By Daniel Blumrick
For years, Baylor's Jessika Stratton has climbed mountains. Literally. Therefore, success as a Division I student-athlete should be all but expected from the Colorado Springs, Colo., native.
A senior, Stratton ranks fifth on Baylor's career top-10 list for 3-pointers made with 82, and she is ninth in assists with 270. As a junior last season, Stratton averaged 9.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists a game. She was the only player to start in all 35 games and was named the team's top defender.
Stratton selected Baylor over Colorado State, Arizona State, Santa Clara and New Mexico. She liked Baylor because of it family atmosphere, Christian environment, and outstanding academics and athletic programs.
During her time at Baylor, Stratton has developed a strong relationship with head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson. Stratton said she appreciates Mulkey-Robertson's amazing dedication to the game as well as to her family.
The feeling of respect, admiration and appreciation is mutual.
"The thing this team will miss most about Jessika is she is a leader and sets the standards for how hard the team has to work," Mulkey-Robertson said. "She is a gym rat that spends many of hours in the gym, always has. Jessika's game is a consequence of her many hours in the gym."
Stratton began her career at Coronado High School in Colorado, where she was a four-sport athlete. She lettered four times in basketball, cross-country and tennis and once in track. In high school she earned such awards as Street and Smith Honorable Mention All-America, USA Today Honorable Mention All-America twice. She also was named Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year and Gatorade All-America after her senior year. Jessika ranks tenth all-time in Colorado for career points second in career steals.
But there is more to Stratton than athletics. She dedicates much of her spare time doing volunteer work. She speaks at elementary, junior high and high schools as the President of Baylor Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She is passionate in her devotion to being a Christian.
"My advice to young players is to play basketball with one purpose, to glorify the Lord with your talents," Stratton said.
Stratton also participates in Bears and Books, where she reads to local elementary schools. She spends quality time at nursing homes, working with Little Wranglers and is a starter for Race for the Cure. Along with all that, Jessika dedicates time to Texans Standing Tall, which is an anti-drug and alcohol awareness program. She is the coordinator for Adopt and Angel for the Athletic Department, is a mentor for University High School student and works with Santa's Workshop.
"It is not difficult to keep up with everything I have going on in my life," Stratton said. "I love to stay busy, and have done so all my life. I make sure to complete each task, because I know it has to be done. I enjoy being active because college offers a vast world of people to meet and build relationships with."
The president of Baylor's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, Stratton attended the 2003 NCAA Student Leadership Conference in Orlando. There she served as a liaison between athletes and the Athletic Department voicing her opinion on such issues as money, tuition and red shirt issues.
Through all of her volunteer work and basketball, Stratton remains dedicated to achieving high academic success. In high school she was a member of the National Honor Society all four years and graduated in the top seven percent of her class of 325. At Baylor, she has made the Dean's List, first-team Academic All-Big 12 (2002, 2003) and Academic all-district second team (2003). She has also been named to the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll six times and to Baylor's 3.4 Club twice.
During high school, Stratton ran 13,000-foot Pikes Peak four times, once each year. She helped with the Pike Peak Marathon as they did the journey up in one day, stayed the night up there and journeyed back down the next day.
The older of two daughters, Stratton comes from a basketball family. Her father played hoops at Northern Arizona and later played semi-pro ball in Australia. Her sister, Nikki, is a freshman at Washington State, which visits the Ferrell Center Nov. 29.
"I am looking forward to playing against my sister," Stratton said. "I don't know exactly how much playing time she'll get, but we will be matched up because she is a guard also. It is a really special experience for my whole family because it is my senior year and we're going to all have Thanksgiving together for the first time in four years. Minor trash talking has already begun between me and my sister."
The Stratton sisters played together while Jessika was a senior and Nikki was a freshman in high school. They both traveled to Switzerland last summer to play with Athletes in Action.
"If I could switch places with someone for a day, it would be Nikki, so I could see me through her eyes," Stratton said. "We get a long so well for being two different people. I would like to see her perspective of me and what goes through her mind."
During the summer and preseason training, Stratton worked on her ball handling and shooting consistency. "That is my role and my strength, and there is always room for improvement because I believe in working with a purpose and working on specifics," Stratton said.
Stratton plans to enjoy her senior year and focus on now. She is not completely ignoring the future, and will be happy with whatever comes her way, whether it is playing, coaching, or something in broadcast journalism. A journalism major with a minor in Spanish, Stratton's dream job would be working for ESPN of Fox Sports as an anchor of sideline reporter.
"I would love to play in the WNBA, but my heart desires to play overseas," Stratton said. "I love people, new beginnings and new experiences. I didn't know a sole when I came here, but now I know a lot of people and I'm plugged into the church. Going overseas would be a time for spiritual growth for me."
Whether she is playing ball in Europe or broadcasting in Colorado, Stratton is sure to climb whatever mountain is in front of her.
