Piedra Vista star Jaime Pierce commits to South Mountain Community College

Jaime Pierce, a Navajo guard from Piedra Vista High School in Farmington, committed to South Mountain Community College in Phoenix, turning her senior-year production into a college opportunity that reached beyond San Juan County. For local girls’ basketball players, her move showed how a strong run at Piedra Vista can lead directly into junior-college athletics and education.

Pierce finished the 2025-26 season as the Lady Panthers’ steady leader and primary ball-handler, the player Joe Reed trusted to set the pace and control the offense. After Piedra Vista’s 54-42 comeback win at Tohatchi on Jan. 12, 2026, Reed called her “the heart and soul of our team” and said she had “the green light at any time to command our game play.” Pierce answered with 17 points as Piedra Vista snapped a four-game losing streak.

Her most visible scoring nights came in the middle of a season that kept Piedra Vista competitive against strong regional opponents. On Dec. 20, 2025, the Lady Panthers beat Aztec 43-39 to win the Rumble in the Jungle girls championship, and Pierce scored 13 points in the title game. Earlier that month, Piedra Vista topped Durango 37-29 on Dec. 9, 2025, with Pierce again finishing with 13 points while running the offense with a calm demeanor and outside shooting that stretched defenses.

The numbers backed up the eye test. Before a Feb. 25, 2026 update, MaxPreps listed Pierce at 13.8 points per game, 2.8 steals per game and a 72% free-throw percentage. The site also credited her with 373 points and 75 steals during the 2025-26 season, production that fits the profile of a guard who could score, defend and organize an offense on command.

At South Mountain, Pierce will join a women’s program in ACCAC Division II under coach Sabah Dickerson, who was named to the job on June 10, 2025. The commitment gives Pierce a direct route into college basketball in Phoenix and adds another example of a Piedra Vista player from San Juan County moving from local gyms to a college roster, with visibility that matters for the next generation of Navajo and other area girls who want the same path.