Jess-Mine Zodia will leave Tarbes at the end of the season

Jess-Mine Zodia (1.90m, 20 years old) will no longer wear the Tarbes Gespe Bigorre jersey next season. Having arrived from Bourges in summer 2023, the young French center will leave the Hautes-Pyrénées after two promising seasons, including a last one where she established herself as a central piece of the Tarbes team, according to La Dépêche.

A remarkable rise to prominence in Tarbes

TGB is preparing for a busy offseason. After the announcement of Camille Droguet‘s departure to Basket Landes, it’s now Jess-Mine Zodia’s turn to pack her bags. The 20-year-old center will leave after the playoffs.

This news marks the end of a cycle for the Paris region native, who arrived in Tarbes in summer 2023 with only 13 games of experience in the Women’s League. Banking on her potential, TGB entrusted her with responsibilities in her second season, particularly after Isabelle Yacoubou’s retirement and Dominique Malonga’s return to Lyon.

Alongside them in 2023-2024, she showed promising abilities (7 points and 4.8 rebounds in 22 minutes). But it’s this season that Jess-Mine Zodia truly reached another level: after 18 rounds of La Boulangère Wonderligue, she’s averaging 10.6 points with 45.6% shooting accuracy, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 27 minutes per game.

A trajectory leading her to the French national team

European U20 champion in summer 2024, she was called up to the French senior national team for the November international window. A logical reward for a player who has managed to reach new heights in the demanding French championship.

While her next destination hasn’t been revealed yet, there’s no doubt that the Tarbes team will struggle to compensate for the loss of two of its key starters. For Jess-Mine Zodia, the future will unfold in different colors, but her time in the Hautes-Pyrénées will have marked an important step in her development.