City of Basketball Love

By Mike Gross
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Basketball, which has taken Ava Fajardo all over the world, will take her to Drexel next fall.

A rising senior point guard at Blair Academy (N.J.) announced last week she will attend Drexel, choosing the Dragons over Bucknell and Iona. She also had Division I offers from Manhattan and UMBC.

“I visited Drexel twice,’’ she said by telephone on Tuesday (June 3). “The vibes with the coaches were big — it was easy to connect with them.

“On my second visit, I asked to meet with some players as well. Seeing the players, how they seemed to enjoy it, and they looked like they enjoyed the presence of the coaches. That really stood out to me.’’

The Dragons went 17-13 last season, 12-6 in the Coastal Athletic Conference under fifth-year head coach Amy Mallon, who guided the program to CAA titles in both 2020-21 and 2023-24. Their 2024-25 season ended in the second round of the CAA tournament.

Fajardo averaged 12.8 points, 4.4 assists, 2.1 steals and 27 minutes per game as a high school junior, all team highs, for a Blair team that went 22-4 and won the Mid Atlantic Prep League championship.

“She’s got a great handle, and she has the ability to get to top speed really quickly,’’ Blair coach Greg Rosnick said.

“She’s got these, like, fiery little steps where she can get by people. She’s fantastic at using ball screens, and she’s done an amazing job of developing her ability to score at all three levels. She’s a special player with the ball in her hands, but I think the overarching thigh with her is her quiet toughness.’’

The international dimension is what sets Fajardo apart. Her parents were born in the Philippines, although Ava and her two sisters were born in America. The family has remained connected to their homeland and visits there regularly.

Ava has been a part of the country’s U16 and U18 age-group national teams. So has her sister, Ella, now a fifth-year senior guard at Iona.

Both have played in the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup. This week, Ava is attending a Nike developmental camp in China for which she was chosen by Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, the sport’s governing body in the Philippines.

“I’m super grateful for the experience,’’ she said. “It’s crazy, the places I’ve been, like to Jordan twice. I mean, would I have gotten to go to Jordan (without basketball)? Probably not.’’

Fajardo has a history of going wherever the opportunities are. Through her freshman year she attended Gill St. Bernard’s in Gladstone, New Jersey, where Ella played. Ava transferred to Blair, in Blairstown, in part, because GSB had an established point guard one class ahead of her, meaning she might not have an opportunity to run the show until she was a senior.

This offseason, she switched from Exodus, a New York-based travel program, to Philly Rise, to get more court time while continuing to compete in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League.

One reason for choosing Drexel, she said, is the program’s point guard tradition. She mentioned in particular Hannah Nihill, the program’s career assist leader, who is now Drexel’s Coordinator of Strategic and Player Development. 

“They’re really big on development, and that really aligns with me,’’ she said. “Their history with point guards, and guards in general - you can see it on the walls, and I feel like that’s going to be an asset for me.’’

Fajardo is 5-4. No way around that except to outwork it, especially on the defensive end. That didn’t matter much to Nihill, who at 5-3 was a two-time all-league selection and the 2020-21 CAA defensive player of the year. 

“Previous to her getting offers, a lot of people were saying, hey, we need to see you defend better,’’ Rosnick said. “That’s a huge piece she has focused on, and I think it’s one of the reasons she went to Philly Pride. (She thought) I’m going to play on the best circuit in the country and prove I can guard some of the best guards in the country.’’

“I’ve been playing the game so long, when I’m out there, I’m not thinking about being basically shorter than everyone else,’’ she said. “I can do everything everybody else can do. Maybe I just have to try a little harder.

“Defensively, as a small guard, you have to be like a dog. You have to be, probably, the most annoying person ever. That dog mentality is what I’m working for.’’