2021-22: Fairfield and MAAC all-time leader with 156 games played...Finished his career ranked 11th all-time in scoring with 1,476 career points...Appeared in all 33 games with 12 starts…Averaged 9.0 points and 3.8 rebounds in 24.5 minutes per game…Played 18 minutes off the bench in the season opener at Providence, scoring five points with two rebounds...Knocked down three three-pointers en route to 13 points at Boston College on Nov. 14...Had a productive 10 minutes of action with four points, four rebounds and three assists against Medgar Evers...Filled out his stat sheet with 11 points and seven rebounds in the Nov. 20 win at Sacred Heart...Led the way with 16 points off the bench in the road win at Canisius...Poured in 11 points in the first half to help Fairfield rally to a win at Niagara...Recorded eight points and six rebounds in the overtime game at UMass...Came off the bench to net 14 points at Siena...Scored 14 points against Monmouth on Jan. 20...Scored the final four points of the game to push Fairfield to a three-point win at Marist, netting nine points with seven boards in total...Scored 12 points at Monmouth, including two buckets to tie the score in the final 80 seconds...Netted a team-high 14 points in the Feb. 12 win over Niagara...Scored a career-high 25 points, sparked by a personal-best five three-pointers in the overtime win over Canisius on Feb. 14...Had 13 points in the March 3 win over Rider...Led all players with 19 points in the MAAC First Round win over Canisius.
2020-21: Jesus Cruz became the latest member of the Stags’ 1000-point club when he reached the prestigious point against Iona last December. He split time between the starting lineup and coming off the bench, gaining starts in the first seven games of the season and three more on January 15 and 16 and February 7. The guard netted 10 or more points in 12 contests with eight coming as a reserve. He was credited with a season-high 18 points at Stony Brook, one game after his only double-double of the season – 10 points and 11 rebounds against Hartford in the home opener. He was the team’s top scorer in five games during 2020-21 including three as a reserve (12 points vs. Siena; 17 vs. Canisius; 16 points vs. Manhattan in MAAC Championship). He was the team’s top scorers twice as starter, both coming on the road against Stony Brook (18 points) and at Hartford (16 points). He made 12 three pointers during the campaign, netting 7 of 19 three-point tries over the final five games of the season (37 percent). He finished the season with an 8.7 scoring average and a 3.5 rebounding average.
2019-20
Jesus Cruz split his time between the starting lineup and coming off the bench in 2019-20, opening the year with 12 straight starts. He opened the run with a season-high 24 points against Bucknell, one of his six 20-point efforts during the year. He scored in double figures in the first seven games of the season and nine of the first 10 dates. As a starter, Cruz averaged 13.2 points per game, but tallied 9.1 points per game off the bench. His best performance as a reserve came against Quinnipiac when he tallied 22 points, just one point better than his 21 points off the bench against Canisius and at Manhattan. Cruz ended the season with an 11.0 scoring average which placed second on the game. His scoring total also strong enough to place 21
st in the MAAC. Cruz led the team with 26 steals in his 32 appearances, averaging 0.8 per game. He posted seven games with two or more steals including two contests with five steals (UMass and at Oakland).
2018-19
Cruz improved his consecutive games played streak alive by appearing in all 31 games last season, joining Jonathan Kasibabu as the only Stags to play in every game in 2018-19. He also gained entry in all 33 games as a freshman, giving him a run of 64 straight appearances. The guard averaged 9.4 points per game over his 31 outings, 24 of which were as a starter, leading all guards on the team with his .454 field goal percentage. He netted 10 or more points 15 times which included three 20-point performances (20 points at Quinnipiac, 21 vs. Canisius, and career-high 24 vs. Iona). Earlier in the year, Cruz secured a double-double at Iona with 13 points and 10 rebounds, the second of his career and first since a 21-point, 10-carom event against Quinnipiac in 2017-18. He nearly earned another double-double by fell a rebound shy with his 17 points and nine caroms against LIU Brooklyn. He was one of the best on the team at the free throw line with his .787 mark (48 of 61), making his first 15 free throws of the season and starting the year by netting 23 of his first 24 tries. He ended the regular-season by averaging 10.1 points per game over his final 14 games which included three games of 18 or more points.Â
2017-18
Cruz played in all 33 games as a freshman which included 24 starts. After coming off the bench i his first four collegiate games, Cruz started the next nine games from the guard position. He averaged 9.3 points per game during that stretch of starts (84 points), a run which included a 16-point effort at Houston. He would surpass that game scoring total just once when he registered a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds against Quinnipiac at the Nassau Coliseum. Cruz posted 10 or more points i 14 games including three in the MAAC tournament. The guard averaged 10 points per game in his four MAAC tournament appearances, highlighted by a 14-point night against Iona in the conference championship game. He also averaged 6.5 rebounds per game, setting a personal-best with 13 rebounds against Marist in the Stags' first game of the event. Cruz was especially effective defensively, placing among the MAAC leaders with 1.6 per game. He grabbed four or more steals in four games which included a five-steal effort at Manhattan in December. For the season, Cruz averaged 9.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.6 steals per game.
Before Fairfield
Jesus Cruz came off a successful stint with Puerto Rico at the FIBA U-19 tournament, helping his team placed ninth in the championship tournament. He finished eighth in scoring with a 13.4 scoring average and second in steals for the tournament. The guard attended St. Francis School in Puerto Rico before enrolling at Immaculata-LaSalle High School in Miami. From there, Cruz spent a year at the Loomis Chaffee School where he also played basketball.
