Confidence, curiosity and capability.
Those are traits that make a truly elite 3-point shooter, and qualities College of Saint Benedict senior Sophia Jonas and Saint John’s University senior Kooper Vaughn possess in abundance.
Jonas, a 5-foot-6 wing/point guard from Hudson, Wisconsin, and Vaughn, a 6-1 guard from St. Charles, each recently wrapped up their collegiate careers as the top 3-point shooters in the history of their respective programs.
“That’s a pretty cool thing,” SJU head coach Pat McKenzie ’04 said. “Those records are awfully hard to break, so to have two people in the same class accomplish it is really unique.”
Jonas actually broke CSB’s career record as a junior, but entered her senior season in pursuit of the MIAC’s career women’s record of 255, held by Brooklyn Paulson, who played at Saint Mary’s from 2018 to ’23.
She surpassed that total in her team’s 64-58 win over Macalester on Feb. 12 at Claire Lynch Hall, then went on to finish with a career total of 264 – 78 more than the previous program-high of 186 set by Ashley Brown from 2000 to ’04.
“It’s a really cool feeling,” Jonas said of her school and conference record. “It makes me feel proud of all the work I put in to get to this point. Especially now that I’m done with basketball, it’s going to be something special to look back on.”
Just two-and-a-half weeks after Jonas eclipsed the conference mark, Vaughn became SJU’s career leader in 3-pointers when he hit his 267th during the Johnnies’ 74-59 victory over Carleton in the MIAC championship game on March 1 at Sexton Arena.
He finished his career with 270, six more than previous record-holder David Stokman had from 2016 to ’19. The total also ranked him third in MIAC men’s history – only 27 behind the conference mark of 297 held by former Sartell High School and St. Thomas standout Bryan Schnettler, who is now the head coach at Class 4A state boys champion Wayzata.
“It’s an honor to have my name in the record book alongside some really great names that have played here in the past,” said Vaughn, a global leadership major. “I appreciate all the support I’ve received from my teammates and the opportunities I got from our coaches.
“You don’t break a record like this without that.”
Jonas and Vaughn have had the chance to see each other play often over the past four years, and they’ve developed a kind of mutual admiration only great shooters can share.
“I think what impresses me most about Sophia is her confidence,” said Vaughn, a two-time All-MIAC selection. “It seems like she’s similar to me in that it doesn’t matter where she is on the court. If she has the open look, she’s going to take the shot. You can tell she believes in herself and that makes a big difference.”
“One of the things I’ve tried to do more and more over the years is pick up on how shooters get open,” added Jonas, a three-time All-MIAC pick who is majoring in accounting. “Watching the way Kooper does that is really impressive. I’ve found myself looking at some of the things he does and thinking they were nice moves I should try to incorporate in my own game.”
Both players broke into the starting lineup during their first seasons and remained there for four years. Jonas had 44 3-pointers in 2021-22, then set a single-season school mark with 84 as a sophomore in 2022-23. She added 65 as a junior and 71 as a senior.
“She’s such a skilled shooter that she makes it look easy,” CSB head coach Mike Durbin said of a player who just recently became the program’s first three-time College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honoree.
“But she’s put in a lot of hard work. Her first year here, she was a little challenged by the distance (of the college 3-point line). But that offseason, she spent a ton of time adjusting her game, and she developed an uncanny ability to find the space she needs to shoot.”
Vaughn, meanwhile, had 70 3-pointers during his first season in 2021-22, then added 59 as a sophomore, 76 and a junior and 65 this past season.
“To break a record like that, you have to be consistent and Kooper has been,” McKenzie said. “It was his ability to knock down shots that first got him in our rotation, and he continued to be able to do that over time – even as he became the focal point of opposing defenses.”
Jonas and Vaughn know a lot of the same people on the two campuses, and talk from time to time – though not about the record-breaking careers they share in common.
“It’s never come up, but I think what she’s been able to do – breaking both the CSB and MIAC record – is really impressive,” Vaughn said.
“I just think it’s super cool that two people in our class were able to break the same kind of records,” Jonas added. “That’s not something that really happens at a lot of other places.”
