Nowell was the lone member of what had previously been the #1 recruiting class in the country who stuck with the commitment once Lorenzo Romar was fired and Mike Hopkins was brought on by Washington. The 6’4 Seattle product was ranked 67th in the 247 Sports composite and a 4-star recruit as a true shooting guard.
Expectations for Nowell were high but no one could’ve foreseen how quickly Jaylen would take over as the primary offensive option on a team filled with upperclassmen. Nowell showed he was the only player consistently able to create shots for himself and others and led the team in scoring with 16 points per game on 35% 3pt shooting.