Jaylen Wells
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From DII to Washington State to All-Star weekend has been a journey for Jaylen Wells | The Seattle Times
Tim BoothFeb. 14, 2025 at 1:32 pm
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Seattle Times staff reporter
SAN FRANCISCO — It’s about 50 miles and a trip across the Golden Gate Bridge to get from the Chase Center in downtown San Francisco to the campus of Sonoma State.
Two years ago, Jaylen Wells was a star on that campus at Sonoma State, but the idea of someday playing in the Chase Center was just that — an idea. Then he transferred to Washington State and that idea started to get a little more real as he became an established Pac-12-caliber player.
As last season progressed, and Wells improved and the Cougars made a run to the NCAA tournament, the idea continued to gain momentum. By the end of the year, he was a 6-foot-7 wing with a decent jumper, strong defensive instincts and a legit shot at the NBA.
Which brings us to Friday when Wells was taking shots on the blue and yellow court laid down inside the Chase Center for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game weekend. Wells is here as part of the NBA’s Rising Stars game and deservedly so after landing in a perfect situation in Memphis as a second-round pick and is thriving as a rookie for the Grizzlies.
In 54 games this season, Wells has made 49 starts, averaging 11.2 points and 26 minutes played per night. While he already played inside the Chase Center twice this season during Memphis road games, being back for the All-Star Game brought special appreciation for his journey of the past few years.
“My agent was telling me, I think it was draft day, that a year and a half ago you were playing against Cal Poly Pomona. No offense to them but now you’re playing against Luka Doncic,” Wells said Friday morning. “Just kind of putting it in that perspective, it’s kind of crazy.”
This is an All-Star weekend that for the first time in a while is devoid of significant connections to Seattle or the state of Washington. Outside of former Sonic Kevin Durant there isn’t a local tie participating in the game itself. Wells was the only player with a college connection to the state until former Gonzaga standout and current Denver Nuggets guard Julian Strawther was added to the Rising Stars game lineup as an injury replacement.
Wells’ story is unique in its path because it ended up being nontraditional. Rarely do players start at an NCAA Division II school and end up starters in the NBA.
Someone who is not surprised by seeing Wells thriving on this level is his first college coach.
“Within three days of practice, he was our best player,” said Sonoma State coach Rich Shayewitz thinking back to Wells’ arrival in 2021.
Sonoma State ended up being the beneficiary of when Wells graduated high school. Despite maturing late, Wells’ talent coming out of Folsom High School near Sacramento was good enough he probably belonged at the Division I level in a traditional year. Maybe in the Big West. Maybe in the Mountain West. He was The Sacramento Bee player of the year for the entire area his senior year at Folsom.
But the COVID-19 pandemic created a logjam on college rosters and the trickle-down left Sonoma State as the best option for Wells. While there were bumps early on, it was clear Wells’ talent was beyond the Division II level.
“To be honest, I didn’t think we were going to get him back after his freshman year just because of the kind of year we had and he was getting better,” Shayewitz said. “Now, he didn’t win freshman of the year in the conference, which was a blessing for us because I think if he would have won it, I think he would have gone. But he wasn’t that marketable yet.”
The marketability of Wells changed early in his sophomore season when he scored 30 points in 29 minutes in an early-season game against Division I Cal Baptist.
“I turned to my assistants and I said we have a choice here. And I was joking. I said we can take him out and try to hide him or we could just let the kid play and enjoy it while we have him,” Shayewitz said.
The conference freshman of the year award Wells didn’t win was replaced by taking player of the year award as a sophomore on a team that finished middle of the pack in its conference.
Then it was on to Washington State where again it took a little time to appreciate what Wells could do. He entered the starting lineup on Jan. 10, 2024 against USC and never left, starting the final 20 games of the season. He scored in double figures in 18 of the 20. He played at least 30 minutes in all 20.
“Every time he made a shot, every time he made a move at Washington State, those were all plays he made at our place,” Shayewitz said. “He was just bigger and stronger now and doing it against bigger and stronger guys.”
This entire weekend is a chance for Wells to reconnect with his roots. He’s playing only a couple of hours from where he grew up in Sacramento. He had custom shoes made for the weekend in honor of Sonoma State. And he hopes to make it over to the East Bay on Saturday night to see Washington State play at Saint Mary’s.
“It’s great to kind of reflect on that but at the same time I feel like you’ve got to keep going, keep looking forward,” Wells said.
Tim Booth: Tim Booth covers the Kraken and other sports for The Seattle Times. Email him at tbooth@seattletimes.com. On Twitter: @ByTimBooth.
