DeAndre Jones, Voorhees University

Welcome back to the Red Banner Race Report, the podcast where we go beyond the results to meet the humans chasing NAIA achievements in cross country and track and field. In this episode, we’re talking about someone who is reaching new heights - literally.

When you think of Voorhees University track and field in 2026, one name is currently hovering above the rest of the competition.   DeAndre Jones is a freshman sensation out of South Carolina, who recently cleared a massive 2.14 meters (7'0.25"), to claim the #1 high jump ranking in the NAIA, and also punched his ticket to the USATF U20 Outdoor Championships…and believe it or not, he just began jumping as a senior in high school.  With such an amazing start to his collegiate career, Mr. Jones is just getting started.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:03

Welcome back to the Red Banner Race Report, the podcast where we go beyond the results to meet the humans chasing NAI achievements in cross-country and trek and field. I'm your host, Marin, and today we're talking about someone who is reaching new heights, quite literally. When you think of Orhees University Trek and Field, one name is currently hovering above the rest. DeAndre Jones is a freshman sensation out of South Carolina who recently cleared a massive 2.14 meters or 7 feet and a quarter inch to claim the number one high jump ranking in the NAIA, and he also punched his ticket to the USATF U-20 Outdoor Championship. Believe it or not, he just began jumping as a senior in high school. With such an amazing start to his collegiate career, Mr. Jones is just getting started. Welcome to the Red Banner Race Report Podcast, Mr. Jones. Well, let's get to know you. Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where did you grow up? And how did you first get involved in track and field?

SPEAKER_00 1:12

Well, I mean, I grew up in Columbia, South Carolina. Um as far as track, I kind of started late. Um I started my senior year of high school, which was last year, so I started a little late. But you know, I got into it because I was, I mean, it was my last year of school. Why didn't I do everything I could? I used to play basketball or football for teener. So I've always been kind of an athletic person. And then I think a coach saw me at a basketball game, and I blocked the shot, and he was like, Yeah, you gotta come out and try jumping.

SPEAKER_02 1:51

I feel like that happens a lot when somebody sees a vertical leap on a basketball player. They think, wow, they could be an amazing high jumper. Um, so you have only been high jumping now for two years, is that right? Last year and then this year?

SPEAKER_00 2:07

Not even two years.

SPEAKER_02 2:08

That is incredible.

SPEAKER_00 2:10

Yes, we have a year, like a year and a half.

SPEAKER_02 2:14

Well, I guess that makes what you've accomplished even more amazing because you are currently right now ranked first in the NAIA. You're only a freshman, and you have not even been jumping that long. So wow, that that's quite astounding. Um, so what made you choose to continue uh high jumping in college? What made you decide to attend Voorhees and and continue on with your athletic career there?

SPEAKER_00 2:43

Um originally, you know, I was doing it for fun, but you know, my coaches was like, my high school coaches was like, I mean, you can go to college for this, you can you can you can jump in college at that first I didn't really believe him, I didn't really believe him for real. But you know, I started getting better and better as the meets went on. And then I think the thing that made me choose breeze was probably like coach used to coach. He just um he just made it seem like you know that I didn't have to do nothing outstanding or nothing too crazy and that we could progress and that we had the scripts, you know. And to just take my time and get better.

SPEAKER_02 3:26

Mm-hmm. Well, you've cleared 2.14 meters, which is a smidge over seven feet. You are number one in the NAIA. When you had that jump that rocketed you to the top of the list, did you clear the bar and know it was a special jump, or did it just kind of feel like another day to you?

SPEAKER_00 3:48

Um I probably say I I really didn't, I really didn't think much of it, you know. I just some days I just zone out and jump, so I don't really I just be jumping. I don't really think much of it. So I didn't do no kind of celebrating or nothing. I just jumped it and went and sat down and then. I mean, people asked me about it, and I was like, how you jumping? I was like, I mean, I did okay. And then that's like, then they found out, you know, I went 214 and I was like, I do it was like, I don't think you realize that's still kind of crazy.

SPEAKER_02 4:22

It is. Well, you've made big improvements even from indoor to outdoor. So have you been doing anything differently since the last season? Have you adjusted anything in your training that's maybe made a difference?

