South Georgia Technical College Lady Jets sophomore guard Jaidyn Elam signed a letter of agreement to play basketball for the Division 1 Arkansas State Red Wolves basketball team for the 2026 – 2027 season. Arkansas State is in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and plays in the Sun Belt Conference.
Jaidyn Elam, a 5’11” guard from Pontiac, MI, helped lead the Lady Jets to the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) regular season women’s basketball title with a 14 – 1 conference record. The Lady Jets lost in the NJCAA Region XVII tournament to Central Georgia Technical College.
Elam was selected as the GCAA Defensive Player of the Year and was named to the GCAA All-Region second team for her efforts this past season. In her sophomore season with the Lady Jets, Elam played in 31 games for the Lady Jets during the 2025 – 2026 season and started 18. She averaged 12.7 points and 1.4 assists. She scored a season-high 29 points, going six of 17 from the field, four of seven from the three, and seven of eight at the stripe in the Feb. 21 game against Andrew College. She scored 393 points for the Lady Jets and hit 71.2 percent of her free throw attempts. She led the team in blocked shots with 38 and led the team in rebounds with 311.
In her freshman season at Oakland University, Elam averaged six minutes per game across 15 games, averaging 1.7 points and 1.1 rebounds, hitting a season-high 10 points and seven rebounds against Cleary. The Pontiac, Michigan native is a graduate of Detroit County Day High School, where she averaged 15.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3 steals, and one block per game in her senior season.
Arkansas State Red Wolves head coach Destinee Rogers is excited for the size and versatility Elam brings to the Red Wolves. “She is a big guard that can shoot the ball, get downhill, and is a great rebounder.”
The Red Wolves finished the 2025 - 2026 season with a 27 – 10 overall record and were 13 – 4 in the Sunbelt Conference. They closed out the season in the WNIT with a 69 – 62 loss to Marshall in the Fab 4.
Elam said that “it just felt like home” when she visited Arkansas State. “I really liked the culture of the team and I wanted to go somewhere I could grow on and off the court,” explained Elam. “I felt like I definitely grew here this past year. I learned how to step up in certain situations. This was the first time that I had really been away from home. I played my freshman season at Oakland University in Rochester, MI, which is very close to Pontiac where I lived.”
SGTC athletic director and Lady Jets head coach Jason Carpenter is excited for Elam to continue her academic and athletic career. “She is awesome and I am very proud of what she accomplished this past year. I think we were a stepping stone for her future and I am excited to see the type of impact that she will have next year for Arkansas State.”