Former Cumberland All-American Jessica Pace returns to the staff for her first season as a graduate assistant at her alma mater.

The Nashville, Tenn., native played three seasons at CU after beginning her collegiate career at UT Martin.

Pace earned NAIA Second Team and WBCA Honorable Mention All-America honors during her senior season, averaging 12.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, both team-highs on a squad that set a school-record with a 33-3 record. The Phoenix reached the Fab Four for the second time in school history in 2012-13, falling in the semifinals of the NAIA National Tournament.

Cumberland won the Mid-South Conference regular season and conference tournament championships that year, with Pace starting all 33 contests in which she played. She handed out 2.1 assists per game and garnered Mid-South Conference and Tennessee Sports Writers Association Player of the Week accolades once apiece during the campaign.

As a junior she averaged 9.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, playing in 28 contests with 25 starts. She scored in double figures 14 times with eight double-digit rebounding games and five double-doubles during the campaign.

Pace netted 10.0 points with 8.1 boards and 1.6 assists per contest as a sophomore for the Phoenix with 30 contests with 27 starts. She recorded seven double-doubles and 10 double-figure rebound contests.

As a freshman she played in seven games at UT Martin, averaging 9.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per contest.

Pace led Hillsboro High School to the Class AAA state championship as a senior, earning State Tournament MVP honors. She garnered All-District accolades all four seasons at HHS and was named All-District Tournament as a freshman, junior and senior. She also was voted All-Region her final three years for the Burros and earned ESPN Rise Player of the Week once as a senior.

Pace received her bachelor’s in Exercise Science from Cumberland in 2013 and is currently enrolled in the master’s program for Advanced Physical Education at CU.