SFA ALUMNA DRAFTED TO WNBA

Angel Reese was a 2020 graduate of Saint Frances Academy after a decorated four-year varsity basketball career under Head Coach Jerome Shelton and Assistant Coach Nyke Burrell. She went on to play two years for University of Maryland and two years for Louisiana State University. On April 3, 2024, Reese declared for the 2024 WNBA draft, where she was projected to be a first-round pick.

LSU SPORTS WROTE:

Angel Reese was selected by the Chicago Sky during Monday night’s WNBA Draft in the first round with the No. 7 pick inside the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Reese becomes the 23rd player from LSU to be selected in the WNBA Draft and the 8th to be selected in the first round. She is also the 24th player that Kim Mulkey has sent to the WNBA and 10th to be picked in the first round. She is LSU’s first first-round selection since LaSondra Barrett was taken with pick No. 10 by Washington in the 2012 WNBA Draft.

Chicago entered Monday holding the No. 8 pick, but put a deal together with Minnesota to move up to No. 7, potentially to ensure their ability to pick Reese. She will join the Sky, who went 18-22 last season and fell in the first round of the WNBA Playoffs to the future champions Las Vegas Aces.

WNBA camp is set to begin on April 13. The preseason will kickoff on May 3 with the regular season set to begin 11 days later on May 14.

Reese is the third player from LSU to be selected by the Sky; Sylvia Fowles was selected by Chicago for the second pick of the 2008 draft; and Quianna Chaney was taken in the second round with the 19th overall pick by the Sky, also in 2008.

“Angel transferred to LSU after my first season in Baton Rouge and she helped transform our program,” Coach Kim Mulkey said. “When she came here, she said she wanted to be here for two seasons and she has lived up to that. What a remarkable two years it has been. We are all indebted to Angel Reese for the contributions she has given to this program, helping us win our first National Championship, and the contributions she made on our university as a whole. She not only helped grow our program but also had an impact on growing the game of women’s basketball across the country. We wish her good luck as she moves to the WNBA and look forward to see all that she accomplishes with the Chicago Sky. We will miss her but will always cherish the two year’s we got to spend with her. Forever LSU.”

In her two seasons at LSU, Reese helped transform the women’s basketball program, leading the Tigers to their first NCAA Championship in 2023. Reese became the first player since Wendy Scholtens from Vanderbilt in 1989 and 1990 to lead the league in both scoring and rebounding in consecutive seasons and was named the 2024 SEC Player of the Year. Reese had seven games with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds over the past two seasons.

“I’m leaving college with everything I ever wanted,” Reese said on a video posted to X. “A degree, a national championship, and this platform I could have never imagined. This is for the girls who look like me that’s going to speak up in what they believe in. It’s unapologetically you. To grow women’s sports and to have an impact on those coming next. This was a difficult decision, but I trust the next chapter because I know the author. Bayou Barbie out.”

Check out her complete basketball career highlights on Wikipedia: