The Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table will be inducting seven new members into its Hall of Fame on Monday, Sept. 14, at 5:30 p.m. The Induction Class of 2026 includes four athletes, two coaches and a special achievement honoree.
This is the fifth in a series of stories about this year’s inductees.
Click here to purchase tickets to the 2026 SBART Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
Jordyn Lilly was an instrumental part of the Bishop Diego girls basketball program during her high school years, and her legacy is one that still lives on today.
Lilly was the go-to option during her senior season with the Cardinals in 2015, when she led her team to a CIF-SS Championship to bring her team back to the mountaintop and snap a 37-year title drought.
While the CIF-SS championship is her proudest achievement, she garnered plenty of individual recognition for her stellar senior season as well.
Lilly was named the CIF-SS Player of the Year, a member of the All-State 2nd Team and the Tri-Valley League Most Valuable Player to cap off her Bishop Diego tenure.
Before her senior season, she earned a spot on the All-Tri-Valley League teams twice, was an All-CIF-SS First Team selection in her junior year and was awarded the 2014 Phil Womble Ethics in Sports Award for Bishop Diego.
She was forever etched in Cardinal history in 2022, when she was inducted into the Bishop Diego Athletics Hall of Fame.
“I would not be the person I am today without basketball and the many mentors, athletes, coaches, family and friends who rallied around me during my athletic career,” Lilly said.
“Bishop Diego formed me not only into the professional I am today but also taught me what it means to be a part of something bigger than myself.”
While her “competitive” basketball career came to an end after high school, she remained involved in the sport at Chico State. From 2017 to 2019, Lilly co-founded and served as the president of the school’s first-ever Women’s Club Basketball program.
“My toughest moment was coming to the realization that I was not going to be a collegiate basketball player,” Lilly said. “Basketball has always been a part of my life, starting at the age of 4.
“I tried my hardest to walk on to Chico State’s program, but unfortunately that was not going to be part of my journey. However, it opened the door for me to start the first-ever Women’s Club Basketball Program at Chico State. I had the opportunity to organize a team, find coaches, and continue to play the sport I love.”
Lilly earned a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Physiology at Chico State and, after serving as a volunteer for those impacted by the Paradise Camp Fire, decided to go to nursing school and graduated with a Master of Science in Nursing at the University of San Diego.
She is now a registered nurse at Jacobs Medical Center at UC San Diego Health in surgical oncology and the progressive care unit.
“Women’s basketball taught me what it means to be a team player. Especially working in our healthcare system today, being a team player is a necessity,” Lilly said. “Basketball taught me what it means to work well with others, work hard towards a common goal, or for the common good for nursing, and to never give up on myself or my capabilities.”
