After signing only one player in 2025, women’s basketball head coach Shawn Poppie has wasted no time building momentum with Clemson’s 2026 recruiting class.
Leading the charge in Clemson’s 2026 surge is five-star guard Trinity Jones, who committed to the Tigers on Monday over offers from Tennessee, LSU, UCLA and TCU.
She joins an already loaded class that features three top-60 prospects: forward Julia Scott, forward Kimora Fields and guard Meeyah Green — the girlfriend of Clemson football commit Shavar Young Jr.
Jones is the highest-ranked recruit in program history. She also ranks as the No. 7 overall player nationally, the No. 2 shooting guard and the No. 1 player in the state of Illinois, according to 247Sports Composite.
The Clemson women’s basketball 2026 class is almost certain to finish top-three nationally, if not first, with Jones being the cherry on top of an already No. 5-ranked recruiting class. It’s safe to say Poppie is building a greatly renewed foundation in the hills of Clemson, and it’s working for both sides.
The 6-foot-1 guard currently attends Bolingbrook High School in Illinois and has also participated in Team USA camps and teams annually since 2023.
As a member of the 2023 USA Basketball Women’s U16 National Team, she averaged 9.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in helping the team to a 6-0 record and gold medal at the 2023 FIBA U16 Americas Championship.
In 2024, Jones attended the USA Basketball Women’s Junior National Team minicamp. Most recently, she participated in the 2025 USA Women’s U19 National Team Trials and attended the Women’s Junior National Team April minicamp.
Clemson is not often seen competing against high-major programs for a recruit, but that’s just what head coach Poppie does.
Since arriving in Tigertown ahead of last season, Jones marks the sixth top-100 recruit Poppie has acquired. Before he arrived at Clemson, the team had only had six top-100 recruits in the prior 12 years.
The Clemson Tigers only have three freshmen guards on the team heading into the 2025-26 season, meaning Jones should have wiggle room to slide into the rotation by the time the 2026 season begins in the Upstate.
With Jones now on board, it’s clear that Poppie isn’t just changing Clemson’s recruiting reputation; he’s changing the program’s trajectory.
