Haley Jones brings standout Stanford resume, popular playlists and ‘wholesome excellence’ to 2023 WNBA Draft

lisa antonucci

Tue, Apr 11, 2023, 8:05 AM·5 min read

Haley Jones #30 of the Stanford Cardinal warms up during pregame warm ups.

If you’re wondering what’s going through Haley Jones’ mind ahead of the 2023 WNBA Draft on Monday evening, she’s happy to share it with you.

The 21-year-old soon-to-be-Stanford grad — known for her epic ability to make playlists for anyone, for any occasion – has been working on the perfect musical mix to listen to ahead of the draft festivities, where she’s expected to go high in the first round at Spring Studios New York in Manhattan. She’ll unveil that playlist live on the music streaming platform TIDAL, where fans can listen in real time to exactly what Jones is playing – and even what she skips.

“I have like 170 playlists, so I’m trying to figure out what my vibes are going to be so I feel like I might pull songs from different ones … but I’m sure it’ll be chill vibes,” Jones told On Her Turf ahead of Monday. “I’m not going to be getting too hyped up. I want to be cool, calm, collected, relaxed, so it’ll be probably along the vibes of like throwing in some Brent Faiyaz with some Miss Lauryn Hill with some SZA with some D’Angelo. Probably some throwbacks to Lenny Williams, Al Green, so we’ll be all over the place.”

Jones’ love of music was cultivated during long drives to basketball tournaments and practices with her dad, Patrick, who along with her mom, Monique, coached a high school varsity girls’ team. Jones remembers her and her father playing songs back and forth for each other and creating extensive musical libraries via digital streaming services.

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That passion for discovering music has translated into a personal journal of sorts, documenting every game day with its own song and providing a window for connection with those around her.

“Music — it connects me to different people,” said Jones, a three-time All-American who averaged 46.9-percent shooting and 13.0 points per game over her four-year career. “Getting to make playlists for my teammates and talk to them about what they like, what they don’t like. I’m not a big country girl, but I’ve learned to love certain songs because of different teammates that I’ve had.

“I’ve actually created a playlist this year, and I had a game day song for every single game day,” she explained. “I put them all together in order of our games, and I remember one time when my teammates wanted to listen to it, and they’re like, ‘What is this Haley? It is all over the place.’ It’ll go from one day was Aretha Franklin. The next was … Jay Z and then the next day was Cheetah Girls. So it’s really all over.”

Connection and communication are as much a priority as basketball for Jones, who is keeping up with workouts two to three times a day while living in Santa Barbara with her trainer’s family, for whom she works as a nanny. She’s also finishing up two classes remotely before graduation in June, when she’ll receive her degree in communications.

Jones said she chose to study communications, specifically journalism and film studies, because she hopes to parlay that into a post-basketball career. She’s already getting her feet wet with a podcast on The Players’ Tribune called “Sometime I Hoop,” which features conversations with fellow women’s college basketball standouts like Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark and Hailey Van Lith. Jones said she’s in the process of hammering out logistics for the podcast’s future as she transitions to the professional ranks.

As Jones heads to the WNBA, she admits to having some bittersweet moments after Stanford’s surprise exit from the NCAA tournament last month. The No. 1-seeded Cardinal, who won the title in 2021 and lost in the championship game in 2022, headed home after a second-round upset by No. 8-seeded Ole Miss, losing 54-49 on their home court.

“When you lose, you’re like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I have nothing to show for myself. Everything sucks,’” said Jones, who was named Most Outstanding Player at the 2021 NCAA tournament. “And then I take a step back, and I realized we won three Pac-12 titles in a row, two Pac-12 Championships, two Final Fours and a national championship (in 2021). Stanford hadn’t won in 29 years before we got there. So there’s a lot to be proud of.

“My legacy is one of, you know, excellence. It’s one of winning. It’s being a good person on and off the court. It’s one of just wholesome excellence is the legacy I hope to have to leave.”

.@haleyjoness19 did not COME TO PLAY ?? She breaks down her 3 favorite things that she loves about her #WNBADraft night fit pic.twitter.com/lidBFxCfnF
— WNBA (@WNBA) April 10, 2023

Despite the heartbreaking early exit, Jones said she did tune into the rest of the tournament and called the championship game between Iowa and LSU “one for the books.” She also shared her thoughts on the exchange between LSU’s Angel Reese and Clark, chiming in with support for both players.

“In terms of the controversy, I don’t really think there is much of it. I think it’s two great players, who are two highly competitive players. And I think, honestly, the only reason why it became this whole controversy thing is because the media and people who watch women’s basketball aren’t used to seeing that type of competitiveness, talking crap, getting up in your face, doing this and that. … We heard Angel and Caitlin say it’s just the game, right? Like, I’m locked in, whatever, no hard feelings. So I think it was really just people not expecting that from women’s basketball.”

NBC Sports’ editorial producer Sarah Hughes contributed to this report.