Happy Homecoming: Jaz Shelley is back in Australia with a point to prove

After five years abroad, Geelong United’s marquee signing is finally back home, and armed with everything she needs to take her game to the next level.

Photo credit: NBL1

Preseason basketball is well and truly underway at Nebraska, but as the women’s team goes back and fourth, and up and down the court of the Hendricks Training Complex in Lincoln, something doesn’t feel quite right.

Wearing their trademark red and white, the Cornhuskers complete their offensive sets to perfection under the watchful eye of coach Amy Williams, but the feeling lingers. It’s the air of an unmistakable absence. Even now, Australian sophomore Jess Petrie can’t help but expect Jaz Shelley to walk in at any moment.

“I was just having a conversation with [Petrie],” Shelley shares. “She just thinks I’m going to pop back in and just play this season. It feels really strange to disconnect from that team and not be there anymore.”

It’s no surprise Petrie feels that way, because for the last three years Jaz Shelley has been as synonymous to Nebraska as corn is to farming in the fields the state is so famous for. Over her three seasons as a Cornhusker, Shelley put together the kind of resume most collegiate athletes could only dream of; a mix of milestones, records, and feats that quickly saw her become as big as any celebrity in the college town of Lincoln. There were countless school records. A Big Ten championship game. Highlights worthy of SportsCenter. And let’s not forget that famous comeback win over Caitlin Clark and Iowa.

“I think it’s really cool to be able to say that, and you can tell your kids about that one day when she’s won however many gold medals or done whatever she’s about to do.”

It’s no secret that Shelley has long been the beating heart of the school’s basketball program, but six months ago, that illustrious chapter of her life finally closed. All of a sudden, Shelley had played her final game, finished her final exam, and at least as a student, left Lincoln for the final time. For the first time in five years, Jaz Shelley was no longer the college basketball star.

But while many athletes can lose a sense of identity through that kind of complicated transition, it’s been a change Shelley has willingly embraced.

“I’ve always been super excited about this next chapter of my life and itching for it, so I’ve had time to get some closure and be done at college,” she shares. “That experience for me was once in a lifetime, and it made me better because of it, so I’m really happy for that experience.”

Six months on from leaving Lincoln, and a lot’s changed. Shelley’s been both drafted and cut from the WNBA. She’s made her long awaited homecoming while making a new home in Geelong. And as she starts a new chapter with the WNBL’s newest club, she’s already eyeing an even bigger prize.