Michigan State added its second guard in as many days out of the transfer portal when Arizona State's Jalyn Brown announced her commitment to the Spartans. Brown made the announcement on her Twitter (renamed "X" by new ownership in 2023) account.
The 6-foot-1 native of Baltimore, Maryland has one year of eligibility remaining after playing her first two seasons at Louisville before transferring to play last year for the Sun Devils in Tempe. Brown picked the Spartans after visits to East Lansing along with Baylor and West Virginia.
Brown led ASU in scoring the past two seasons, averaging 18.0 points per game (sixth best in the Big 12) alongside 4.0 rebounds per game, 2.0 assists per game, and 1.1 steals per game as a junior this past season while averaging 32.7 minutes per game (12th most in the conference).
She was also 17th best in field goal percentage in the conference, hitting on 41% of her attempts along with checking in at 10th in free throw percentage (81.3%). One other stat line found Brown among the best in the league, and that was blocked shots where she was in the top 25 standings (seven-way tie for No. 23) after averaging 0.7 on the season.
Brown started in all but two games for the Sun Devils she appeared in (29 total), easing back into the rotation in early January after an injury had caused her to miss games against San Francisco, Penn, and Texas Tech over the prior weeks.
Brown similarly appeared in 29 games for ASU as a sophomore, starting in 27 and missing two games that season. She scored her career high against Colorado as a sophomore, logging 35 points against the Buffaloes.
Her scoring, rebound, and steal production was only slightly lower her first season in Tempe as Brown averaged 17.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg, and 0.9 spg, but her other categories are where she improved markedly. Brown posted just 1.6 apg and logged a mere five blocks on the season for the Sun Devils as a sophomore.
She also faced off against now Big Ten foes UCLA, USC, Oregon, and Washington that season. Among Brown's highlights in those outings included posting 34 points at Washington (Jan. 21, 2024), 25 points at UCLA (Feb. 11, 2024), and 24 points and two assists at USC (Feb. 9, 2024).
Brown garnered All-Big 12 honorable mention honors as a junior and All-PAC 12 Honorable Mention from both coaches and media as a sophomore.
Brown played in seven games for the Cardinals as a freshman in Lousiville prior to transferring to ASU. She did not appear in any matchups after early January, however. Brown logged two minutes in a home loss to Ohio State as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge early in the season and added 10 points for her season high against SIUE.
Brown graduated from Saint Frances Academy in the Johnston Square neighborhood of Baltimore where she was was a four-star recruit and the No. 78 overall player in her class, No. 12 at the wing per ESPN rankings. Prep Girls Hoops also slated Brown as the fifth best player in the Old Line state.
The commitment by Brown to the Spartans marks the second-straight year a Sun Devil has chosen East Lansing for her final season of eligibility after Jaddan Simmons made the same choice last year. Simmons and Brown played together for the 2023-2024 season after Brown transferred from the Cardinals. She also would have played against current Spartan Grace VanSlooten that same season when VanSlooten played for the Ducks in Eugene.
Brown joins Purdue sophomore guard Rashunda Jones who announced over the weekend on Sunday she was committing to Michigan State.
The two transfers will help fill roster spots left by three Spartans who have entered the transfer portal. Redshirt freshman center Mary Meng along with freshmen forward Helen Holley and guard Sinai Douglass have all put their name into the portal since a loss to North Carolina State in the second round of the NCAA tournament ended a 22-10 season for the Spartans. MSU is also needing to replace graduate guards Julia Ayrault and Nyla Hampton who exhausted their eligibility this past season in addition to Brown's former teammate Simmons.
- QB
- TE
- OT
- TE
