St. Mary’s alum Jordan Lee leads Texas to NCAA Final Four

One of San Joaquin County’s own is headed back to the Final Four.

St. Mary’s graduate and Texas sophomore guard Jordan Lee is headed to the Final Four for the second straight year.

On April 3, she and Texas take on No. 1 UCLA at 6:30 p.m., with a spot in the NCAA women’s national championship on the line against either No. 1 South Carolina or No. 1 UConn.

The path there started with 12 points in a 78-61 win over South Carolina in the SEC Tournament championship.

She followed with 19 against No. 16 Missouri State, 17 against No. 8 Oregon, 18 against No. 5 Kentucky and four against No. 2 Michigan in the NCAA Tournament.

Averaging 13.3 points — second on a No. 1 seed in Regional 3 — her impact is clear.

And she’s not the only one.

No other former San Joaquin County women’s players made the NCAA Tournament, but the presence remains.

Five are competing at the Division I level.

With that, here are eight San Joaquin County athletes competing across NCAA Division I, II and III.

Nyah Buntun

High School: St. Mary’s

College: Tarleton State (Division I)

Summary:Ranked as the No. 2 point guard in California and No. 6 prospect in the state by Prep Girls Hoops, Nyah Buntun saw action in 19 games as a freshman at Tarleton State, averaging 0.8 points in 5.1 minutes per game.

Jordan Lee

High School: St. Mary’s

College: Texas (Division I)

Summary: The accolades came early for Jordan Lee — the No. 9-ranked player in the 2024 class by ESPN, a McDonald’s All-American and a gold medalist, all before leaving Stockton. The transition to Texas brought no dropoff. She earned All-SEC Freshman Team honors, averaged 5.8 points and played in 39 games, highlighted by a 16-point outing in the Final Four against No. 2 South Carolina. This season, she has taken another step, averaging 13.3 points, second on the No. 1 seed in Regional 3 of the NCAA Tournament.

Sophia Lee

High School: St. Mary’s

College: Sacramento State (Division I)

Summary: Starting at BYU, Sophia Lee redshirted her freshman year before moving to Sacramento State, where she played in 27 games as a sophomore and averaged 2.2 points in 12.6 minutes per game. She saw action in 17 games as a junior before an injury sidelined her for both last season and this season.

Lailah Leonard-Roberts

High School: Lincoln

College: La Verne (Division III)

Summary: Limited to one appearance as a freshman, Lailah Leonard-Roberts logged 12 minutes against Life Pacific.

Nyah Lowery

High School: St. Mary’s

College: University of Pacific (Division I)

Summary: Year by year, Nyah Lowery has taken a step forward at Pacific. She has played in 30-plus games each season, with her production climbing from 2.1 points in 14.2 minutes as a freshman to 4.1 points in 19.2 minutes as a sophomore, and 5.9 points in 21.2 minutes this year.

Lele Tanuvasa

High School: St. Mary’s

College: University of Northern Colorado (Division I)

Summary: It began at the University of Colorado, where Lele Tanuvasa redshirted before taking the floor at USC Upstate in 2024-25. She played in 27 games, averaging 3.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and 11.0 minutes per game. Now at Northern Colorado, she has appeared in 16 games, averaged 10.2 minutes and posted a season-high 13 points against Bethany.

Michailla Springs

High School: Manteca

College: UC Merced (Division II)

Summary: Five appearances defined the freshman season for Michailla Springs at UC Merced, but one stood out — 23 minutes against Cal Poly Pomona on March 14. Outside of that, her role was limited to just under four minutes per game.

Amya Vangkham-Griffin

High School: Lincoln

College: Stanislaus State (Division II)

Summary: Building off a freshman season in which she played 26 games with 12 starts and averaged 5.3 points and 2.6 rebounds, Amya Vangkham-Griffin delivered a similar performance this year, starting 17 games and averaging 5.5 points and 2.5 rebounds.

This article originally appeared on The Record: St. Mary’s alum Jordan Lee leads Texas to NCAA Final Four