WILLIAMSBURG — William & Mary men’s basketball head coach Brian Earl announced the signing of 6-0 guard Jhei-R Jones (Sauk Village, Ill. / Lincoln-Way East / Winona State) to the program for the 2025-26 season.
After two seasons at the Junior College level, Jones played the last two seasons in Division II, helping both Fort Lewis College (2023-24) and Winona State (2024-25) to the NCAA Division II Regional Tournament. He earned his undergraduate degree from Winona State this past spring and will enroll in W&M’s prestigious Raymond A. Mason School of Business.
Over his four collegiate seasons across 124 career games, Jones has scored 1,462 points (11.8 per game) with 642 rebounds (5.2), 385 assists (3.1), and 204 steals (1.6). He also enjoys career shooting percentages of 45.6% from the field, 37.2% from 3-point range, and 81.1% at the free throw line.
Last season, Jones led Winona State to 22 wins and the Warriors first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2014. A College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team selection, he started 31 of 32 games and averaged 10.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game, while hitting 39 3-pointers.
Jones helped lead Fort Lewis to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament Championship. The Skyhawks finished the 2023-24 season at 29-4 overall and qualified for the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Tournament.
In 2022, Jones was a NJCAA Division III Third Team All-American after leading Joliet Junior College to the North Central Community College Conference Championship and a 27-6 overall record. He averaged 12.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game. His 61 steals ranked 22nd in the NJCAA DIII and his 102 assists were 36th nationally. Jones was named to the All-Region 4 and N4C All-Conference first teams.
During his sophomore season at Kaskaskia College, Jones led all of NJCAA, shooting 49.6% from 3-point range, hitting 59 total triples. He averaged 16.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game for the Blue Devils. Jones erupted for a career-high 34 points in a win over Southeastern Illinois College and recorded a triple-double behind 26 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists vs. Greenville University.
Jones becomes the third graduate transfer and eighth member of the Tribe’s class this offseason. He joins a W&M’s incoming group that includes forward Kaleb Spencer (Manteo, N.C. / Fork Union Military Academy), forward Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi (Stockholm, Sweden / LaSalle), forward Kilian Brockhoff (Cuxhaven, Germany/Saint Louis), forward Cade Haskins (Minneapolis, Minn. / Dartmouth), forward Jo’el Emanuel (Suffern, N.Y. / Fairleigh Dickinson), guard Reese Miller (Round Rock, Texas / Blinn Community College), and guard Ethan Connery (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio / Casper College).
In its first season under Earl, the Tribe enjoyed one of the top turnarounds in the country, finishing with a 17-15 record. The 17 wins rank 12th in program history, while the program produced 11 CAA wins for just the fifth time. W&M debuted a new style of play featuring a fast-paced tempo. The Green and Gold ranked among the national leaders in tempo, 3-point shooting, scoring, and assists.
