Kovatch and Zezza to pursue professional playing opportunities

Loretto, Pa. – Jess Kovatch (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) and Courtney Zezza (Plum, PA/Plum) have amazed women's basketball fans at Saint Francis over the past four years. Now, they are prepared to take their talents to the next level.

Kovatch and Zezza will board a plane this week and travel to Tampa, Florida to participate in a professional combine. The SFU standouts will be evaluated by over 30 agents and WNBA coaches from around the country who will be in Tampa for the NCAA Women's Final Four. Kovatch and Zezza will compete along with several other prospects at a combine at Tampa Prep High School on Saturday, April 6. Kovatch then will take part in an additional professional evaluation at the University of Tampa the following day.

"Just being asked to participate in the combine together with someone on your own team shows a lot," Kovatch said. "I think how we have progressed from our freshman to senior year and having that chemistry playing together, it will be nice to see if we can show the coaches our ability. Doing it alone would have been scary, but having a teammate go with you and experience it together will make it much more fun."

Both will graduate from Saint Francis this May with a degree in marketing/management. They have their sights set on playing professionally for as long as they can regardless of where that might be.

"I just want to play anywhere and use my skills in a different country," Zezza said. "I never really thought about playing professionally when I first got to Saint Francis. Once I started to progress as a player, I realized that I could probably play overseas."

Zezza's size and length will fit well with the style of play overseas. She established herself as one of the country's premier shot blockers. Zezza also proved her ability to step back and knock down a three-pointer in key moments of a game.

"They really look for a tall American who can shoot the three as well," Zezza said. "Also being a shot blocker inside, that will make me really stand out. I figured I'm never going to be able to experience this again. I might as well do it for as long as I can."

Kovatch, who essentially rewrote the Saint Francis record book in scoring and three-point shooting, has aspirations of playing in the WNBA. The NEC's all-time leading scorer showed up on a few WNBA Draft watch lists over the past year. This year's class is incredibly deep with only 36 players selected in the WNBA Draft on April 10 in New York City.

"If I have the opportunity to play in the WNBA, that would be a goal of mine," Kovatch said. "I obviously just want to play professional basketball and see where that takes me."

Both Kovatch and Zezza have a solid support system at Saint Francis with several members on staff who have played professionally. Interim Head Coach Susan Robinson Fructhl played overseas in Japan for one season, while Graduate Manager Alli Williams played professionally in Germany, Greece and Luxembourg. Men's basketball assistant coach Eric Taylor had a long professional playing career that included stops in 11 countries.

"I talked with coach Taylor on the men's staff and he played for 13 years," Kovatch added. "He said that he loved it and you're away from home a lot, but you develop other relationships and you learn different things that you can't experience when you're in the United States."

With their storied playing careers completed at Saint Francis, Kovatch and Zezza now start a new adventure that contains much uncertainty. One thing is for sure though. Being able to experience the journey together makes it twice as sweet.

"I think it's really special," Zezza said. "Especially if we can play on the same team, I think having that chemistry on the court will definitely help us show what we have."

Kovatch concurred that being able to share the experience with a teammate and friend makes the process that much more enjoyable. Both of their families will make the trip to Tampa with them to provide support as they chase down their dreams.

"Being together every day for the last four years, you get to learn a lot," Kovatch said. "We hang out outside of basketball as well. Taking a trip from Loretto to Florida with a teammate and having our family come, we are excited to go and show everyone what we can do."

The duo certainly showed the Saint Francis community what they can accomplish over the past four years. Now, it's their opportunity to share their talents with the world.

Print Friendly Version