Two days after playing in the most watched women’s basketball game in history, one of the NCAA’s most talented and polarizing players that took part in the contest has announced her intention to go pro.
After logging 20 rebounds and 17 assists in her final collegiate game, LSU forward Angel Reese declared herself eligible for the WNBA Draft on April 15. Reese announced her intention both in a post on X (formerly Twitter) as well as in an interview with Vogue magazine.
Reese played two seasons with LSU
Reese, 21, played four collegiate seasons with both Maryland and LSU. However, she had a year of eligibility remaining due to the COVID-19 pandemic that abbreviated her freshman season in 2020-21.
The Baltimore, Md. native played in 47 games with Maryland, averaging 15.3 points and 9.1 rebounds per contest with the Terrapins. She transferred to LSU after her sophomore season, telling Just Women’s Sports:
“I wanted more for myself.”
She got more with the Tigers, winning the 2023 national championship with LSU. The title game against Iowa turned many basketball fans against her after she repeatedly taunted Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark throughout the contest. However, Reese has remained adamant that is was just gamesmanship and that she has no animosity towards Clark.
In 69 games with the Tigers, she averaged 20.9 points and 14.4 rebounds per outing.
LSU fell to Iowa in 2024 playoff rematch, ending Reese’s college career
This past Monday, Reese and her LSU teammates squared off against Iowa in a rematch of the 2023 title game. With a record 12.3 million people watching, the Hawkeyes came out on top to punch their ticket for the 2024 Final Four. Reese was hobbled by an ankle injury suffered in the second quarter before Iowa pulled away after halftime.
Reese’s teammates defended her in a postgame press conference after the forward had faced intense backlash from the media and sporting public in general. She also spoke to assembled reporters, saying of the scrutiny she has received over the past year, saying:
“I’ve been through so much. I’ve seen so much. I’ve been attacked so many times, death threats, I’ve been sexualized, I’ve been threatened, I’ve been so many things, and I’ve stood strong every single time.”
Reese likely to be under a microscope in the WNBA
The controversy surrounding Reese is not likely to fade away now that she is entering the professional ranks. All eyes now turn towards the mid-April draft and what team will select the three-time Associated Press All-American. Her nemesis, Clark, already declared in February.
Most mock drafts have Reese being anywhere from the sixth to the eighth player selected by either the Washington Mystics, Minnesota Lynx, or Chicago Sky.
Any team picking Reese will be banking on her two-way skills translating to the pro game. That team will also have to handle the media circus that she will be bringing in tow.
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Tom Carothers is a sportswriter with more than 20 years of experience covering sports at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels. Still longing for the return of his Minnesota North Stars, he has a high pain tolerance as a big fan of the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Browns, and Tottenham Hotspur. You can follow him on X at @tomcarothers.