Sister of former Ohio State star QB ready to make her mark at Michigan.
They’d been on a family vacation when she scheduled her official visit to Ann Arbor; Justin bristled at that. So she expected his reaction to the call, though he was half-joking. He called right back, they had a laugh, and the sibling rivalry was on.When Jessica Fields called her older brother to tell him her college choice, he hung up immediately.
Fields had picked Michigan. Her brother, Justin, had been a star quarterback at Ohio State.Fields will suit up for the Michigan women’s basketball team this season, arriving on campus later this month. She’ll join a freshman class that includes fellow top-100 prospects McKenzie Mathurin and Ciara Byars.As a four-year varsity starter, she was a force in the paint. Stephanie Dunn, her coach, complimented Fields’ footwork.
“I was always the tallest player on my team in elementary school and middle school,” Fields said. “So I just got really, really good at the simple stuff. You learn one move and then you learn a counter to that move, then you keep building off of it.”
Fields can face up in the high post and attack off the dribble with either hand, and her range extends to the 3-point line.
She has a motor that doesn’t stop and takes pride in guarding the opposing team’s best player, good attributes for a young player hoping to get playing time on an NCAA Tournament-caliber team.Fields, a 6-foot-1 forward from Georgia ranked No. 97 in the 2025 class by ESPN.
“Jess is going to bring another level of athleticism to our program,” Michigan head coach Kim Barnes Arico said upon her signing in November. Calling her a “game changer,” she highlighted Fields’ shot blocking, rebounding, and bounce. “Her feel for the game is next-level and her motor is special. She is someone who will make an impact for us on both sides of the floor.”
While Fields’ siblings Justin and Jadyn, a former softball star at Georgia, went to a public school in Kennesaw, the COVID pandemic forced her middle school at the time to go online-only. She transferred to Mount Paran Christian for a year, liked it, and stayed through high school
Michigan’s interest started with Justine Raterman, who until last season was an assistant at Marquette. When she came to Michigan, she told Barnes Arico about Fields, or at least encouraged Michigan to step up its pursuit. According to Fields, Barnes Arico hadn’t spent much time in Georgia given the unlikelihood of luring talent outside of SEC country.
Fields played for a big-time AAU program, Essence, which raised her profile. Detractors in her area reminded her how far Michigan was. With her siblings now living in New York — Justin will be the Jets’ starting quarterback — location wasn’t a major factor. Neither was climate. “Basketball’s an indoor sport,” she said matter-of-factly.
Her siblings told her to pick a program with a track record of player development. Michigan, Fields said, “was a perfect fit.” She appreciated how a Michigan coach always seemed to be at her games. On her official visit, she bonded with the current Wolverines.
