Stevie Jordan: Rider Freshman Makes An Impact on the MAAC

Photo courtesy of Rider University Athletics.

This season, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference has had a lot of standout players that have made their presence known by the way that they’ve played on the court. One of the most talented newcomers in the conference has been Stevie Jordan II.

The 5-foot-10 point guard from Bensalem, Pennsylvania has been one of the biggest keys to the Rider Broncs’ offense this season, averaging 11.3 points per game and 5.5 assists per game. He has also made his mark amongst the nation’s finest freshmen guards, as he is fifth in the nation in assists, behind such names as Lonzo Ball (UCLA), Dennis Smith, Jr. (North Carolina State), Daquan Bracey (Louisiana Tech) and Markelle Fultz (Washington).

“I just love to win, I just want to win for me and my team,” says Jordan. “That’s what makes me want to be successful.”

Jordan made a name for himself, playing for the Philly Pride, a program based out of Philadelphia, that plays on the Under Armour circuit. “That [Philly Pride] got me ready for college. The practices were tough. A lot of guys that played for Philly Pride are on a Division I college team, so that really got us ready.”

He started his scholastic play at Conwell-Egan Catholic High School in Fairless, Pennsylvania, where as a sophomore, he averaged 10.7 points per game. Then as a junior, he raised his play tremendously, by averaging 16.8 points per game and leading C.E.C. to a 21-8 record and a PIAA 2A state championship. On his experience at C.E.C : “Conwell-Egan, that was a great school. We got a state championship out of that school.”

Searching for better competition, Jordan would transfer to prep powerhouse Advanced Prep International in Dallas, Texas for his senior year, in which played alongside plenty of Division I talent such as Mark Vital (a freshman at Baylor University), Trevon Duval, who is a top-five recruit in the class of 2017 and Terrance Ferguson, a one-time recruit of the University of Arizona, who would go on to play professionally in Australia.

That team would go on to play a big-time national schedule in which they would go 34-7 on the season. “API, that really got me ready for college too,” he says of his experience at API, “Playing with all those great Division I players like Trey, Terrance, Mark, Nysier Brooks (a freshman at the University of Cincinnati) and Billy Preston (another top-flight recruit in the class of 2017, who is now at perennial powerhouse Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia). It can’t get any better than that. Playing against them everyday in practice, it helped me get better.”

On April 28th, 2015, Jordan would make his collegiate choice by selecting Rider over Richmond, Hampton, Towson and Canisius. When asked about his decision, he said: “I spoke to Coach Baggs (Baggett), he and I had the same vision and he wanted to win and I wanted to win too, so now I’m here.”

So far, he has been an added plus for the Broncs, who are 17-14 overall this season and 10-10 in conference play. “I’m having an alright freshman year, “said Jordan, “It could be better, because I have higher expectations for myself.”

This season, he came up big in many games for the Broncs, one of them being on New Year’s Eve, when he hit a game-winning jumper against Monmouth on the road to give Rider a 93-90 victory in overtime. “That shot against Monmouth, I just wanted to close the game out.” Also, in that game, he scored 22 points and added six assists and five rebounds.

Now that the regular season is over, the freshman has some bigger goals. “Win the MAAC and make it to the NCAA Tournament.” says Jordan. “And keep getting great and winning.”

Highlights of Steven Jordan II: