Williams, Nelson-Ododa, Westbrook selected in second round of WNBA Draft

UConn women’s basketball’s three seniors were all taken in the second round of 2022 WNBA Draft Monday night.

Christyn Williams came off the board first when the Washington Mystics selected her 14th overall (second pick of the second round). Then Olivia Nelson-Ododa went to the Los Angeles Sparks 19th overall (seventh pick of the second round), and two picks later Evina Westbrook went to the Seattle Storm at 21st overall (ninth pick of the second round).

Williams, Nelson-Ododa, and Westbrook are the 41st, 42nd and 43rd Huskies to be picked in the WNBA Draft, and the 10th, 11th, and 12th Huskies picked in the second round. They’re also the 13th set of teammates to be selected in the same draft.

Williams will head to one of the league’s best organizations in the Mystics but will have to battle a deep training camp roster to earn a spot. Nelson-Ododa will reunite with Katie Lou Samuelson in Los Angeles, though the Sparks are tight to the salary cap so she’ll need to earn her place on the roster.

Westbrook will join fellow former Huskies Sue Bird, Breanna Stewart, and Gabby Williams on the Storm. Seattle also lacks cap space, though Westbrook certainly has the skillset and versatility to prove herself as one of the team’s 12 players. As a native of Salem, Oregon, Westbrook will also return to the Pacific Northwest to start her professional career.

The Huskies did not have a single player picked in the 2021 WNBA Draft, the first time that happened since 2007.