Hall of Fame Series: Women’s Basketball’s Jennifer (Ruys) Baker, BS ’14

Hall of Fame Series: Women’s Basketball’s Jennifer (Ruys) Baker, BS ’14
Posted: Oct 03, 2024

BOSTON – Over the next few weeks, GoSuffolkRams.com will look at the student-athletes, coach and team to be inducted into the Suffolk University Athletics Hall of Fame that has its next induction ceremony this October. The sixth installment features one of the biggest scoring threats in Suffolk women’s basketball’s history, Jennifer (Ruys) Baker, BS ’14.

Baker, a four-year letterwinner, and senior captain, certainly left her footprint in Suffolk women’s basketball history.

The 6-foot forward was a steady, post-up force for the gritty cager teams of the early 2010s. Voted the team’s Offensive MVP as a junior, named Charles Law Student-Athlete as a senior and selected a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) First-Team honoree twice, she could always be counted upon for consistent contributions and solid leadership. 

In 102 games in a blue-and-gold jersey, Baker put up historical numbers on both ends of the hardwood. She became the second-ever Ram to reach the coveted 1,000-point mark as a junior when she buried a jump shot from the free throw line with 3:27 left in the first half against Emmanuel Feb. 16, 2013. She wrapped up her career with 1,486 career points, the third highest scorer in program history to this day. Her offensive output came behind 561 field goals made and .453 shooting percentage from the field, both which land in Suffolk’s top-10. 

Defensively, she blocked 144 shots and pulled down 654 boards. Not only do those statistics rank in the Rams’ all-time greats, but make her one of three players in the record book to produce 1,000-plus points, 500-plus rebounds and 100-plus blocks. She was the second-ever to accomplish the feat, following Allison Fox, who laced up her high tops for the Rams from 2001-05.

The numbers tell it all, but it was her unselfish, unassuming and dedicated play, motivating teammates to always play to the best of their abilities that sealed Baker’s spot in the Hall of Fame. She was a crucial cog to a pair of GNAC Championship contest runs and four consecutive trips to the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament, including a finals appearance in 2012-13. That year, she pushed the blue-and-gold to its winningest season to date with a 23-8 (.742) ledger.

“I have so many amazing memories of wearing that Suffolk jersey,” Baker said. “Many of my favorite memories are the soft spots with my team, coaches and athletics staff. The pregame dance parties in the locker room, hanging out in the Ridgeway Lounge and the competition and love I shared with my teammates every day at practice. It was the people that made it so memorable and something I’ll never forget.”

After her collegiate playing days wrapped up, Baker earned her Bachelors of Science in Biology in 2014 and went on to get her Masters in Athletic training at Bridgewater State. She has done AT stints at Boston College and Belmont Hill, where she joined the faculty staff in 2023-24.

Baker is the 11th women’s basketball player to be enshrined into the Suffolk University Hall of Fame, including multi-sport athletes, first since AnnChristine Kruse earned the distinction in 2022.

The 2024 Suffolk University Hall of Fame Class features four men, three women and one team representing six different athletic programs.

On October 18, the Suffolk University Athletics Hall of Fame, which held its first induction ceremony in 2007, will increase in size to 79 members broken down by 59 student-athletes, five head coaches, 11 teams and four special honorees. 

The 2024 Suffolk University Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held on Friday, Oct. 18 at Suffolk University’s Sargent Hall’s Keches Room, 120 Tremont Street, Boston, at 6:00 p.m. Tickets to the event can be purchased here. 

THE SUFFOLK UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME
The Suffolk University Athletics Hall of Fame will recognize the outstanding achievements of former athletes, coaches and others who have played a most significant role in the history of athletics at our University.  

For a more insider’s look at the 2024 Suffolk University Athletics Hall of Fame Class be on the lookout for the Hall of Fame series, which will be published on GoSuffolkRams.com leading up to the event. Specific publication dates on inductees are below: