315. Taleyah Jones: Out with a Bang
The Hog Pod with Bo Mattingly
Sport & Story
4.8 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 24 November 2025
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Arkansas guard Taleyah Jones joins the Hog Pod to share her journey from a Hello-Kitty-loving kid in Tulsa to one of the SEC's most dynamic playmakers. She opens up about growing up in a military family, developing confidence through adversity, and the moments that shaped her — including her 37-point high school performance and learning point guard on the fly as a college freshman. Taleyah reflects on her evolution under Coach Kelsi Musick at ORU, why family proximity mattered, and the emotional decision to follow her coach to Arkansas. Now in her final season, she talks about leadership, team chemistry, and what she hopes to take away from her last year of college basketball. It's an honest, uplifting, and energetic conversation with one of the Razorbacks' newest stars.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Very caring. She generally loves talking to you and wants to know like what you're doing in your life and |
| 0:07.0 | gives you great advice as well. If you're like, whatever you need from her, she's always there for you. |
| 0:13.9 | Just like as she cares for kids, she were like her kids as well. She cares the exact same way for us. |
| 0:18.3 | And I truly appreciate that. Welcome into the hog pot. |
| 0:32.7 | I'm Bo Mattingly, and this episode is made possible by our friends at South by Northwest Hospitality. |
| 0:44.1 | Arkansas Senior Transfer, Talae Jones, has quickly become one of the Razorback's most impactful players. |
| 0:54.1 | Her road to Fayetteville began with just one phone call from her former ORU coach, Kelsey Music. |
| 1:00.0 | She called me and was like, hey, Tia, are you coming to Arkansas? |
| 1:02.9 | She said, you know, I'm always right here waiting for you. |
| 1:05.4 | Other major programs wanted her, but the SEC and the chance to stay with her coach made the decision clear. |
| 1:11.5 | Kansas State and also Arizona State, like both of those coaches. |
| 1:15.1 | Being to play at SEC, that's probably every girl's basketball team to be able to play those |
| 1:19.1 | big-time teams. |
| 1:21.0 | Her journey wasn't traditional. |
| 1:23.1 | Growing up in Tulsa, shaped by a military household, and pushed by a family who wouldn't accept mediocrity. |
| 1:30.1 | Definitely gave me some discipline. If you truly want this, you're going to have to figure out a way how to do it. |
| 1:34.4 | But also you're going to figure out if you really truly want that, then you've got to work hard for it. |
| 1:38.2 | And her dedication paid off from dropping 37 points in a high-stakes high school game to stepping in as an emergency point guard |
| 1:45.3 | as a college freshman. Tulaya has found ways to shine. I never ran a point guard in my life. |
| 1:51.3 | My coach came up to me was like, hey, like, I want you to be able to do this and I know that you can. |
| 1:55.7 | And now in her final season, she is determined to make it count. Just to be able to perform at the highest level and enjoy, like, yes, and be proud of myself on how I played, I went out with a bang. |
| 2:07.3 | Yeah. In this week's episode of The Hog Pod, we sit down with Arkansas Guard to Leah Jones to dive into her journey from Tulsa to the SEC. |
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