SPEAKER_00 4:40

Uh yeah. So this year, this year in college was my first year doing indoor ever. So I mean, I didn't I didn't do how I wanted, how I thought I was gonna do in indoors. So, you know, coming in the outdoor, I was a little bit more prepared and a little bit more ready. I would um coach having me out doing speed work, um, making sure like I stayed tall in the turn and and like while jumping, not to put too much bend in my leg and keep my leg as straight as possible and um also knee drive and get my hips up.

SPEAKER_02 5:15

While your team is having a great season, they recently finished in the top five at NAI Nationals indoors, and you have a lot of freshmen and sophomores on your team who've been performing at a very high level, some of the best in the country. So, what do you think is something that makes people want to come to your school and be part of your team as athletes?

SPEAKER_00 5:38

I mean, as a as a team, we all we all work hard, we all support each other. Uh I mean every every every meeting, we all there support each other, you know, wanting to get better. Our team is a very team, our team is a team that that works very hard and wants to get better together. I mean, track is you know, track is more of an individual sport, but we still uplift each other as a team and help each other out all the time.

SPEAKER_02 6:12

I love that. That's a great thing to hear. Well, your high jump training has to be very specific. It's pretty unique to your event, it's different from the training for anything else. So, what are some of the things that you're doing throughout the week to help you jump your best?

SPEAKER_00 6:30

If I'm being honest, um my training, my training ain't probably as in depth as a usual person at training. I jump. I mean, I know me, I like to do um flyo and and core. And then other than that, I I mean I run a I I do some running. But like in the off season, I lift I lift like heavier stuff and and work on building the muscle, but also building explosiveness.

SPEAKER_02 7:04

How do you keep your mental focus when the bar is hit? Because that's gonna happen to just about every jumper during a a meet. So how do you keep going, keeping your focus when you have a miss and you are trying to get over the bar the next time around?

SPEAKER_00 7:23

Um, I just look at it like I just look at it like I got three times, I got three attempts to clear this bar. One miss, two miss won't be the end of the world. I still got another chance. I cleared, I cleared if I don't work and get better.

SPEAKER_02 7:40

What do you think is the most difficult thing about high jumping?

SPEAKER_00 7:47

Honestly, I would say the um the form or uh your form is very important. Um the hardest part for me is like the thing I'm working on right now is getting my hips up. So like the form is very important. The higher the when the bar loads, you can pretty much get over with no form, but the higher to get, that's when your form start to matter. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 8:15

Well, you've qualified for the USATF U-20 outdoor championships. Are you aware of that?

SPEAKER_00 8:23

Yes, ma'am.

SPEAKER_02 8:24

Yes, okay. So are you planning on competing in that meet?

SPEAKER_00 8:28

Yeah, I am.

SPEAKER_02 8:30

Okay. Uh are you also thinking about the Olympic trials? Because I believe the last I checked, the B standard for that was um just a bit over what you're jumping. I think at seven feet, 1.5 inches, maybe.

SPEAKER_00 8:46

Yeah, my coach was uh my coach was telling me about that, and um that's what we're gonna do. Um we're prepping, you know, working, getting better. Um, like I say, I don't really I'm a very humble individual, so I don't really talk about it much. But he was like, he he he wants me to get better than he. So we work in this stuff.

SPEAKER_02 9:09

Well, I think even being humble, you have to admit that how far you've come in just a year and a half and how close you already are to qualifying for the Olympic trials, I mean, that's that's a pretty amazing goal to be shooting for if it's a possibility, right?

SPEAKER_00 9:26

No, it definitely is.

SPEAKER_02 9:27

Yeah. Well, this podcast is all about the red banner, which is the NAIA championship symbol. So what do you think it would mean to you and your school if you were to win the outdoor national high jump title?

SPEAKER_00 9:44

Um It'll probably I don't know, they'll probably be proud of more proud than I'd be of myself because you know I'm still gonna wanna I'm still gonna want to work and get better.

SPEAKER_02 9:56

Well, what's the dream height that you have? Where would you like to be by the time the season wraps up and you would be satisfied, even if you want to keep working into the next year, where would you feel comfortable at the end of outdoor track?

