Caitlin Clark responds to ex-Iowa teammate’s cancer diagnosis after fatal car crash ended career
Ava Jones, a former Iowa basketball recruit, has been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma after being forced to medically retire from the Hawkeyes program.
Jones announced her diagnosis on Instagram and has been flooded with messages of support, with former Iowa star and current WNBA player, Caitlin Clark, also reaching out. “Praying for you kid,” Clark replied to Jones’ post, with current Hawkeyes star Lucy Olsen also sending her love.
The rare cancer diagnosis comes two-and-a-half years after Jones was severely injured in a car crash during her senior year of high school. Jones suffered a brain injury and her mother was also badly injured, but tragically, her father was killed in the accident.
“I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma after the results from the biopsy came back,” Jones wrote on Instagram. “This is the news no one ever wants to get, but especially after spending the last 2 and a half years working my butt off and recovering from getting hit by a car.
“My body is very strong and I am confident in the doctors here at lowa,” she concluded. Following the crash, Jones still obtained her scholarship and was listed as a freshman on the Hawkeyes roster, where she was teammates with Clark before she medically retired from basketball in 2024.
Iowa head coach Jan Jensen is certain that Jones will beat the cancer, after sharing a conversation with the former basketball athlete. “While this news is so hard to believe, there’s no question that Ava will fight like she has so courageously in every realm,” she said.
“In our first conversation, she told me she is going to kick it. And that’s an attitude that has always served her well.”
Jones has had a tough start in life, after being listed as a top 100 recruit (84th overall) from the 2023 class. Jones averaged over 20 points per game during her sophomore and junior year of high school, but her life changed in July 2022, when she was in Louisville for an AAU basketball tournament with her family just days after committing to Iowa.
Michael Hurley of Indiana was found guilty of three counts of assault following a five-day trial held in Jefferson County, Kentucky, for crashing while driving under the influence. In December 2024, Hurley was sentenced to 70 years in prison, despite the jury recommending a 75-year sentence.
Prosecutors said that Hurley was high when driving into the Jones family in downtown Louisville. The impaired driver mounted a curb and hit the Jones family, with Ava’s father, Trey Jones, sadly passing away days later.
Ava Jones suffered a traumatic brain injury, damage to her shoulder, and tore the ligaments in both knees. Her mother, Amy Jones, broke 21 bones and also suffered a brain injury, while Ava’s younger brother, Creek, managed to escape serious injury.
