Chloe Jeffers has helped the Bulldog defense see an improvement of over one extra steal per game through her in-game tracking of deflections. Photo by Jada Gangazha.
DAVID JACOBS | SPORTS CO-EDITOR | drjacobs@butler.edu
Several years of chronic leg pain, two major surgeries and a concussion story that oddly still makes her roommate laugh — this has been the life of junior Chloe Jeffers. Injury after injury eventually forced her to medically retire midway through the 2023-24 women’s basketball season.
These challenges began in her sophomore year of high school when she was first diagnosed with chronic exertional compartment syndrome in both of her lower legs. Despite the pain, Jeffers was laser-focused on a dream that drove her every step of the way.
“I had a goal to play Division I basketball, so nothing was going to stop me from playing in high school,” Jeffers said. “In college, as the intensity went up [so did the pain] before I eventually got diagnosed with another chronic condition.”
Eventually signing on to play in the Big East with Butler, Jeffers was in awe of the life she was living from the day she stepped foot on campus.
“Butler was the first [team] to offer me a full ride and believed in me,” Jeffers said. “[Playing Division I basketball] meant the world to me. It was just awesome to see all the work I put in building up to it being paid off.”
The awe of playing college basketball soon wore off; a reserve role in her first year was a far cry from the McDonald All-American season she had the year before at Delaware Hayes High School in Ohio.
When Jeffers learned about a chronic venous insufficiency in both legs during her sophomore year, the decision to medically retire was not an easy one. This put her at a crossroads no athlete wants to face — nor should have to face: either rehab her entire collegiate career or step away and focus energy elsewhere in life.
Through her faith and the support of her parents — Tina and Sam — Jeffers has since taken her medical retirement into a different challenge this season with coaching.
“In my mind and in my heart, I still wanted to play and live out my dream,” Jeffers said. “It came to a point where your body is telling you something else, and it was starting to affect my mental health, too. I truly grew my relationship with God, I would have never realized that my purpose is to coach [until] I retired; it was a blessing in disguise.”
With such a daunting obstacle of medical retirement from the game you love, it takes an immense support system for one to persevere through it.
“I want to give my parents a special shoutout for their support in my journey,” Jeffers said. “I am so blessed to have parents that still come to every home game being three hours away in Ohio, and I couldn’t thank them enough for that.”
That support extended to the Butler coaching staff, with assistant coach Latrell Fleming — who also medically retired at Wisconsin — offering invaluable advice.
“I tried to be very intentional with Chloe and give her advice about life being bigger than basketball,” Fleming said. “[In her new role as student assistant] she will keep track of deflections, but any day we could ask her to do something and she’s willing to do it.”
Jeffers’ willingness to contribute and her vibrant personality have made her an asset to the team in her new role. She has maintained close relationships with her teammates, becoming a source of support both on and off the court.
Junior guard Jordan Meulemans — who has been sidelined with a knee injury all season — credits her friendship with Jeffers as a source of aid with her own recovery.
“When I first went down with my injury, Chloe carried me off the court,” Meulemans said. “She didn’t leave my side and took care of me [in our apartment], doing everything for me and was basically my parent. I feel like we grew closer with [our injuries].”
Even from the bench, Jeffers is able to command the team when needed — just as any coach would.
“She knows so much about the game,” Meulemans said. “We all adore her and listen to what she says. At halftime, she tells us things that she’s seeing and we go off of what she says.”
The game is more than X’s and O’s, which Jeffers knows more than anybody else, captivating her teammates with a joyous smile and leadership mentality that every great coach possesses.
“That was probably the biggest challenge — looking at a teammate and deciding if they need a friend or a coach,” Jeffers said. “As the season has progressed, I’ve been able to better choose which one they need more. I’m very lucky to have a bunch of teammates that respect me and respect what I have to say.”
It is not just her teammates who respect what she says. Fleming and the other coaches make it a point to ask Jeffers her thoughts during scouting reports and other aspects of the game.
“Because of her personality, the players love her,” Fleming said. “Even though she can’t play any minutes, she does a good job of leading the team; if you come to the games and somebody hits a three-point shot she’s the first person [celebrating].”
The ones closest to Jeffers — like her roommate and best friend Meulemans — have seen her grow into the role with pride, thriving with the new challenge of being part of the coaching staff.
“When she got her injuries she had to be a vocal leader because she couldn’t play,” Meulemans said. “So, she really started to step up there. Her going through [medical retirement] made us respect her even more because of what she has gone through, and she is still smiling every day. I’ve known her for three years now and I can count on my hands the amount of days she is not smiling.”
Jeffers’ journey, though marked by challenges, is a testament to resilience, faith and the power of finding purpose beyond the game of basketball.
“I don’t know anything else but basketball,” Jeffers said. “But, I feel like the most important thing that I have learned — especially being here — [is] growing as a woman off the court.”
