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 sports/womens-basketball/roster/coaches/geno-auriemma/599″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>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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