Angel Reese declares for WNBA Draft, closing out legendary LSU career

Angel Reese is taking the next step in her basketball career.

The LSU star will enter the WNBA Draft, she told Vogue in a story published Wednesday.

“I’ve done everything I wanted to in college,” Reese told Vogue. “I’ve won a national championship, I’ve gotten [Southeastern Conference] Player of the Year, I’ve been an All-American. My ultimate goal is to be a pro — and to be one of the greatest basketball players to play, ever. I feel like I’m ready.”

Reese leaves women’s college basketball as one of the most accomplished players in the sport in recent years. As she mentioned, Reese was a unanimous first-team All-American in 2023, averaging 23 points and 15.4 rebounds per game. She won SEC Player of the Year for her play in the 2023-24 season, averaging 18.6 points and 13.4 rebounds per game.

Reese also played a pivotal role in helping to bring women’s college basketball to new heights. LSU’s battle against Iowa in the 2023 national championship game was one of the most-watched games in the history of the sport. As Reese led LSU to victory, she also stirred some controversy for her trash talk toward Iowa star Caitlin Clark in the waning moments of the game. 

Both Clark and Reese brushed aside the incident, with the former defending the latter in the aftermath of the 2023 title game. Reese also recently played down the incident, telling reporters that she and Clark “don’t hate each other.”

However, the incident served as a watershed moment for women’s college basketball and created great intrigue for the rematch between LSU and Iowa in Monday’s Elite Eight game. Iowa came away victorious this time, winning 94-87. But the broadcast averaged 12.3 million viewers, making it the most-watched women’s college basketball game of all time.

Reese, who has one more year of eligibility, told reporters afterward that she hadn’t made a decision about her college future yet. But she’d already revealed to Vogue her decision to enter the WNBA Draft ahead of LSU’s tournament run. 

“Of course, I like to do everything big,” Reese told Vogue of her decision to make the announcement through the magazine, citing Serena Williams’ decision to announce her retirement through the same magazine. “I didn’t want anything to be basic.”

While Clark is the Indiana Fever’s presumptive choice at No. 1 in the upcoming draft, most mocks have Reese going in the top 10, if not the top five.

“I want to start at the bottom again,” Reese told Vogue. “I want to be a rookie again and build myself back up; I want to be knocked down and learn and grow at the next level.”

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