JenniferHamson

Position: Center

WNBA Years: 2

Height: 6-7

Weight: 210

Born: January 23, 1992 in Orem, Utah

High School: Pleasant Grove (Pleasant Grove, Utah)

College: BYU ‘14

Drafted: By Los Angeles, second round, 2014 WNBA Draft (23rd overall)

Acquired: Signed as a free agent, 7/9/17

• Completed two WNBA seasons: 1 in LA, 1 in Indiana
• WNBL champion in Sydney, Australia (2016-17)
• Participated in USA National Team training in both basketball and volleyball
• Led BYU to NCAA volleyball championship match during what would have been her rookie year in the WNBA
• Two-time first-team All-American in volleyball, honorable mention All-American in basketball
• First West Coast Conference basketball player to earn Player of Year and Defensive Player of Year in same season
• BYU Female Athlete of the Year for 2013-14

Second-year center Jennifer Hamson joins the Indiana Fever midway through the 2017 season, instantly becoming the second-tallest player in the WNBA and matching the tallest in Fever history (Alison Bales, 2007-08)…she played 25 games with Los Angeles during 2015, and was waived as part of a competitive post rotation in training camp with Connecticut earlier this season…she is regarded for being a two-sport athlete and one of the most decorated female athletes in BYU history…Hamson earned West Coast Conference player of the year awards in both basketball (2014) and volleyball (2012), and delayed her WNBA rookie campaign to complete a senior season of volleyball at BYU in fall 2014…she was the first WCC women’s basketball player ever to earn Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year accolades in the same season.

PRO – WNBA

2017: Hamson was acquired by the Fever with an initial 7-day contract in July, and signed to subsequent contracts before receiving a rest-of-the-season contract Aug. 1…she saw action in 12 games, averaging 2.2 points and 2.1 rebounds per game…her best game was an 11-point, 5-rebound effort at Connecticut, 7/30, when she shot 5-of-8 from the floor and added a pair of blocks…she was waived in training camp with Connecticut.

2016: Hamson was waived in training camp with Los Angeles…she averaged 3.7 points through three preseason games, with one start.

2015: Hamson averaged 1.6 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.5 blocked shots in 25 regular season games played with Los Angeles…she scored a season-high 12 points in her second career start, vs. Phoenix, 9/11…she had four games with at least two blocked shots including a season-high four blocked shots against Tulsa, 8/28…she made her first career start versus Atlanta, 9/9…she made her WNBA debut against Seattle, 6/6.

PRO – OVERSEAS

2016-17: Hamson averaged 11 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.4 blocked shots per game while helping Sydney to a WNBL championship in Australia…she was a second-team All-WNBL selection while playing beside WNBA star Leilani Mitchell.

2015-16: Representing Enisey Krasnoyarsk in Russia, Hamson averaged 8.9 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in the Russian League…in EuroCup play, she averaged 8.3 points and 7.6 rebounds.

INTERNATIONAL

2015: She was invited to participate in the 2015 USA Women’s National Team mini-camp, May 4-6 in Las Vegas.

2014: After her selection in the WNBA Draft and prior to her senior year with the BYU volleyball team, Hamson was one of 36 volleyball players who participated with the U.S. Collegiate National Team in Minneapolis.

2012: Hamson was selected to participate in summer activities with the U.S. Collegiate National Team for volleyball.

COLLEGE

Hamson averaged 11.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.8 blocks and 22.5 minutes per game in 122 games at Brigham Young University during her four-year basketball career…she led the BYU women’s basketball team to a 102-34 record over four seasons and three postseason appearances…she finished her college career ninth in school history with 1,437 points scored, second in blocked shots (340) and third in rebounds (965)…she set the BYU single-season mark for blocked shots, 147, as a senior…a ferocious outside hitter in volleyball, she was an AVCA first team All-American in 2014 and 2012, and an honorable mention recipient in 2011…she earned honorable mention All-America status in basketball by the Associated Press in 2014…Hamson was named the Female Athlete of the Year at BYU’s annual Y Awards for 2013-14.

2014-15: Foregoing a would-be rookie year in the WNBA in 2014, Hamson led the BYU volleyball team within one win of its first national title…, she was named MVP of the NCAA Seattle Region, a first-team All-American and a member of the All-WCC first team.

2013-14: Hamson did not play for the Cougar volleyball team in 2013, instead focusing on basketball where she led BYU to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen…Hamson led the nation and set a BYU school record with 147 blocked shots while leading BYU to the Sweet Sixteen against eventual NCAA champ UConn….the first player in West Coast Conference history ever to be voted Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season…she equaled career highs in total rebounds (19) and blocks (nine) in an NCAA Tournament victory against North Carolina State…she was a three-time WCC Player of the Week recipient…Hamson scored a career-high 31 points versus Loyola Marymount, 12/28…she was a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection and a member of the  WCC All-Tournament Team.

2012-13: The West Coast Conference Player of the Year in volleyball as a junior, Hamson earned AVCA All-America first team honors, finishing the season with a team-high 458 kills, 25 games with double-digit kills and a .362 hitting percentage…she ranked 17th nationally with 5.03 points per game…in basketball, Hamson finished 12th in the nation in blocks per game (2.8), and earned first team All-WCC honors.

2011-12: Guiding BYU to the NCAA Tournament and named to the WCC All-Tournament Team, Hamson led BYU in field goal percentage (114-197, .579) and blocked shots (76, 2.5 per game), and finished second in rebounds per game (5.7)…she also led the WCC in field goal percentage and blocks.

2010-11: Helping the Cougars to the 2011 WNIT, she led BYU in field goal percentage (.559) and blocked shots (45, 1.5 per game), as a freshman…she led the Mountain West Conference in field goal percentage and finished fifth in blocked shots per game.

PERSONAL

Jennifer Hamson was born Jan. 23, 1992 and hails from Lindon, Utah, where she is the daughter of David and Tresa Hamson (Spaulding)…her mother was a seven-time All-American at BYU, the holder of numerous school records in basketball and volleyball and a member of the BYU Athletics Hall of Fame…Tresa was one of 17 finalists for the 1984 U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team…Jennifer is the oldest of five Hamson siblings, including 7-foot-3 Adam who currently plays on the BYU men’s basketball team…she has several aunts and uncles who were competitive athletes at BYU and Boise State…she majored in exercise science at BYU…a three-year letterwinner in basketball, Jennifer led Pleasant Grove High School to three consecutive appearances in the Utah state championship game – finishing second as a senior (2010), first as a junior (2009) and second as a sophomore (2008)…also a three-year letterwinner in volleyball, she guided Pleasant Grove to a second-place finish at the state tournament as a junior (2008) and a state title as a senior (2009).

CAREER TRANSACTIONS

(1) Drafted by Los Angeles in the second round (23rd overall) of the 2014 WNBA Draft, 4/14/14. (2) Signed with Los Angeles, 2/23/15. (3) Waived by Los Angeles, 5/20/16. (4) Signed a free agent contract with Connecticut, 2/16/17. (5) Waived by Connecticut, 5/5/17. (6) Signed 7-day contracts with Indiana, 7/9/17, 7/17/17 and 7/25/17. (7) Signed rest-of-season contract with Indiana, 8/1/17.