Oregon's newest Duck has March Madness, WNBA in her sights

• Mia Jacobs joined the Oregon Ducks from Fresno State University in the transfer portal
• She averaged 18.3 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and 1.8 assists per game last season
• Jacobs was just one of two players to average at least 17 points, 10 rebounds and two steals in Division 1

Australian Mia Jacobs is the newest member of the Oregon Ducks women’s basketball program and make no mistake, she isn’t shying away the challenge.

After a standout season with Fresno State, Jacobs made the decision to enter the transfer portal and a plethora of programs were chasing her services.

Jacobs’ college journey began in 2022-23 when she played her freshman season at La Selle University, alongside her older twin sisters Claire and Amy, before transferring to Fresno State, where she developed into one of the most productive forwards in NCAA Division 1 women’s basketball.

Averaging 18.3 points (38% three-point shooting), 10 rebounds, two steals and 1.8 assist per game, Jacobs was a woman on a mission for the Bulldogs. She was one of only two players in the country this past season to average at least 17 points, 10 rebounds and two steals per game, alongside the No.7 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft Aneesah Morrow.

Not content with dominating the Mountain West Conference, Jacobs wanted to test herself even further in her final year of college eligibility.

“There was a lot of decision making just in whether I would stay in the Mountain West Conference or go up, and I decided that I wanted to move up in conferences to go to a ‘power four’ school,” Jacobs told basketball.com.au.

“I entered the transfer portal knowing that I wanted to develop against higher level girls - that was one thing I was looking and really pushing for in my recruitment.”

And the schools came calling. Jacobs received offers from programs in the Big 10, ACC, SEC, Big East, among others too, but after a visit to Oregon University, she knew it was the place for her.

“I went on my visit and I was supposed to go on more, but the school and Coach Kelly [Graves] spoke to me and I just felt so much at home,” she said.

“I'm so excited to get out there and just be in Oregon as well, it's such a gorgeous town with all the nature, so it's a good change of scenery.”

Jacobs has risen through the ranks of college basketball and at every stop along the way has taken her game to the next level and thrived. Now in the Big 10, a conference loaded with pro-ready players, she will be tested more than ever and she’s ready for it all.

“It’s a great opportunity to learn and to grow my basketball and my IQ,” Jacobs said.

“I’m able to kind of take that next step up without having to leave college against bigger and stronger bodies so that I am prepared for life after college, whether that's WNBA or WNBL.

“Being able to compete at a high level against those types of bodies and that type of height and quickness is something that’s important for me. We played UCLA and USC this year, so now being in that same conference is exciting and something that I’m looking forward to.”

Jacobs will be joining an Oregon squad, which made the second round of this year's NCAA Tournament, and her versatility and scoring will help push the Ducks even further forward.  

Her discussions with Graves were all about taking advantage of the opportunities that will be in front her, which she has done at every chance throughout her three-year college career.

“We talked a lot about what needs to improve, what he's expecting of me and it's a lot,” Jacobs said.

“It's great that he has that confidence in me and he wants to put me in positions that I can be successful in. It’s my opportunity to lose, so he’s going to give me these opportunities, but at the end of the day I'm the one person that can decide whether I get to those goals or not.”

A major goal for Jacobs is getting to the NCAA Tournament. Having not experienced March Madness yet, she’s craving the opportunity to finally get there with the Ducks.

“I want to play in March, well the end of March,” she said.

“That's one of the big things of being a college athlete is getting to play in the NCAA Tournament, getting the opportunity to be on that high-level stage and be seen by a lot of people.

“We have a good group, there’s nine girls returning, which is almost unheard of at the moment with the transfer portal, so the only girls that left were graduates. It's really exciting just to see that they're all locked in and ready for next year.”

With more talent than ever around her, Jacobs is looking forward to having more space to operate in. At Fresno State, she was often triple-teamed and performed remarkably well to fight her way through those challenges as the key to everything the Bulldogs did on offence.

“It'll be nice that I can go inside, be able to pass out and not be double or triple-teamed in the paint because everyone will have to be guarded,” she said.

“I'm really excited just to try to play one-on-one, which will obviously help my passing.”

Another exciting aspect of joining Oregon is the Nike gear Jacobs is going to revel in. The Ducks are well-known for developing unreal athletes, but (almost just as importantly) anyone who follows college sports knows Oregon has the best Nike gear around.

“I'm so excited,” Jacobs said.

“I've never been to a Nike school, so I’m going to have a clean out and refresh everything, I'm so excited.”

For those that have followed Jacobs’ career trajectory, it’s been an incredible journey to watch as she’s gone from a talented freshman who forced her way into a starting role at La Selle to now committing to one of the most storied schools in the American college sports. It simply doesn’t get much bigger than being an Oregon Duck.

The college ride, which has one final chapter yet to be written, has been more than Jacobs could’ve ever wished for.

“Sometimes I just think back and I'm just like ‘this is insane’," she said.

“From watching my sisters go through it and now I have one year left of college and it feels like it’s gone so fast but I'm so grateful for all of the opportunities and where life is taking me.  

“I've lived in America for almost three years by myself now, the independence and growth that comes from that aspect, not only for basketball, but personally, is something that was really important. I would recommend college to anyone just in that aspect of growing, being by yourself and having to learn the ways of life.”

Jacobs has learnt the ways of life on the other side of the world from her hometown of Perth, and in her senior year with more eyes than ever on her, I get the feeling more and more people are about to learn all about Jacobs’ versatile and dominant game.

About the Author

Hayley Wildes is passionate about all things Australian women’s basketball and loves to highlight the stories of players from all levels and competitions across the globe. From our own backyard in the WNBL, to the WNBA and the Opals, and everything in between, Hayley has you covered.