SPEAKER_00 10:11

Uh like around like 220-ish. So I'm trying to get depth up. That's what I'm working on now, getting around 220-ish.

SPEAKER_02 10:20

So has it been hard to refer to height in the metric system versus feet? Because that's hard for me. I have to think. Okay, how many feet is that?

SPEAKER_00 10:32

No, I'm starting to I'm starting to get it better.

SPEAKER_02 10:37

Yeah, I I think the United States might want to think about switching since the rest of the world is using it, and it it does make more sense, but we're we're still still hanging on to the the standard system. So we'll see how long that lasts. All right, so let's talk about it's time for a competition. You're you're trying to get into the right mental headspace. Do you have a hype song?

SPEAKER_00 11:02

No, I don't I don't listen to no music. Pretty much I just sit there and zone out.

SPEAKER_02 11:10

Okay, I was gonna say, do you kind of find your focus a different way? Yeah. Um, how do you warm up for the high jump? What are the things that you do to get warmed up and ready?

SPEAKER_00 11:21

Um, so like I usually start off with like 20 to 30 meter jaws, and then you know, I'll go into some high D, some butt kicks, some quick, some quick little stretches. I like to I don't like to get too loose before I jump. I like to stay a little a little unloose. I don't know how to put that like stay a little bit tighter, but not not too loose.

SPEAKER_02 11:47

What are your hobbies and interests when you aren't jumping or you're not studying for your classes? What are things you like to do outside of track and outside of school?

SPEAKER_00 11:57

Um outside of school, I really don't like to you know work in cars and stuff like and and do things involved around cars and motorcycles.

SPEAKER_02 12:05

Okay. What would be your dream job when you graduate that you'd love to have?

SPEAKER_00 12:11

Um I wanna be in the field of business.

SPEAKER_02 12:14

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 12:15

So like I wanna be one of the I wanna be like I wanna oversee the business operations and things of that nature.

SPEAKER_02 12:22

Gotcha. What is your major?

SPEAKER_00 12:24

Business administration.

SPEAKER_02 12:26

Oh, that makes sense. Yep. Um, do you have a favorite professional athlete that you like to follow?

SPEAKER_00 12:34

Um not really, not really track-wise. I mean, I used to um basketball, I used to watch, you know, like Giannis Antatokum.

SPEAKER_02 12:44

Okay. Have you ever heard of Mr. Jumps? He used to go to uh I think it was Louisiana, and then he went on to the Olympic team. He was a long jumper and a high jumper. He did both, which is kind of unique. So I was curious if you've ever given any thought to trying a different event than just the high jump.

SPEAKER_00 13:05

Uh in high school, I actually I actually did all three. So I used to triple jump. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:13

So do you prefer the high jump? Do you like that better?

SPEAKER_00 13:18

Uh yeah. But I think I think I might go back to long jumping in conference. I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 13:24

Have you done that yet this year?

SPEAKER_00 13:27

No.

unknown 13:28

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 13:28

I haven't.

SPEAKER_02 13:29

Okay. What was your previous long jump best, if you know it off the top of your head?

SPEAKER_00 13:36

I can't recall. I ain't really used to take it as seriously as I do now.

SPEAKER_02 13:40

Okay. Well, I'm I'm guessing with how how well you high jump, it probably was a pretty significant distance. So well, it has been awesome to get to talk to you. I can't wait to see what you do next because the fact that you have only been doing this for such a short time makes me think you have not even tapped your potential yet. There's a lot to come. So thanks for taking time out of your night, and it'll be exciting to see what you do next. Maybe we'll see you in LA in 2028.

SPEAKER_01 14:14

Thanks so much for tuning in to the Red Banner Race Report. I can't wait to feature more cross-country and track and field athletes from the NAIA. So stay tuned because it just might be you. If you enjoyed today's podcast, please share, subscribe, and leave a review. You can find the Red Banner Race Report podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and other major media players. You can also ask your smart speaker to play the podcast. If you have an idea for a great topic or guest you'd like to hear about, feel free to contact me through the show notes or reach out on Instagram.