Tiffany Jackson, the record-breaking collegiate star who was a first-round draft pick in the WNBA, has died. She was 37.
According to a statement by the University of Texas that was obtained by the New York Post, Jackson succumbed to breast cancer after a valiant six-year battle.
Jackson, who was born in Longview, Texas, 120 miles east of Dallas, was a record-breaking All-American in high school and at UT-Austin, she became the only player in school history to have recorded 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 300 steals and 150 blocks.
The coveted No. 5 pick with the New York Liberty back in the 2007 WNBA draft played three seasons before being traded to the Tulsa Shock in 2010. It was during her fourth season in Arizona that she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. The following year, her cancer was in remission and she played ball in Israel. Jackson retired from the sport in 2017 after playing a season for the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks.
Jackson returned to the place where she first became a national star, where she became an assistant coach with UT before being named a head coach at Wiley College, an NAIA school in Marshall, Texas, just a 30-mile drive from her hometown of Longview.
“We are deeply saddened to hear the news of the passing of Tiffany Jackson, one of the greatest players in the history of Texas women’s basketball,” Texas head coach Vic Schaefer said in a statement. “From her days as a player for DFW Elite to her days as a player at the University of Texas, Tiffany has meant so much to so many people in this great state of Texas. I know she was so excited to be the head coach at Wiley College for the upcoming season. She will be sorely missed by so many. Our deepest sympathies go out to her family.”
Listen to the report on the life of Tiffany Jackson.
