Tocarra Johnson and Jonesha Neal Don Wilhelm 2025

Women's Basketball 6/10/2025 1:35:00 PM

Blinn sending nine players from 2023-24 freshman class to four-year programs

Sophomores Tocarra Johnson and Jonesha Neal were also honored as the 2024-25 Don Wilhelm Award winners

Women's Basketball 6/10/2025 1:35:00 PM

Blinn sending nine players from 2023-24 freshman class to four-year programs

Sophomores Tocarra Johnson and Jonesha Neal were also honored as the 2024-25 Don Wilhelm Award winners

Blinn College women's basketball head coach said goodbye to his 2023-24 freshman class this spring, and nine of those players will soon be saying hello to their new destinations.

Nine Buccaneers will be moving on to four-year programs to continue their athletic and academic ventures this fall, including a pair of NCAA Division I signees, five NCAA DII commits, and two National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) commits.

Sophomore forwards Tocarra Johnson and DJ Kincade will make the jump to the NCAA Division I level after playing key roles for the Buccaneers for two seasons.

Johnson led Blinn in 2024-25 with 11.7 points and 10.1 rebounds per game and earned Region XIV all-region and all-conference honors. She will continue her basketball journey at Winthrop University.

Kincade evolved into a defensive dynamo for the Buccaneers in her sophomore season, and averaged 5.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.25 steals per contest. She was named the Region XIV Defensive Player of the Year and will take her talents to California State University, Bakersfield.

Sophomore guards Jonesha Neal and Ja'Nya Thomas, as well as sophomore forward Crystal Jones, are moving on to NCAA Division II program The University of Texas Permian Basin. Neal was an all-region, all-conference selection after averaging 11.5 points, six assists, four rebounds, and 1.72 steals per contest. Thomas recorded 7.1 points and two assists per game in her second Blinn season. Jones played 18 games for Blinn as a redshirt freshman this season.

Sophomore guard Wynter Jones is headed to DII program Colorado State University Pueblo following a second season at Blinn which saw her average 7.9 points, 2.4 assists, and two rebounds per contest. Sophomore forward Harper Biley will also head to the Division II level after signing with the University of Arkansas at Monticello. In her lone season as a Buc, Biley averaged 3.7 points and three rebounds.

Heading to NAIA programs are sophomore guards Liz Walton (Stephens College) and Nala Richardson (Texas Wesleyan University). Walton established herself as a 3-point threat during two seasons at Blinn. In her final campaign, she averaged 2.3 points per game and shot almost 30 percent from long distance. Richardson, also a second-year Buc, averaged 2.7 points per contest to go with two rebounds.

This year's graduating class helped the Bucs to 48 victories across two seasons, including a Region XIV Tournament championship and a berth in the 2023-24 NJCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship tournament.

"This group was not only special on the court but also in the classroom, and they did a lot to continue pushing our program forward," Bucs head coach Jeff Jenkins said. "I can't say enough about how special it is that they all have found a place where they will get to continue their education and continue playing basketball while also representing Blinn College."

Additionally, Johnson and Neal were honored by Jenkins as the program's Don Wilhelm Award winners, which goes to Blinn women's basketball's best player or players following each season.

The Wilhelm Award is named after former Blinn College athletic director Don Wilhelm, an NJCAA Hall of Famer and member of the Blinn College Hall of Honor who served the college for 10 years.

"This entire class – but Tocarra and Jonesha especially – has been so special and so much fun to coach," Jenkins said. "Both players averaged double figures in points and served as a key guard-forward tandem that helped us win 48 games and reach the national tournament. You can't really ask for much more from two talented players."

Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 53 national championships since 1987.

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