New York–the party’s not over yet UCLANational Champion of. The Bruins had another big celebration at the WNBA Draft.
Lauren Bates, gabriela jacquez And kiki rice Taken with picks No. 4-6 on Monday night, barely a week after helping the Bruins win their first NCAA championship. UCLA became the first team to select five in the first round and the first to select six players in one draft.
In a whirlwind season that saw the Bruins welcomed from coast to coast, the good times reached their peak in the draft, where this season’s best team took its place among the best ever.
“It’s really hard to summarize it because there’s so much that goes into it,” Jacquez said. “I think we’re on a pretty high right now. We just won a national championship. A lot of us also graduated from college, which is a big step and something to be very proud of, especially at UCLA. And then we get to go on ‘Jimmy Kimmel,’ a Laker game, Clippers game, dance, celebrate at Pauley Pavilion. We went on ‘Good Morning America’ this morning. Obviously, a lot of us are going to be drafted tonight. I’m here. It’s just been a special moment.”
6-foot-7 Bates selected washington mystic At No. 4, taken again with Jacquez chicago sky. Expansion toronto tempo Made Rice their first draft pick with the No. 6 selection.
Coach Corey Close sat near his players up front, as the Bruins had reason to cheer. they were going so fast after that Angela Dugalic Picked at No. 9 to join Bates at Washington, she was worried she would miss out on more big moments for her teammates.
Bates said he was not surprised, seeing how hard his teammates worked.
“They’re like my sisters and it’s amazing to see my family doing something like this,” Bates said. “But I mean, this team is very special. We knew what kind of players we had on our team, and to really showcase all the things we’ve worked on all season on this night is amazing.”
UCLA went down 37-1 South Carolina Their seniors scored all of their points in the Final Four – in the title game on April 5 – and then made WNBA history when Gianna Knipkens was prepared by connecticut sun With the 15th and final pick of the first round.
Close has said he doesn’t care about the record, but that changed on Monday.
“Well, I mean, I really care about it, because No. 1, it helps us with recruiting. I think we’ve really taken a developmental approach to it and to see it come to fruition the way it has has obviously been really gratifying,” she said.
“Just to be a part of a historic night and have them be so excited for each other, it’s representative of how they’ve been all year. But to be a part of it is a pretty cool record.”
UConn held the previous record of four selections in the first round – all within the first six selections – in 2002. Sue Bird was No. 1, Swin Cash was No. 2, Asjha Jones was No. 4 and Tamika Williams was No. 6 on a team that went 39-0.
Tennessee, in 1999 and again in 2008, had five players selected in the draft, as did Notre Dame in 2019 and South Carolina in 2023. But not all of those players were taken in the first round.
“I think it definitely shows that being an unselfish team, maybe sacrificing individual stats for team success, that you can win with that formula. You can still be successful. You can win at a high level as a team but you can also accomplish individual goals,” Rice said.
“We knew we all wanted to go to the WNBA. We all wanted to be professional, but that wasn’t the only focus during the season. It was winning, it was giving to each other, it was figuring out how to be the best team we can. In the process of doing that, we still got the results we wanted at the end of the day, and that’s something that’s really special.”
Charlie’s Leger-Walker Taken by the Suns in the second round, Neepkens agreed to remain teammates.
The Bruins went out to dinner together while in New York and spent more time together after the draft. But Neepkens said they won’t be saying goodbye just yet.
He said, “Yes, those girls mean the most to me and the good thing is that we live in this age and we have phones.” “So hopefully we’ll keep in touch, and obviously we’ll see each other.”
