An unshakeable bond

Warrenton duo uses shared experiences, hard work to make it big

By Jim Faasen, Correspondent
Posted 1/26/25

Jordan Speiser said she’s learned plenty from adversity surrounding the game of basketball since a very young age.

The great thing for the Lutheran St. Charles senior guard and Warrenton …

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An unshakeable bond

Warrenton duo uses shared experiences, hard work to make it big

Posted

Jordan Speiser said she’s learned plenty from adversity surrounding the game of basketball since a very young age.

The great thing for the Lutheran St. Charles senior guard and Warrenton resident is that she’s had the truest of friends to stand by her side all that time through the toughest days the game of basketball could throw at her both on and off the court.

After all, it’s been fellow Division I signee and Incarnate Word senior guard Nevaeh Caffey, who also grew up in Warrenton and still resides there, who has been there with her from the pair’s earliest days playing the game in fourth grade at Holy Rosary and then with the Warrenton Warriors feeder team, through AAU with the St. Louis Eagles. 

Their friendship extends to its current dynamic, transitioning from teammates to the friendliest of rivals on the high school court.

“One of my favorite memories with her (in) basketball was when we had a tournament out in Montgomery county and we had gotten our minutes restricted by the people who were running the tournament because it wasn’t fair for the opposing teams,” Speiser said. “In the moment, we were really mad about it but, looking back, it’s a really funny situation and I’m glad we got to face that adversity together starting at such a young age.”

As things currently stand, however, it’s Speiser and Caffey who are making their respective opponents face plenty of adversity as the duo tears up the court as two of the top talents the area has to offer.

Speiser, who stands 6-foot-1 and has signed to play collegiately at Kansas State, leads the Cougars (10-3 as of press time) with averages of 21.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.

Likewise, Caffey has risen to prominence for Incarnate (10-1). 

She said that she too still carries the experiences she’s shared with Speiser with her as valued treasures to this very day in her life of high-level competition. 

“I have so many fun memories with her from those early childhood days,” Caffey said. “A lot of them were just about basketball and having a good time, whether it was playing at her house or hanging out after games. We’ve been training and working hard together since we were kids. Our fathers were good friends and played sports together. We both loved the game, and it’s crazy how that passion brought us here.”

The 5-foot-11 University of Indiana signee leads the Red Knights in scoring at 18.4 points a game while adding 3.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 2.1 steals. She’s done it for a team that had won a national-record 141 straight games before a 74-65 loss to Etiwanda (Ca.) at the Hoophall Classic Monday in Springfield, Ma., where Caffey tallied 32 points in the defeat.

Caffey said everything she’s received in her four years at Incarnate has made the roughly one-hour daily commute to the Bel-Nor school from Warren County worth it.

“The program is something special, and it’s been built up over the years into a culture that everyone buys into,” Caffey said. “Coach Dan Rolfes has been a huge part of that, and I’m so thankful for everything he’s done for me. He’s helped me grow as a player and a person. (Earning) the national record for consecutive wins has been unbelievable, and I’ll always remember it.”

Even though their prep hoops paths have diverged, Speiser said that it’s amazing she has an amazing supporter in Caffey while she loves to pull for her friend.

“We are still close today and still cheer each other on in both of our careers,” Speiser said. “I think that the bond off the court was what made our bond on the court so good, but it was definitely basketball that grew our relationship to what it has become.”

Looking back, Speiser said that she and Caffey would often dream about achieving their shared goals on the basketball court.

She said the main thing she has shared with her friend is not only a passion for the game but the will to put in the work to make it big on the court.

“It’s crazy to think the dreams we would always talk about growing up are now coming true and it’s almost unreal,” Speiser said. “We always used to talk about where we wanted to go play college basketball, and what our future would look like, and how good we would be at basketball, and now that we are in those times. It really just shows that hard work does pay off.”

Caffey echoed her friend’s words about the lasting effect their relationship has had upon her both as a player and a person.

She said that without Speiser – just like without any of her various coaches and family members helping her along the way – she would not have grown into the person and player she is today. The lessons she has learned, starting in her hometown and continuing to this day, are ones she hopes she and her best friend can impart to other basketball players throughout their journeys.

“When I think about where basketball has taken me, it’s just amazing,” Caffey said. “Jordan and I started in such a small town, but basketball has opened so many doors for us. I hope our story can inspire other young athletes. If I could tell them (something), it would be this: work hard, believe in yourself, (take) no days off, and trust that anything is possible.” 


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