Staff photo / Neel Madhavan YSU point guard Jada Leonard pushes the ball up the floor during a transition drill in practice on July 1 at Zidian Family Arena.

YOUNGSTOWN — When Jada Leonard entered the transfer portal after the end of last season, she was looking for a fresh start for her final season of eligibility.

At the time, Leonard was dealing with a bit of uncertainty after a coaching change at Cleveland State and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to play a fifth year of college basketball. But she was “willing to bet on herself” and see what her options were.

At first, Leonard didn’t want to come back to play in the Horizon League. But on a visit to Youngstown State on April 17, she committed to the Penguins.

Now, Leonard will take over the reins at point guard to spearhead head coach Melissa Jackson’s offense and defense, as she hopes to help lead YSU to a Horizon League championship.

“I just told myself, I knew I was going to know when I committed if it was the right fit for me, and I just felt that right from the start,” Leonard said. “It just speaks to how great of a coach and recruiter [Jackson is] and just the environment and the people that Youngstown has because they changed my perspective. They believed in me, they told me that they could elevate my game, and that was what I was looking for.

“I feel like this is the best college that I’ve been to so far in my career, and I’m excited to be on the floor with them.”

The Bronx, N.Y. native comes to YSU after a breakout campaign last year with the Vikings, where she averaged 12.0 points and 3.0 assists in 33 minutes per game.

Prior to her time at CSU, Leonard averaged 11.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 2.0 assists per game during her first two years of college at St. Peter’s and then she redshirted during the 2024-25 season at Bryant.

“With Jada Leonard, obviously we know her really well from her time at Cleveland State. Big fan of hers,” Jackson said. “I think she gives us unbelievable experience at point guard. I’ve already seen in the workouts I’ve been with her just her vocal presence is there. This is all new for her too, so I think she’s going to be great for some of our young kids in that point guard group. Really excited about what she can bring obviously defensively, but I think also offensively.”

Leonard was named to the Horizon League’s All-Defensive Team last season after averaging 2.88 steals per game, which was tied for 21st in Division I.

She also developed into one of the better transition scorers in the country by averaging 4.1 fast-break points per game.

That combination of her defensive tenacity and her willingness to push the tempo in transition make her a seamless fit into Jackson’s system on both ends of the floor, as she joins a YSU team that boasted the Horizon League’s best defense last season.

“From the time I was young, I’ve been told to get after it. Defense creates offense,” Leonard said. “I feel like [the Penguins] are very defensive-minded, so I’m excited to work with [assistant coach Kayla DeCriscio] on the defensive end. I played a zone my whole college career, so I really wanted to test myself and step out of my comfort zone this last year by playing man.

“This was the No. 1 defense in our conference, and they were hard to score against. So I’m just excited to be a part of it and be part of a team that likes to play defense and then translate it to offense.”

Leonard said she’s had a “smooth” transition to YSU since she first arrived on campus on June 10.

The Penguins began summer workouts last week, which was Leonard’s first opportunity to get on court with her new Penguins teammates, seven of whom she played against when she was with the Vikings last season.

“At first, I was a little nervous because you’re taught to compete hard against these players, and you see them as the opponent and the enemy,” Leonard said. “So joining them, it was a little weird. But from the time I got on campus, they’ve embraced me and I don’t feel like an outsider.

“Sometimes I tell Sarah [Baker] when I’m passing her the ball, I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, usually I see you on the other end of that, taking that away.’ So it’s just been exciting and they’re very welcoming. We already have great chemistry, which is weird because we were playing against each other. But you can already see it in these first couple days that we’re going to have a good year.”