Colorado Buffaloes Women’s Basketball on Facebook/University of Colorado
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The latest Colorado athlete to win a championship is Jaylyn Sherrod, who led the University of Colorado women’s basketball team to three consecutive NCAA Tournament berths from 2022 to 2024.
Today, Sherrod is a member of the New York Liberty, which beat the Minnesota Lynx in overtime on October 20 to win its first WNBA Championship.
October 20 is also Sherrod’s birthday, so the now-23-year-old had a lot to celebrate. She was in the thick of the on-court trophy presentation, standing right next to teammate Jonquel Jones as Jones received her Finals MVP award.
During her five-year CU career, Sherrod was the leader and star of the CU team, leading CU to heights it hadn’t experienced in recent years and helping to elevate the program’s national profile.
Sherrod memorably scored the final points when CU beat 3-seed Duke to reach the Sweet Sixteen in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. In 2024, CU kicked off its season by beating reigning NCAA champions Louisiana State University, marking another national victory with Sherrod as the team’s on-court leader.
Head coach JR Payne has described Sherrod as being like a daughter to her, praising her work ethic on and off the court. Sherrod earned not just an undergraduate degree, but two master’s degrees in her time at CU.
Sherrod went undrafted in the 2024 WNBA draft but quickly signed a training-camp contract with the Liberty. Much as CU fans had fallen in love with Sherrod’s never-quit mindset in her time at the school, Liberty fans enjoyed her play in pre-season games. Though WNBA rosters are notoriously small, predictions at cutdown time projected Sherrod to compete for one of the final twelve roster spots.
She didn’t make the cut, but re-signed with the Liberty on a seven-day contract in July after injuries opened up a roster spot. By August, Sherrod had signed a rest-of-season extension with New York. She played in ten games during the regular season and two in the post-season.
The guard embraces her up-and-down path to the championship.
“Under recruited.., undrafted, cut, re-signed, WNBA Champion and three degrees at 23,” Sherrod wrote on X after the victory. “And you gone tell me God ain’t real? And Happy Birthday kid, blessed to see another one.”
