Prep Athlete of the Week: Jaelyn McCormack-Marks

Jaelyn McCormack-Marks of Clarkston girls basketball has always produced what coach Debbie Sobotta calls a “very loaded statline.”

That was never more true than when the junior point guard verged on a statistical triple-double with 23 points, 10 rebounds and nine steals during an 80-31 win for the Bantams over North Central of Spokane on Jan. 10. The performance — along with having 20 points, eight rebounds and six assists in a 78-18 win against Rogers of Spokane on Jan. 7 — was followed by her being voted as the Tribune’s Prep Athlete of the Week.

“Jaelyn is a student of the game who watches hours of game film to scout opponents and to improve her own game,” Sobotta said. “Jaelyn has great vision on the court and a very high basketball IQ. She loves nothing more than making a nice pass to a teammate, but can score in a variety of ways, too.”

McCormack-Marks got into basketball around kindergarten age playing alongside her older sister Jordyn for the Rip City Nation AAU team coached by their mother, Ada Marks. She started her high school career playing for Lapwai in a 2022-23 season which saw the Wildcats take fourth place in the Idaho Class 1A Division I state tournament, then transferred to Clarkston (along with Jordyn and younger sister Joslyn) as a sophomore, helping the Bantams make a third-place state showing in Washington Class 2A.

After the graduation of standouts like Jordyn McCormack-Marks and Kendall Wallace, the time had come for her to truly step into the spotlight.

“This year, her coach and all of us told her she needed to step up and be a leader and score a little bit more,” Ada Marks said. “Besides scoring, she’s still doing all the other things — deflections, steals, rebounds, assists.”

As the season nears its conclusion, Jaelyn McCormack-Marks has her sights set on leading the Bantams back to State.