Jackie Stiles Net Worth
Jackie Stiles was an elite professional women’s basketball player and assistant coach. She holds the all-time college women’s scoring record and earned Rookie of the Year honors with Portland Fire in 2001.
She is honored with inductions into Missouri State, Springfield Area and Kansas High School Halls of Fame as an accomplished athlete who competed in cross country and tennis events.
Early Life and Education
Stiles began playing basketball at 12 and quickly garnered the interest of coaches at Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State), who then extended her an offer. She also received offers from UConn, Kansas State and Oklahoma Universities.
Portland Fire selected her fourth overall in the 2001 WNBA Draft and she earned Rookie of the Year honors as an initial rookie, however injuries hindered her development as an athlete.
Today, she runs basketball camps for kids at NexGen Fitness in Springfield and speaks at high schools and colleges about her philanthropic work. At these camps she instills three major fundamentals into campers: hard work, determination and believing in yourself even during challenging times. Ben Cain covers regional and national news for The Heartlander; he hails from rural central Kansas and was previously employed by KSPR, KY3 and Ozarks Sports Zone as a journalist.
Professional Career
As word spread about Stiles – who never asked for or sought recognition or attention – her story moved people across the nation; especially those who had lost loved ones due to this disease.
At Missouri State, she led her team to the Final Four in 2001 and went on to play professionally with Portland Fire, Lubbock Hawks, and Canberra Capitals before retiring in 2006.
Stiles currently resides in Springfield, Missouri where she runs J. Stiles Total Training and NexGen Fitness, is a motivational speaker, hosts basketball camps for children as well as being honored as part of Missouri State, MVC and Springfield Area Halls of Fames as an advocate of ocular melanoma awareness.
Achievement and Honors
Stiles has an extensive career as both an NBA player and coach at both collegiate and professional levels, winning the Wade Trophy and Honda Sports award as part of her WNBA playing and coaching tenures. Additionally, she holds memberships in Missouri State, Springfield Area Kansas Sports Halls of Fames along with National High School Halls of Fames.
Stiles overcame her obstacles as a young girl growing up in Claflin, Kansas with hard work and perseverance. She credits her parents’ tireless dedication in sending her to basketball camps and clinics – something Stiles attributes as being instrumental to reaching her goals.
She now uses her story of hard work and perseverance to spread the message of hard work and persistence as coach of OU women’s team by day and running her personal training business by night. Her goal is to serve as an inspiration for those with ambitious goals who may need a helping hand along their journey.
Personal Life
Stiles is one of the greatest women’s basketball players ever and her career spanned more than 16 years – from her prep days in Claflin, Kansas through college where she rewrote NCAA record books to professional career in WNBA – inspiring millions across America along the way.
Doctors recently informed Stiles of her tumor’s shrinkage and cancer cells’ death; however, her vision will continue to diminish over the coming five years. Stiles has decided to use her story and experience to inspire and help others and has established J. Stiles Total Training personal training service; in addition, she is honored as being inducted into Springfield Area, Missouri State, and National High School Halls of Fames.
Net Worth
Stiles is beloved and well-recognized worldwide for her stellar talent and hard work in reaching where she is today.
In September 2017, she began her sixth season as an assistant coach at Missouri State. Little did she anticipate that her first hospital trip would lead to an experience that would alter her life irrevocably.
Stiles was diagnosed with ocular melanoma, an uncommon form of skin cancer found mostly among women. She became a mentor to young players and an inspiration to women across the country; yet she remains fearful; every six months, she receives a full body scan in the hopes that it won’t metastasize like it has in half the people with this form of cancer.
