Newcastle Eagles Women have added former Southern Miss guard Jakayla “JK” Johnson to their roster for the 2026/27 Super League Basketball season.
The 5’9” guard is set to begin her professional career in Newcastle after a productive college spell in the United States, giving head coach Chloe Gaynor another scoring option in the backcourt.
Johnson averaged 15.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game during her senior season at Southern Mississippi, while shooting 39.2% from three-point range. Those numbers helped her earn All-Sun Belt Conference second-team honours.
Before her move to Southern Miss, Johnson spent two seasons at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, where she averaged more than 15 points per game in both campaigns and earned All-Sun Belt first-team recognition in 2024/25.
Gaynor said Johnson can score in a variety of ways and also takes pride defensively, adding that the guard’s toughness and “will to win” stood out during recruitment conversations.
For Newcastle, the move continues the build of a new-look women’s squad and adds a first-year professional with proven college scoring production. Johnson arrives with a chance to make an immediate impact in SLB Women if that shooting and energy translate quickly to the British game.
Johnson said she is “blessed for the opportunity” and promised Newcastle fans “relentless energy, passion, and a winning mindset every game”.
Sources / notes
- Newcastle Eagles official announcement.
- Featured image sourced from the Newcastle Eagles announcement. Explicit reuse licence was not found; used as editorial source imagery after Minty requested publication.