Louisville G Skylar Jones No Longer With Team

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - If the Louisville women's basketball program is to go on a run in the NCAA Tournament, they'll have to do so without Skylar Jones.

Head coach Jeff Walz announced Friday that the reserve guard will not suit up for the remainder of the Cardinals' season, and that she is no longer with the team.

"She will not be participating (in the NCAA Tournament)," Walz said. "She's no longer with the team, so we've just parted ways. It's best for both parties."

The 6-foot-0 junior guard/forward had been a key piece of Louisville's rotation during the 2025-26 season. Playing in all 34 games up to this point while making one start, Jones was averaging the fifth-most points on the team at 8.4 per game, as well as the most steals on the team at 1.5 per game. She was also averaging 2.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game, while shooting 44.6 from the field and 30.8 percent on three-point tries.

Despite losing her production, Walz doesn't believe it will have a massive impact on Louisville's guard rotation.

"I think if you go back to the past month, it's really not going to change much," he said. "In our ACC Finals Mack played all 45 minutes. Yeah, I'm not concerned about that with Reyna, Imari, Taj, Mack. Bender can step in there and play some minutes for us. Laura can move to the three if needed.

"We have plenty of players. I mean, at this time of year, look what Sienna men did with five. You're just putting your best ones out there. Unless they're in foul trouble or they're about to just keel over and die because they're exhausted, you keep playing them. It's not you're saving them for the next game. So I've never been one to just sub to sub. We have plenty of depth with Imari coming off the bench and Reyna."

Jones joined the program last offseason as a transfer from Arizona, and she was one of UA's most productive players that season. Appearing in 32 games while starting 25, she averaged 10.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.6 steals, all while shooting 49.2 percent from the floor and 35.2 percent on three-point attempts.

He sophomore season came on the heel of a productive true freshman campaign during the 2023-24 season. That year, she played in 32 games with 15 starts, and put 7.2 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. She was named a Pac-12 All-Freshman Team honorable mention for her efforts.

Third-seeded and No. 13 AP ranked Louisville (27-7, 15-3 ACC) will get their run in the NCAA Tournament started against 14th-seeded America East champion Vermont (25-7, 13-3 AE). Tip-off between the Cardinals and Catamounts is set for Saturday, Mar. 21 at 12:00 p.m. EST from the KFC Yum! Center.

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