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Iowa basketball player Ava Jones retires due to injuries sustained in car crash that killed her father

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COLLEGE PARK, MD – JANUARY 7: The Iowa Hawkeyes logo on their uniform during the game against the Maryland Terrapins at the Xfinity Center on January 7, 2021 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Maryland Terrapins/Getty Images)

Ava Jones’ career was derailed in 2022. (Photo by G Fiume/Maryland Terrapins/Getty Images)

Iowa basketball player Ava Jones announced her retirement from college basketball on Friday, nearly two years after the car accident that left her seriously injured and her father dead.

In a statement from the Hawkeyes, the forward explained that she could keep her scholarship but was no longer a member of the team.

Jones’ full statement:

“First, I want to say how grateful I am to have been a part of the Iowa women’s basketball program. I feel extremely fortunate to have been a part of this journey last season.

“It is with great sadness that I announce that due to medical reasons, I will be retiring from my college basketball career. My coaches, doctors, teammates and trainers have been tremendous since the accident. While I will no longer be a member of the women’s basketball program, I will continue to have a scholarship, receive a world-class education and be a Hawkeye forever.”

“I would like to thank my family for their never-ending support and look forward to the next chapter of my life.”

Jones was a four-star recruit and the 84th member of the class of 2023 according to ESPN, but her career ended before she ever stepped foot on the court for Iowa.

On July 5, 2022, Jones, her brother and her parents were struck by an allegedly impaired driver who veered his car onto the sidewalk in Louisville. The impact killed her father, Trey, and left her mother, Amy, with a brain injury and 21 broken bones, according to ESPN. Her younger brother was treated only for minor injuries.

Jones reportedly suffered a traumatic brain injury, torn ligaments in both knees and a shoulder injury, leaving it questionable whether she will ever play basketball again. She had committed to play at Iowa just two days earlier.

Her injuries left her doctors and then-Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder amazed that she was able to walk again in October:

“I can’t believe she walked,” Bluder said, via the Cedar Rapids Gazette. “The doctor said, ‘I’ve never seen anyone come in here with four torn ligaments in their knee without crying.'”

The driver involved, Michael Hurley, was reportedly indicted by a grand jury and charged with murder, two counts of first-degree assault, fourth-degree assault and driving under the influence. A police report said he admitted to taking hydrocodone before driving.

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