From one Storm to another: Napa Valley College’s Jayden Russotti to continue basketball career at Southern Nazarene University following stellar freshman season

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By Kyle Foster

Kfost91197@gmail.com

Twitter/X: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews

When you’re a game-changer type of player, you will be found. The ability to play can go anywhere. 

After one season at Napa Valley College, this is the guard case for Jayden Russotti, who is off to play basketball at Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Oklahoma. 

“It means a lot to me,” Russotti said of continuing to play at the next level. “I’ve worked hard to get to this point, and I’m thankful for everyone who helped me along the way. I’m excited for the opportunity to keep playing and see how much I can improve.” 

It’s no secret that Russotti took over the game last season. After all, he averaged 17.3 points per game to go along with 4 rebounds per game and 1.5 assists per game. 

“I put a lot of time into my shooting and scoring in different ways,” Russotti explained of how he can score from anywhere on the court. “I worked on my game every day, whether it was finishing at the rim, shooting from three, or creating my own shot.” 

Russotti also had the unique ability to score from all over the court. For the season, he had a 39.2 field goal percentage. But what really stood out was the fact that he shot 33% from beyond the arc.      

“Jayden’s elite-level strength and athleticism and high shooting proficiency will excel in any program,” Napa Valley College head coach Stev Ball pointed out. “Couple that with his gym rat mentality, and he will be a major contributor. “

Before coming to NVC, Russotti played a year at Golden State Prep, a postgrad academy from Prolific Prep. This allowed him to be more mature when it came time to move to the college game. 

“Golden State Prep helped prepare me for college basketball,” Russotti said. “I got to play against talented players every day, which made me more confident and helped me adjust to a faster, more physical style of play.” 

It’s safe to say this was evident by how much easier he made the offense run whenever he was on the court. This also made him a leader by always wanting to win.

“It seemed like he made the offense run smoothly,” Ball explained. “Jayden led through his competitive desire to win every drill and every game. He was unrelenting in his expectation for he and his teammates to give Maximum Effort.”   

He was named the Freshman of the Year in the Bay Valley Conference and to the first team in the conference as well as being named the first-ever Napa Sports News Athlete of the Week in January. 

“It’s an honor, and I’m really thankful for it,” Russotti explained. “Those awards show that my hard work paid off, but I also couldn’t have done it without my teammates and coaches supporting me all season.” 

It also makes him one of the best players to play for the Storm in recent memory. 

“Jayden will go down as one of the best players to wear a Storm uniform,” Ball pointed out. “Add him to the list of Khari Jabriel Allen, Sasha French and (teammate) AJ Loustau who have all been “one-and-done” scholarship players who have benefited from using Napa Valley College as an avenue to further success and to become debt-free with a degree. We are very proud of him.” 

The award also showed how much growth he had made in just one season with the Storm. 

“Jayden is one of the most competitive players I’ve coached,” Ball said. “Over the course of the season, his trust that the coaches had a similar competitive outlook evolved. Early on, his injuries didn’t allow him to showcase his elite vertical athleticism. Realistically, as athletic as he proved to be, he played most of the season without his usual bounce.” 

When Russitti gets to SNU, he plans to major in sports communications. The main reason for majoring in this is the fact that he enjoys sports and wants to stay involved when he’s done playing. 

“I’ll be majoring in Sports Communication because I’ve always enjoyed sports, and I want to stay involved in athletics after I’m done playing,” Rusotti said. “I think it’s a great fit for my interests and future goals.” 

When he gets to SNU, he’ll get to a very successful program. The Crimson Storm have been to the Great American Conference Championship game each of the last three seasons. 

They also have had a winning season in each of the three seasons. All that’s left is to get to the NCAA Division 2 tournament. 

“It’s exciting to join a program with that kind of success,” Russoitti explained. “I wanted to be somewhere that competes to win every year, and I’m looking forward to doing whatever I can to help the team.” 

The GAC is also a very deep conference, and games are close throughout the conference each night of the season. Last season, SNU went 23-8 with a 13-7 mark in GAC play. They were also ranked as the No. 4 team in the country at one point early on last season. 

He should be a great scheme fit, too. His ability to take over a game and score from everywhere is exactly what was needed in the offseason. It also helps that he’s coming to SNU with 3 years of eligibility remaining. 

“Jayden will only be a sophomore for us, so I feel like he is just starting to come into his own,” Southern Nazarene head coach BJ Foster said. “I think he has a high ceiling, and I look forward to working with him.”

Another thing that stood out to the coach was the high IQ and good athleticism. This means they can use him in a variety of different ways. 

“Jayden is a very competitive player who shoots the ball very well and has some sneaky athleticism,” Foster added. “I thought the way he changed speeds and moved without the ball showed a high IQ.”

On top of all of that, so far the transition to the squad has been going well. 

“The transition has been good,” Rusotti added. “Everyone has been welcoming, and I’m getting more comfortable every day. I’m learning a lot from the coaches and my teammates, and I’m excited to keep getting better.” 

SNU will begin its season in early November. GAC play begins in early December. The conference tournament for the top 8 teams is in March.