JaQuori McLaughlin

JaQuori McLaughlin was born in Port Angeles, Washington in 1998 to parents Jason and Kanisha McLaughlin. He attended Peninsula High School in Washington where he averaged 19.3 points, 9.1 assists, and a whopping 5.5 steals a game as a senior. After this stellar senior year, he was named Washington Mr. Basketball, and set new all-time high school records in points, assists and three-pointers for Peninsula High School. McLaughlin eventually committed to Oregon State after receiving offers from Utah and Wisconsin. As a freshman, McLaughlin averaged 10.5 points and 3.3 assists per game and broke Oregon State's program record with 58 three-pointers. McLaughlin transferred to UC Santa Barbara where he would spend the rest of his college career. McLaughlin was an All-Big West Honorable mention as a junior but really excelled as a senior. During his final year at UC Santa Barbara, McLaughlin averaged 16 points, 5.2 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, leading the team to the Big West regular season and tournament title. The team lost in heartbreaking fashion to heavy favorite Creighton by one point in the first round of the NCAA tournament (McLaughlin scored 13 points, recorded six rebounds and seven assists). After he wasn't drafted in the 2021 NBA draft, McLaughlin signed a two-way contract with the Dallas Mavericks in September of 2021.