Rebecca Lobo was the first UConn women’s basketball player to make it to the WNBA in 1997.
Fast-forward almost 30 years, and every WNBA team now has a former Huskies player on its roster after the Connecticut Sun sent former UConn guard Moriah Jefferson to the Chicago Sky in a trade this week.
That eye-popping stat is thanks to the continually dominant women’s college basketball program out of Storrs, Connecticut, which has been led by storied head coach Geno Auriemma since 1985 and for nearly 40 seasons.
The Huskies have won 11 NCAA Division I National Championships under Auriemma and have provided the WNBA with big-name superstars, highlighted by No. 1 overall draft picks Sue Bird (2002), Diana Taurasi (2004), Tina Charles (2010), Maya Moore (2011) and Breanna Stewart (2016). UConn boasts 45 all-time draftees.
Today, 17 former Huskies grace the rosters of all 12 WNBA teams — Charles (Atlanta Dream); Jefferson (Sky); Olivia Nelson-Ododa (Sun); Lou Lopez Senechal (Dallas Wings); Katie Lou Samuelson (Indiana Fever); Tiffany Hayes, Kiah Stokes (Las Vegas Aces); Crystal Dangerfield, Kia Nurse, Azura Stevens (Los Angeles Sparks); Napheesa Collier, Dorka Juhasz (Minnesota Lynx); Stewart (New York Liberty); Taurasi (Phoenix Mercury); Nika Mühl (Seattle Storm); Stefanie Dolson and Aaliyah Edwards (Washington Mystics).
Three of those players — Taurasi, Stewart and Collier — are set to represent Team USA this summer at the 2024 Paris Olympics and will take part in the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game on July 20 (8:30 p.m. ET).
With superstar Paige Bueckers, who’s projected to be a top 2025 WNBA Draft pick, opting to return to UConn for a fifth year, it’s safe to say the Huskies’ influence in the league will continue for the foreseeable future.
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