After standout careers at Miami Dade College, Jazmyne Bynum and Meredith Venner are taking their basketball talents to the University of Pittsburgh, accepting scholarships to a Power Four program in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
For Bynum, a sophomore shooting guard who led the Lady Sharks with a 20-point scoring average this season, the opportunity was emotional and rewarding.
“I was shocked, grateful and amazed by it,” Bynum said. “There were moments when I wanted to leave and hurry up and go Division I, but it was really about trusting the process.
The Panthers first took notice of Bynum during MDC’s comeback win against Palm Beach State on Feb. 11. Her heroic’s— 23 points, eight rebounds and three assists— helped the Lady Sharks dig out of a 48-30 halftime deficit as they cruised to a 93-77 win.
“They loved how I played and how I never gave up when we were losing,” Bynum said. “They loved the heart I have for the game.”
Pittsburgh recruited Bynum and Venner, a power forward, who averaged 17.9 points per game with 12.5 rebounds on 50 percent from the field, under its previous staff before the program made a coaching change in March and hired Robin Harmony.
“I told Jaz and Meredith to be patient,” said Lady Sharks head coach Susan Summons. “Once I learned who got the job at Pittsburgh, I knew that could be a blessing. I got on the phone with the staff at Pittsburgh and they called me right back. The rest is history.”
The MDC duo will be part of a nucleus of recruits trying to rebuild the program after a disappointing 8-23 season. That roster returns only one player, first-year guard Macie Arzner, who played sparingly.
Harmony said Venner and Bynum are the types of players the Panthers want to represent the school. They “have big hearts, work hard, are skilled, and still have something to prove.”
Bynum’s skillset made her an ideal fit for the Panthers.
“Jazzy is a point guard who can also play the two. She has quickness, she can get to the rack, she’s a three-level scorer, and she’s also a really good defender,” Harmony said. “She can pick a player up full court, 94 feet, and just wear them down.”
Venner caught the attention of Pittsburgh while playing at the Academy of Central Florida but after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament her senior year of high school, she decided to go the community college route while she recovered.
As a freshman at MDC, she scored at least 20 points in 11 games and snatched 10 or more rebounds in 23 contests for the Lady Sharks.
“I’m really thankful to God because He never let me down,” Venner said. “Even with my injury, I was able to stand up and show up every day.”
Venner, who is 6-foot-3 and was born in Colombia, has a chance to make an immediate impact as a sophomore.
“She’s strong, she has a big body, she can catch, she has really good post moves, and she’s an excellent rebounder,” Harmony said. “Her ceiling still hasn’t been tapped yet. Her best games are still ahead of her.”
The pair’s move to the ACC is a significant footnote for MDC’s basketball program.
“For a Power Four school to sign not one, but two of our student-athletes is monumental,” Summons said. “It’s huge for the program, huge for recruiting, and huge for both of them.”
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