With the WNBA Draft two days away, Maryland is primed to have two first round picks. Center Brionna Jones and guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough are projected top-ten picks, and many experts believe Jones is a lock to be selected in the top-five.
Jones and Walker-Kimbrough will join a lengthy list of Maryland players who have been drafted, considering the WNBA has only been in play since 1997. Here’s a look at the 10 highest WNBA Draft picks from Maryland.
10. Brene Moseley: 2nd Round, 21st Overall. Indiana Fever 2016
Brene “Bones” Moseley was one of coach Brenda Frese’s favorite bench players. In her senior season, she averaged 11.6 points and led the team with 5.9 assists per game. Her stint with the Fever only lasted one season.
9. Shay Doron: 2nd Round, 16th Overall. New York Liberty 2007
An Israel native, Doron moved to New York for her junior and senior years of high school with hopes of playing in the WNBA. Doron was regarded as Frese’s first major recruit. In addition to being honored on All-ACC teams three times, she was a key contributor to Maryland’s lone national championship in 2006. Doron’s WNBA career only lasted 35 minutes in one season, but she continued to play professionally overseas.
8. Jessie Hicks: 2nd Round, 12th Overall. Utah Starzz 1997
The two-time First Team All-ACC player was the first-ever Maryland player drafted* in 1997. Hicks was four years removed from her career at Maryland when she was selected (she played in College Park from 1989-93). Hicks spent seven years defending the paint in the WNBA for four different teams.
7. Laura Harper: 1st Round, 10th Overall. Sacramento Monarchs 2008
Harper was a fan favorite at Maryland and a vital member of the 2006 championship team. She earned the NCAA tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Harper spent two seasons in Sacramento, but injuries ravaged her career. After sitting out nearly two seasons, Harper finished her career overseas.
6. Crystal Langhorne: 1st Round, 6th Overall. Washington Mystics 2008
In addition to hoisting the national championship trophy in 2006, Langhorne was the first player at Maryland (both men’s or women’s) to score 2,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds. Langhorne averaged 16.6 points and nine rebounds per game in four seasons, and has continued her impressive play in the WNBA. In 2009, she was named the league’s Most Improved Player, and has earned four All-Star appearances in eight seasons. Langhorne was traded to Seattle in 2014 and is a key member of the Storm.
5. Tianna Hawkins: 1st Round, 6th Overall. Seattle Storm 2013
Hawkins became a national sensation at Maryland in her last two seasons. Her junior year, she led the NCAA in field goal percentage (62.3 percent), while nearly averaging a double-double in points and rebounds. In her senior year, she averaged a career-high 18 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, on her way to her second consecutive All-ACC nomination. Hawkins spent one season in Seattle before getting traded to Washington, coincidentally for Langhorne in 2014. Hawkins is still a member of the Mystics.
4. Alyssa Thomas: 1st Round, 4th Overall. New York Liberty 2014
Maryland fans could ramble on about Thomas’ accolades at Maryland, but to keep it short, Thomas could go down as the best player in program history. On draft night, the Liberty selected Thomas but traded her to the Suns in a deal for former WNBA MVP Tina Charles. In three seasons in Connecticut, she has averaged 11.1 points and six rebounds per game.
3. Kristi Toliver: 1st Round, 3rd Overall. Chicago Sky 2009
As a freshman, Toliver drained the game-winning 3-pointer of Maryland’s national championship win over Duke, but her best days in a Maryland uniform came after the championship season. She averaged 17 points and 7.4 assists per game her junior year. Toliver has spent her professional career in the WNBA and in Eastern Europe. After one season with the Sky, she played seven seasons with the Los Angeles Sparks, earning an all-star appearance, an All-WNBA 2nd team, Most Improved Player and a championship. She signed with the Mystics in February to play with Elena Delle Donne.
2. Marissa Coleman: 1st Round, 2nd Overall. Washington Mystics 2009
The Mystics have a trend of selecting Maryland players, and Coleman marks the highest drafted player to the WNBA in Terps history. Coleman, the ACC Rookie of the Year in 2006, had a phenomenal career alongside Toliver. She averaged 15.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.4 steals and 1 block per game in College Park. In the WNBA, she is an All-Star for the Indiana Fever.
1. Vicky Bullet: Initial Player Allocation. Charlotte Sting 1997
Though Bullet was never drafted, she was recognized as one of the 16 best players in the world when the league began. These 16 players were put on teams at random, and Bullet played three seasons for the Charlotte Sting. Bullet finished her six-year WNBA career in 2002 with the Mystics, but played overseas from 1990-2006. Bullet was inducted into the WNBA in 2011 and is now the head coach at West Virginia Wesleyan College.
*Hicks was the first player drafted but Bullet was the first player from Maryland selected.
