HBCU basketball powerhouse Ivy Harrington was crowned as Miss New Jersey. After all her work on the court transforming Morgan State’s record, she has made a name for herself in the pageant arena by being crowned Miss New Jersey USA 2025 at the Hotel Parsippany in North Jersey.
Harrington, 30, will go on to represent Jersey at the 74th edition of the Miss USA pageant, where she could potentially become the US representative for the Miss Universe competition if she wins.
The 5’7” Morgan State guard is originally from Neptune Township, and she made a name for herself on the court for having indelible drive and a team-first mentality.
Harrington kept those attributes as she flourished after her Korgan State career.
Harrington explained to NJ Advance Media, “Our family dynamic changed drastically after my dad died. And trying to navigate the world during a global pandemic while grieving made it that much harder.”
Just a few months after her dad died in 2019, Harrington watched two young Black women win pageant titles in Washington, and it caused her to begin pursuing her dreams of being successful in the pageant world.
Harrington began officially competing in 2021 and persevered through several setbacks before finally winning the 2025 Miss New Jersey crown.
“The pageant world is such a niche space to be in. You have to be mentally tough to open yourself up to be critiqued and judged,” Harrington said. “It can leave you very vulnerable and question things about yourself that you would never have thought of.”
The Miss New Jersey USA competition is not the only place where she’s found success.
Harrington played four seasons at the HBCU during her Morgan State days, and she appeared in 114 games from 2013 to 2017. She totaled a complete 457 career points in an average of 16.1 minutes per game. Harrington is known for having an extremely strong freshman year season, and she concluded her Morgan State career with 261 rebounds and 101 steals.
Off the pageant stage and basketball court, Harrington currently works in education as a social media manager for the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District. She leads a mentorship program called MVP, which stands for Most Valuable Pivot, and it’s entirely focused on uplifting and guiding young women in sports.
“Whether it be on the local, collegiate, or professional level, I want to teach female athletes to become the architects of their identity outside their athletic jersey,” Harrington said.
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