Tori Jankoska
Tori Jankoska earned 13 varsity letters while competing in basketball, volleyball, soccer and track at Freeland High School. She was a seven-time All-State honoree, including all four years for basketball, twice in volleyball and once as a member of the 3200 relay team at the 2010 state finals. She also amassed 13 All-Tri Valley Conference designations. But, above all, the 2013 graduate left her mark as one of the best prep and college basketball players in state history.
Jankoska announced her presence with authority as a freshman scoring 23 points in her varsity debut, followed by games of 17, 20 and 26. She finished the season averaging 17.3 ppg while shooting 46% from the floor, including 49 three-pointers. That summer, Jankoska received a mention in the USA Today sports section after pouring in 49 points in front of the nation’s top college coaches during an AAU showcase tournament in Washington DC. Having verbally committed to Michigan State University following her freshman season, Jankoska never wavered from that commitment.
She won the prestigious Miss Basketball Award in 2013 after averaging 31.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.9 steals and 3.2 assists. She also received Parade Magazine All-America honors, Michigan Gatorade Player of The Year and the Saginaw County Athlete of The Year Award. Her 2,333 career points are the most in Saginaw County and ninth in the state record book. During her career, the Falcons won three conference titles, three district championships, two regional crowns and made one Final Four appearance.
Jankoska’s impact at MSU was immediate. She scored 24 points in her third game and scored a season high 25 points twice. She was named Big Ten Freshman of The Week and Player of The Week for February 25. She still ranks in the top ten in seven categories in the freshman record book.
Her assault on the Spartan record book was relentless. She never missed a game, starting 114 of 131 while averaging 16.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists for her career. She dazzled the home crowd on January 10, 2017 with a school record 42 points on the same night she became MSU’s career scoring leader during a 94-75 win against No. 11 Ohio State.
A four-time All-Big Ten selection, she finished her career as MSU’s all-time leader in points (2,212), 3-pt. FGs (320) and free throws (478). She ranks second with 707 FGs and third with 489 assists. Her 82.8% FT percentage is third best in school history; her 24 double-doubles are tied for ninth. She is one of just three MSU women to record a triple-double (24 points, 10 assists, 10 rebounds). Her other school records include, most assists in a game (15), most points in a season (746) and most 3-pt. FGs in a season (122). She’s the only Spartan to record top ten career statistics for scoring (1st), assists (3rd) and rebounding (10th).
As a senior, following one of the best individual seasons in MSU history, Jankoska was named All-America Honorable Mention by the Associated Press and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. In Big Ten play, she led the league in FT percentage (92.8) and 3-point FGs (4.3), was second in scoring (23.0), third in assists (5.3), third in defensive rebounds (6.9) and seventh in total rebounds (8.6). Her 22.6 PPG for all 33 games led the Big Ten and is a school record.
Jankoska was selected No. 9 overall by Chicago in the 2017 WNBA Draft but was released after the season opener. Later that year she played in the World University Games in Taiwan where she was the second leading scorer for Team USA. She retired as a player in April 2018 after one season in Poland’s top professional league. Jankoska is currently an assistant coach for the University of Virginia.