invited to IBCA Top 100 Upperclass Showcase as a junior and was named Team MVP ... Set school record with nine 3-pointers in a single game ... Her single-game high is 34 points and has more than 800 career points, averaging better than 4.0 assists per game in her career ... Also was a First Team All-Conference honoree in softball in freshman and sophomore years ... Played AAU basketball with Lady Legit (three years) and Always 100 (six years), winning nationals in Washington D.C., as well as winning gold bracket at Run for the Roses in Louisville, Ky.
Coach Scott on Jones: "We got a good one in Jaci Jones! We have watched her for three years and we're happy the day is finally here for her to sign! She's a smart guard that can hurt the opponent with the pass or her ability to knock down threes! The part of her game we like the most is the way she competes every time she's on the floor! What she brings is exactly what we were looking for!"
Maddie Puletti // Guard
Hometown: Highland Heights, Ohio
High School: Gilmour Academy
Height: 5-8
Career Highlights: Lettered in all four seasons in basketball for Gilmour Academy and coach Julie Solis ... Named First Team North Coast League, Third Team All-District and Defensive Player of the Year as a junior ... Won a state championship as a freshman and was state runner-up the following season as a sophomore in Division II ... Was a
News-Herald Third Team selection and averaged 13.4 points per game in junior season for Gilmour Academy ... Played AAU basketball with MAC Basketball and SMAC Basketball ... A high school teammate of current Titan freshman
Annika Corcoran for three seasons.
Coach Scott on Puletti: "In this class we wanted to make sure we brought in a knockdown shooter. We did that with Maddie! She's a consistent catch and shoot player but she's also capable of scoring off the bounce. She's smart, hard working and gets after it on defense. She's going to fit well with the group we have."
