While a half dozen Bradley Central seniors signed college scholarships this season, the biggest catch has just been landed.
The top-ranked Class of 2026 recruit in the state, and 32nd overall in the nation, Kimora Fields has made her decision, choosing Clemson out of more than 30 offers.
"Thank you God for this sport and all the highs and lows that come with it," Fields wrote in an online post announcing her commitment Sunday. "Without God's grace, I would not be who I am today. Thank you to my mom for all the sacrifices and for being my No. 1 supporter always. Thank you to everyone who has invested in me as a person and as a player. I am so excited to continue my career at Clemson University. Go Tigers!"
Although offers were still coming in, Fields picked Clemson over a long list that included Georgia, Mississippi State, Wake Forest, UNC Charlotte, Central Florida, Florida Atlantic, MTSU, Furman, UTC, Memphis and Stetson, among many others who would have loved to have her talent playing for them.
“I’ve been talking to them for a while,” explained Fields, who carries a 4.0 GPA. “I feel like they really pride themselves on their culture and I feel like it really is one big family.
"Even when I was just on campus for my visits, I just felt like I could see myself being there. I think that Coach [Shawn] Poppie is trying to do really great things with the program. I think that they’re very authentic. I feel like they’re very real. I could truly tell that they were real and authentic towards me and I felt like that was a really big part. The main thing really was just feeling like being a part of a family.”
Coach Poppie just completed his first season at the South Carolina school, posting a 14-17 overall record, after he went 48-18 in two seasons at UT-Chattanooga. Once a constant in the ACC upper echelon and NCAA March Madness participant when under the direction of former local coach Jim Davis (1987-2005), Clemson has had just one winning season in the last 21 years, going 20-13 in the 2018-19 season.
The Tigers went to 14 NCAA and a pair of WNIT tournaments during his tenure, with former Bradley superstar Amy (Geren) McGowan setting program records from 1995-99.
Poppie, who led UTC to back-to-back Southern Conference tournament titles, first offered a scholarship to Fields on Jan. 14, 2023, during his first season in Chattanooga.
“I feel like it truly was a ‘you just know’ kind of thing,” related Fields of her decision to join the rebuilding program. “It was really early in the process, but I just felt like I already knew my decision. I had known for quite some time. I was kind of already leaning towards there. It took a lot of prayer and a lot of patience, and I just felt like I might as well make the decision.”
In the Bradley starting line up for the opening game of her freshman season, she has led the state-winningest hoop program to a 104-3 record and three straight TSSAA State BlueCross Championships.
Along with earning a pair of TSSAA State Tournament MVP trophies, Fields was named the 2025 Miss Tennessee Basketball a couple weeks ago in her second straight season of being a finalist.
Joining WBNA All-Star and Olympic medalist Rhyne Howard, considered by many as the best Bearette ever, Fields has another year to close in on the former two-time SEC Player of the Year's records.
Already with 2,053 points in just 105 games to place 12th overall on the Bearette all-time scoring list, and seventh among five-on-five players, Fields will continue to climb the ladder during her senior season.
She is just 458 points behind Howard for the top spot among five-on-five players and only needs 640 to catch Liz Hannah in the No. 2 overall spot. It would take a 1,000-plus point season to better Data Caldwell's 3,011 top mark on the list
Fields broke the TSSAA record for field goal shooting percentage last year (69.2%) and was right up there again this season with an overall 66.1%. She did make 69.2% (261-of-377) from inside the arc this season, plus sank 12-of-36 (33.3%) from long distance. She also went 120-for-163 (7.36%) at the free throw line.
Despite averaging just 21.4 minutes a game due to Bradley winning 22 games with the "mercy rule" in effect, Fields finished her junior campaign leading the team with 678 points (19.9 ppg), 240 rebounds (7.1 rpg) and 110 steals (3.2 spg). The 6-footer also dished out 77 assists, had just 50 turnovers and blocked 16 shots.
A three-time District Player of the Year and Region MVP, the two-time all-stater (this year's team has yet to be announced) claimed her second state tournament MVP award over the weekend.
For the three-game event, she made 25-of-36 shots from the field (69.4%), plus 8-for-13 foul shots for 58 points, grabbed 28 rebounds, handed out seven “dimes” and copped five thefts.
She helped Bradley finished another championship run at 35-1 and holds No. 2 national ranking by Hoops Review, as well as fourth by Maxpreps and 13th according to ESPN.
Fields becomes the 33rd college commit/signee in "Papa Bear" Jason Reuter's 15-year tenure during which he has a career winning rate of better than 91% and four state titles.
"I have never had a girl quite like Kimora," assessed Reuter. "She has starred on the biggest stage of high school since she was a freshman against 6-foot-3 and 6-foot-4 girls. She is one of the best players I have ever coached, and she holds the TSSAA single-season field-goal percentage record for a reason. She is one of the strongest post players in the state."
