Folsom guard Jordan Ford picks Saint Mary’s

The pride was evident in his voice. Jordan Ford knows where he’ll be a year from now.

The Sacramento Bee’s two-time basketball Player of the Year from Folsom High School said Monday he has selected Saint Mary’s as his scholarship destination.

Ford, a 6-foot playmaking senior guard, said he liked everything about Saint Mary’s, including its strong academic and basketball tradition, the coaches and the relatively short distance to Moraga so family and friends can watch him play.

“I’m a Gael,” Ford said. “I’m relieved, I’m happy, I’m excited. It’s a great school, in the West Coast Conference, with other great schools like Gonzaga. I think it’s a great fit.”

Ford said he called the coaches at Oregon and UC Santa Barbara, the other programs he was strongly considering, to inform them of his decision.

“It shows how much class you have, and it’s important,” Ford said.

Ford said he can’t think too much about Saint Mary’s because he’s busy preparing for his final season with the Bulldogs.

Ford was the key player for the region’s best team the past two seasons. As a sophomore, he led the Bulldogs to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II championship and the Northern California Division II title. Last season, Folsom repeated as the section champion, this time in Division I, and advanced to the NorCal Open Division playoffs before losing to eventual state champion Bishop O’Dowd.

This story was originally published September 7, 2015 at 11:07 AM with the headline "Folsom guard Jordan Ford picks Saint Mary’s."