Van Laecken brings a presence to the floor that extends well beyond her statistics. The Tea guard is constantly communicating, encouraging teammates and directing traffic, pairing those leadership qualities with an unmistakable competitive edge. She’s a confident perimeter shooter who looks fully convinced every shot is going in, while her length and athleticism allow her to contribute in numerous other ways. Jayna defends opposing guards with intensity, rebounds extremely well for her position and consistently plays bigger than her listed 5-foot-9 frame. Just as encouraging is her development trajectory. Her game has made significant strides, and there are plenty of reasons to believe that progress will continue.

Some players lead with statistics. Van Laecken leads with energy, voice, and competitive fire, although she also finished among the top 10 scorers in the premier 15U division at Summer Jam. The Tea guard is always communicating, encouraging, and directing traffic, making her presence felt well beyond the box score. I love her confidence as a shooter. Every shot she takes looks like she expects it to go in. Jayna also defends with a level of intensity that stands out immediately, competing hard and making life difficult for opposing guards. Long, lean, and athletic, she rebounds well for her size and consistently plays bigger than her listed height. Perhaps most importantly, she has improved a lot over time and that trajectory appears far from complete. Warwick went 3-1 on the weekend with their only loss being to tournament winners North Tartan EYBL.