Best Indiana Women’s Basketball Players Of The 2020s So Far: No. 12 Jaelynn Penn

When Indiana began to really emerge as a Big Ten and perennial NCAA Tournament team in the 2019 season, there were names in the starting lineups that would have staying power as the Hoosiers built on their success.

Grace Berger, Ali Patberg, Brenna Wise, Aleksa Gulbe, and by 2020, Mackenzie Holmes, would be stalwarts of the era.

So would another player who wasn’t able to make it to the finish line with the Hoosiers – guard Jaelynn Penn.

Penn spent four seasons with the Hoosiers from 2017-21. She started all but one of 114 games she played in an Indiana uniform. She was a key player as Indiana began its rise to regular winning status.

However, in February 2021, Penn opted out of the rest of the season. She had an ankle injury during the season and had surgery for plantar fasciitis during the previous offseason. Her final season at Indiana featured her lowest scoring average of 9.5, but she was still productive enough to start 10 of the 11 games she played in.

Due to opting out, Penn missed out on the deepest run Indiana women’s basketball has made in the NCAA Tournament – a 2021 trip to the Elite Eight. However, Penn’s career in the 2020s was enough for her to merit inclusion.

Penn, a Louisville, Ky., native, began her career as a starter right out of the chute. From 2017-19, she averaged 12.3 points and made 34.7% of her 3-point shots.

That production falls out of the scope of the top 16 players of the 2020s, but even in her last two seasons, Penn was productive.

In 2020, Penn was one of four Hoosiers to average double-figure scoring at 10.6 points. She was part of an Indiana roster in which six players averaged at least 4.5 rebounds per game. Penn was the player at 4.5 boards.

Penn was also an excellent defender. She took on the toughest assignments in the backcourt and gave the Hoosiers good stopping power. In her final season in 2021, Penn averaged 1.6 steals, easily her career best.

Penn’s highlight of the 2020s came in a memorable losing effort at Iowa in 2020. Penn scored 24 points and only missed one of her eight two-point attempts. However, the Hoosiers fell 91-85 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Penn was granted an extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19 amnesty and elected to finish her career at UCLA in 2022. Penn noted on an Instagram post at the time that she was proud of her time as a Hoosier and praised Indiana’s fans.

Penn averaged 10.5 points in her final season at UCLA, but she spent the bulk of her career as a Hoosier and was good enough to make the cut for the top 16 of the 2020s so far.

Previous women's basketball top 16 players of the 2020s

No. 13 - Karoline Striplin
No. 14 - LIlly Meister
No. 15 - Kiandra Browne
No. 16 - Julianna LaMendola