Ellsworth High girls basketball standout will begin college career a year early

Grace Jaffray knows the decision she has made is unconventional.

The Ellsworth High School girls basketball standout is passing up her senior year and will graduate next month so she can begin her college career at NCAA Division III Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI.

Jaffray, who will turn 17 on June 12, is a two-time Class B North all-tournament selection and a two-time All-Big East Class B first team pick. She has also been a two-time Bangor Daily News All-Maine Schoolgirl honorable mention.

“It was definitely a hard decision. The opportunity came to me. They (the Johnson and Wales coaching staff) kind of brought it up as a joke that I would have a big impact on the team next year so my parents (Curtis and Nikki) and I thought ‘okay, well maybe that is a possibility.

“And here we are,” Jaffray said, adding that it “happened very fast.”

In addition to finishing up her high school requirements, she is also taking a couple of online college courses and will continue to do so.

She is going to pass up playing for her Maine REACT AAU basketball team this summer to focus on her schoolwork, she said.

The 5-foot-10 forward averaged 22.4 points per game as a junior to lead the Eagles to their first undefeated regular season in school history. It came a year after she played an instrumental role in winning their first ever state Class B title .

She was the Big East’s second-leading scorer behind Caribou’s Madelynn Deprey (22.9 ppg).

Jaffray also averaged 2.7 assists (7th) and 6.3 rebounds (10th).

She reached the 1,000-point mark for her career this past season.

Jaffray will be joining a program that went 10-15 overall and 5-9 in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference under first-year head coach Dino Porcic this past season. Porcic is a 2016 graduate of Nichols College (MA).

The Wildcats haven’t had a winning season since 2017-18, going 41-86 over the past five seasons.

Jaffray visited the school four times. “I really love the area and the culture of the school. It’s very small and there is a really good student-to-teacher ratio.

“All the girls (on the team) were super nice and the coaches are a great support system.They’re very nice people. I love it down there,” she said.

The Wildcats had a graduate student and six seniors on their 14-player roster this past season so she will get the opportunity to compete for significant playing time.

“This is definitely going to be a big rebuilding year. They have seven freshmen coming in. The program is definitely on the (way up),” she said.

Academically, she is interested in their hospitality program as well as sports science and sports management programs.

She likes the idea of playing for a young coach because it’s “easier to relate to him.”

He reminds her of current Ellsworth High coach Andy Pooler in that “he’s easy to talk to.”

Jaffray said in preparing for the jump to college basketball, it is important that she gets “physically stronger and become a better ball handler.

“So I’m going to go to the weight room and keep training like I have,” said Jaffray.

She will miss her teammates and the Ellsworth community, she said.

“Everyone has been so supportive,” said Jaffray. “I will definitely be back to watch some games.

“They’re going to be very good next year, no doubt in my mind. They’re going to be the number one seed and do some real good things,” she said.

Pooler said in his 13 years on the Ellsworth bench, he has never had a situation where a player graduated a year early to begin her college career.

“It’s a little unheard of but she is ready for a new challenge and this is a good opportunity for her,” said Pooler. “I wish her nothing but the best.”

Pooler said the Eagles will still be competitive despite the loss of Jaffray.

“We will have four starters back and we will have a deep bench,” said Pooler, whose jayvee team went undefeated.

He said her absence will give other players an opportunity to step up and flourish.