Nashville's Jordyn Cambridge reflects on her basketball journey

Through the insurmountable journey that was overcome, Jordyn Cambridge realized that through the heartache of basketball, character and education are what's most important.

Basketball runs in Jordyn Cambridge's DNA. Her father played college basketball and she was among other siblings who compete at a high level.

Cambridge grew up in a Nashville household that allowed her to engage daily with the best when she started playing basketball at just five years old.

"Me and my brothers, we would go outside and we'd play two on two, so I'd be the only girl," said Cambridge.

She explained that her teammate in the backyard games was her brother Dez, who now plays professional basketball overseas. Her opponents were her two brothers, one of which was Devan, who currently plays basketball at Texas Tech.

While it may have started out as fun, basketball became serious to Jordyn when she got to middle school.

In eighth grade, she received her first two offers, one from Tennessee and one from Ole Miss.

An offer from the Lady Vols held excitement as that was the team she grew up watching.

"Truth be told, I grew up a Tennessee fan because my favorite player was Candace Parker."

Although she was used to cheering for Tennessee, when Vanderbilt became interested, so did Cambridge.

"I was starting to get interest from a lot of schools, and Vanderbilt was one of them. I started coming to games and I would see the atmosphere and that was really special, that was when it all started to change."

After attending games and weighing all of her options, the five-star recruit realized Vanderbilt was the place for her, especially considering that she could stay close to the people she loves.

"I'm big on family, I wanted to stay here so my family could see me play. I'm also big on school and Vanderbilt offered me so much, I was thinking longterm."

Cambridge began her college journey as a freshman in 2018.

When she started her collegiate career, the wins were few and far between. In Cambridge’s freshman season, the Commodores won just seven games. She knew she would have to play a big role in order to help her team succeed long term.

"I wanted to be the reason that Vanderbilt got back to where we used to be."

Her first two season were full of personal successes. In her freshman year, the guard saw action in 24 games, but stepped into a bigger role in her sophomore campaign.

Cambridge was named to the All-SEC Defensive team and started in all 30 games that she played, while leading the conference in steals that season.

After her first two years playing at Vanderbilt, her third year was one full of challenges.

Cambridge suffered an achilles injury, and if that wasn't enough, Vanderbilt was undergoing a coaching change.

In 2021, Shea Ralph was announced to be the next head coach, and since Cambridge was local, she got the chance to build a relationship with Ralph when she arrived in Nashville.

Ralph, who played college basketball at UConn, dealt with many injuries herself. Because of this, the two were able to bond and form an instant connection.

"I learned a lot about her injuries and we really connected over that, we were in the same boat," Cambridge commented.

Ralph not only helped guide Cambridge during her injury once, but had to do it again when she tore her ACL after her senior season.

Because of Covid-19 and redshirting for an injury, Cambridge had the option to be a member of Vanderbilt's team for a sixth year, but that was no easy decision after heaving dealt with her second injury in college.

Once again, she looked to Shea Ralph for guidance.

"She was really big into helping me figure out playing into my sixth year because I really thought about it."

After much consideration, Vanderbilt's floor general decided she would play her final year of college basketball and not letting an injury take that away from her.

Little did Cambridge know what her final year had in store.

Vanderbilt had one of the best season that it's had in over a decade. The Commodores started off the season scorching hot, reaching a 16-1 record, which was uncharted water for Jordyn.

"It was something I had never experienced before," she said. "When I look back, I really can't believe it. When I was a freshman and sophomore, this is what I was dreaming of."

The monumental season under Ralph kept going with talks of making the NCAA Tournament carrying throughout the season.

While the big dance was an important goal for Cambridge, the day she will never forget was her senior day against Georgia.

The guard came into the contest with two milestones within reach; scoring 1,000 career points and becoming the all time steals leader at Vanderbilt.

As fate would have it, she was able to accomplish both of those goals in front of an entire section at Memorial filled with family and friends cheering on the "steals queen," according to the homemade signs.

"It was really fun to come here. Now I get to look back and see that I got to come here and my name is in the books."

The last goal that Cambridge wanted to check the box of was making it to the NCAA Tournament.

The Commodores would host a watch party the night of Selection Sunday, with players, coaches and the staff patiently waiting to see if a team on the bubble would hear their name get called.

If the year wasn't already storybook enough for Jordyn, she finally accomplished her last goal.

"My heart was beating out of my chest, then finally our name got called. We were jumping up and down, we were screaming and laughing. This was the best feeling in the world."

Vanderbilt would face Columbia in a play-in-game in the NCAA Tournament. The Commodores had their ticket punched for the first time in a decade.

The Commodores defeated the Lions in the play-in-game, but ultimately fell short to Baylor in the Round of 64. Nevertheless, this was a season that Cambridge would be talking about for the rest of her life.

"My goal at the beginning of the year was to make it to the tournament and winning a game amplified that even more."

Basketball played a massive part in the life of Cambridge, but after completing her career, she understands that there is more than just basketball, but it was the game that taught her how to fight through adversity.

"The biggest lesson I learned was how to get through adversity. I know that I can overcome anything as I move into the next phase of my life."

Vanderbilt also helped her achieve many accomplishments in the classroom. Cambridge graduated with a Bachelors in Human Organizational Development, a Masters in Human Development Studies and is set to graduate in May with a second Masters in Learning, Diversity and Urban Studies.

Basketball also helped her realize life lessons, like the importance of character.

"Vanderbilt taught me the importance of your character and the way you are perceived to other people, I want to be known as somebody that was very respectful, honorable and someone that people looked up to. My character is the most important thing to me."

As someone who gave six years to Vanderbilt, Jordyn Cambridge will be one of the most respected athletes and people to step foot on campus.