Hours before the deadline to make the decision, Angel Reese announced her plans to take her talents to the WNBA. The anticipated announcement was made in a Vogue profile featuring the Maryland native in a fashion shoot, a move she said was inspired by tennis legend Serena Williams.
“I’ve done everything I wanted to in college,” the LSU star said in the profile. “I’ve won a national championship, I’ve gotten [Southeastern Conference] Player of the Year, I’ve been an All-American. My ultimate goal is to be a pro — and to be one of the greatest basketball players to play, ever. I feel like I’m ready.”
Reese’s announcement comes less than 48 hours after LSU’s Elite Eight loss to Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes in Albany, whom the Tigers defeated in the NCAA women’s national championship game last season. Reese ended her college career with a strong 17-point, 20-rebound performance in the Elite Eight loss despite being hobbled by an ankle injury. She averaged 18.6 points, 13.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in her final season with LSU.
The 6-3 Reese joins a talented crop of future 2024 lottery picks, including Iowa’s Clark, Stanford’s Cameron Brink, Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson and South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso. Clark, the NCAA’s all-time scoring leader, is a lock to be drafted by the Indiana Fever with the first overall pick.
WNBA rules state players entering the 2024 WNBA Draft must declare by April 1. Players that participated in the Elite Eight, like Reese, have 48 hours to declare for the draft. Players participating in games beyond the Elite Eight also have 48 hours to make their decision.
Reese had the option to remain at LSU for one more season under the COVID-19 waiver, but decided a move to the pros was next. She ends her college career with a decorated resume, including a national championship and the NCAA single-season record in double-doubles. She also won the SEC Player of the Year award for the 2023-24 season after a dominant 31-6 season under head coach Kim Mulkey.
“I wrote down: ‘People are going to doubt me thinking I got too Hollywood, I got too big-headed,’” she told Vogue. “But I said I was going to be SEC Player of the Year, and I was SEC Player of the Year.”
The future April 15 lottery pick added about her LSU career: “To sum it up, it’s been crazy.”