Ashley Joens family includes Brian Joens and Lisa Macke Joens. Ashley grew up in Iowa with her four siblings named Courtney, Bailey, Aubrey and Kelsey Joens.
The Cyclones basketball star has always looked up to her father Brian Joens as a source of motivation and support in her basketball journey. His influence has significantly shaped Ashley into the fierce competitor she is today on the court.
Besides, she currently plays the small forward and off-guard positions for the Iowa State Cyclones. Joens’ outstanding college career has made her one of the top prospects for the 2023 WNBA Draft.
She is one of the 2023 WNBA Draft’s best scorers with a total of 3060 points averaging 21.6 points and 9.7 rebounds per game during her senior year.
Ashley Was Inspired From Her Parents
Ashley Joens parents are Brian Joens and Lisa Macke Joens. Brian and Lisa met while enrolling at Kirkwood Community College.
She was born to them on 16 March 2000. From a young age, the Joens girls were introduced to basketball by Brian.
He would give them a ball to play with, encouraging them to roll it back to him and even slap their hands on it.
According to Brian, starting early with the sport makes it easier to play later in life. Ashley, in particular, began dribbling a basketball on the basement’s concrete floor when she was just two years old.
Ashley’s impressive athletic abilities stem from her upbringing in a sports-oriented household. Not only did she inherit athletic genes from her old folks, but she also has an impressive height of 1.83m.
Brian Was A Iowa State Regina Coach
Ashley Joens dad Brian Joens is a former basketball coach at Iowa City Regina. He was previously a Cedar Rapids Prairie alumnus.
Brian graduated from Mount Mercy University on 20th May 2012. Joens established a restaurant in 1983 and managed it with his spouse.
However, on September 25, 2007, the Johnson County Board of Health shut down the restaurant following complaints.
Despite this setback, Joens invested resources and energy into making the necessary improvements, and the restaurant eventually reopened. Unfortunately, it never regained its former success.
In 2012, Joens temporarily closed the restaurant for maternity leave, and a nearby eatery, Rgggies Weenies, took over the space.
Following years of struggling since the 2007 closure, Joensy’s restaurant in Solon ultimately shut its doors in August 2012, according to patch.com.
Lisa Also Played College Basketball
Ashley Joens mom Lisa Macke is a former owner of Joensy Restaurant. She graduated from Oelwein High in 1993.
The Oelwein native Lisa also shared the same passion for the sport and played basketball since her high school years.
Lisa met her lifetime partner Brian while playing basketball for Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
She is also active on her social media page, where she has posted multiple images highlighting her offspring’s accomplishments.
Ashley Has Four Siblings
Ashley Joens sisters Courtney Joens, Bailey Joens, Kelsey Joens and Aubrey Joens also share the same passion for basketball.
The Joens siblings are carrying forward the basketball legacy akin to their parents’ accomplishments.
During their upbringing, Brian was the proprietor of a restaurant named Joensy’s, and Ashley began working there as a dishwasher at the age of eight.
Her responsibilities were particularly demanding during Solon’s “Beef Days,” a yearly summer festival that filled the restaurant to the brim.
Ashley was still in junior high when they relocated the eatery to Iowa City.
As she grew older, her tasks became more varied, and she worked as a waitress and sometimes as a backup cook. Notably, she is the second born of Brian and Lisa and one year older than her younger sister, Kelsey.
Courtney Joens
Ashley’s older sister Courtney Joens works at North Dodge Athletic Club Iowa City.
She recently graduated from the University of Illinois, earning a degree in Recreation, Sport, and Tourism with a concentration in athletics and a minor in leadership.
She spent four years playing on the university’s women’s basketball team, which helped her develop her leadership and teamwork skills.
While playing basketball, Courtney scored over 1,000 career points, and her team won four conference titles. She finished with an impressive career record of 78-16.
Furthermore, following her graduation in May 2020, she obtained her Iowa High School coaching certificate in the summer.
Additionally, Courtney has a strong interest in sports marketing and coaching. She is currently serving as the Comets’ coach in her first season.
Upon returning to her hometown of Iowa City after graduating from Illinois in 2020, Courtney began sharing her knowledge with a new generation of players.
She assisted her father in coaching several youth basketball teams and offered lessons to kids in the local area. Courtney even established her own business, the Joens Basketball Academy, which provides classes, camps, and teams for children in grades 3-8.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Courtney currently works as an Illini RST Undergraduate Consulting Intern at the University of Illinois. She previously worked as a facility assistant at the Activities and Recreation Center.
Kelsey Joens
Kelsey, recognized as one of the top players in the state, signed a letter of intent in June to play for the Cyclones.
In her final high school season, she transferred to her sister’s school to play alongside her. At 5-foot-10, Kelsey is a skilled guard who received first-team all-state honors in Class 5A last season while playing for City High.
She helped her team reach the state quarterfinals with an impressive average of 21.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game. With one season left, Kelsey has already scored 1,056 career points.
Kelsey and Aubrey previously played together while attending Iowa City High School. They cherished their time playing together and formed a close bond on and off the court.
Moreover, she has a verified Instagram handle with around 2k followers and limited uploads featuring her basketball career. Per the picture posted on her page, Joens made her commitment to play for the Cyclone in November 2022.
Aubrey Joens
Ashley younger sister Aubrey Joens plays basketball for Oklahoma Sooners since April 2022.
Aubrey commenced her collegiate basketball journey at Iowa State, where she spent her initial two seasons.
Although she wasn’t a fixture in the starting lineup, she made her presence felt off the bench, posting noteworthy averages of 5.6 points and 3.5 rebounds per game across 61 appearances in her freshman and sophomore campaigns.
During her second year, Joens secured 15 starting berths and proved pivotal to the Cyclones’ success. She boasted an impressive stat line, averaging 6.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per game while shooting an outstanding 42% from beyond the arc.
Her valuable contributions helped Iowa State set a new school record with 28 victories in a single season and advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2010.
Ashley Joens Story To The WNBA
Ashley Joens WNBA dream is getting very close with her being considered one of the top prospects in the 2023 WNBA Draft.
Joens and her fellow Cyclone teammate Stephanie Soares have been granted the opportunity to attend the upcoming draft in New York City.
The duo is among an exclusive group of only 15 players who were invited to attend. The remaining players include a host of top prospects, such as Aliyah Boston, Diamond Miller, Jordan Horston, Maddy Siegrist, Haley Jones, and many others.
Joens has been deeply passionate about basketball, having started dribbling the ball at the tender age of two. Her love for sports took her to Iowa City High School, where she was a two-sport athlete and also participated in track and field.
The 23-year-old played on the varsity basketball team all four years, starting in every single game and eventually becoming the school’s all-time leading scorer.
Ashley’s exceptional high school performances earned her a place on the Iowa State Cyclones women’s basketball team. In her final year as a Cyclone, she was named the conference player of the year in 2022.
She also played for the U-18 and U-19 teams, winning gold medals at the 2018 FIBA Under-18 Women’s Americas Championship and the FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup in Bangkok, respectively. Ashley was even invited to participate in the Women’s AmeriCup Team Trials in 2021.