Rickea Jackson is now in the history books for the Detroit Edison Public School. However, recently, the school retired the WNBA star’s jersey on Tuesday, December 23.
The ceremony took place at halftime of the girls’ varsity matchup against Grosse Pointe South inside the DEPSA gymnasium on St. Aubin Street.
Rickea Jackson’s Jersey Retired At Detroit Edison School
Branded “Celebrating Excellence, Legacy, and Inspiration,” the jersey retirement event honored a career that reshaped the program and set a new standard for what was possible coming out of a Michigan charter school.
Jackson’s No. 5 became the first jersey retired by the school’s girls basketball program. Notably, it was a milestone reserved for a player widely regarded as one of the greatest girls’ high school basketball players Michigan has ever produced.
✨Detroit Edison Public School Academy (DEPSA) officially retires Rickea Jackson’s jersey!
— Rickea Report (@RJacksonReport) December 24, 2025
– DEPSA’s all-time leading scorer (1,771)
– 2019 Miss Michigan Basketball recipient
– 2x Michigan Gatorade POY
– 3x MHSSA Class C state champion
📸: Finn Gomez (Detroit Free Press) pic.twitter.com/iCWu4sSMrW
At Edison, Jackson led the Pioneers to three consecutive Michigan High School Athletic Association Class C state championships from 2017 to 2019. Additionally, during the same period, she earned Michigan’s Miss Basketball in 2019.
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She finished as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,771 points and averaged more than 22 points per game as a senior.
However, her rise did not stop there, as Jackson has some big plans for her future. After starring collegiately at Mississippi State and Tennessee, the Los Angeles Sparks selected Jackson as fourth overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft. In doing so, she became the first Michigan charter school alumna to play in the WNBA.
Rickea Jackson Shares Advice For Aspiring Athletes
For Jackson, the jersey retirement was a full-circle moment years in the making. She recalled a conversation with school superintendent Ralph Bland in 2017, before Edison won its first title.
“I told him, ‘If we win a state championship, we need to retire my jersey,’” Jackson said. “And then we went on to win two more.”
WNBA star Rickea Jackson had her jersey retired at Detroit Edison Public School Academy as the school’s most accomplished athlete pic.twitter.com/U1dTIgwatm
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) December 24, 2025
Eight years later, Jackson returned to her alma mater as a WNBA star. There were approximately 15 family members accompanying her, including her sister-in-law, Detroit Mayor-elect Mary Sheffield. Now a professional role model, Jackson’s message to young athletes was simple and direct.
“Start with a foundation, and repetition is key,” she said. “Whatever it is, have that foundation. The repetition will get you where you need to be in life.”
As the WNBA prepares for a return to Detroit in 2029, Jackson said the city’s re-entry into the league is long overdue.