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It happened so fast that South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley barely had time to sit down or take a break from clapping.
After not having a first-round WNBA draft pick for the first time in three years, Staley watched three of her players get selected within minutes of each other in the second round of the 2025 WNBA Draft on April 14.
Starting guard Te-Hina Paopao was selected No. 18 overall by the Atlanta Dream; starting guard Bree Hall was taken at No. 20 by the Indiana Fever; and starting forward Sania Feagin rounded it off, picked at No. 21 by the Los Angeles Sparks.
Staley and the coaching staff were at The Shed at Hudson Yards in Manhattan, New York, to support Feagin and the 2025 draft class. Paopao and Hall were watching from home with their respective families.
Shortly after the chaotic moments and series of picks, Staley took to X, formerly Twitter.
"Thank you Lord," Staley wrote. "Proud of @GamecockWBB @tehinapaopa0 @breezyhalll @supremenia for being selected in the @WNBA draft. @AtlantaDream @IndianaFever @LASparks yall have some class act human beings and highly tested talented individuals! Let’s gooooo!!!"
Training camp begins on April 27, with the season beginning on May 14. Each WNBA team has a minimum roster size of 11 players and a maximum of 12, which means every player drafted still has to earn a roster spot.
If Paopao makes the final roster for the Dream, she'll likely have South Carolina fans in the stands supporting her. Gateway Center Arena is just under four hours from Colonial Life Arena, and Gamecocks fans are known to travel well.
Staley is an Atlanta Dream season ticket holder. Allisha Gray, who was at South Carolina in the 2016-17 season, plays for the Dream, but Staley also gets to see other former players when they are in town as opponents.
For Hall, it's a potential reunion with one of her former teammates, Aliyah Boston, who was selected first overall in the 2023 WNBA Draft by the Fever. The two won a national championship together at South Carolina in 2022.
Boston wrote on X shortly after Hall's name was called, "BIG BREEZY REUNION," with a happy tears emoji. "I'm literally crying (right now)."
Feagin, also on the national championship team from 2022, will look to make the roster that just acquired veteran guard Kelsey Plum, who played with A'ja Wilson on the Las Vegas Aces until this offseason. Wilson and Feagin did not share the South Carolina court at the same time, but they have a connection nonetheless.
In the post-draft interview, Feagin said Wilson was her favorite player growing up, and that her younger self would be proud to know they are now in the same league.
Feagin was asked what it was like to be drafted at the same time as her teammates, sharing the national championship in 2024 and finishing as runner-up to UConn on April 6.
"It meant a lot to me," she said. "I texted in the group chat to let them know congratulations because we did it, we made it this far and it just means a lot to be here with my teammates."
NEXT SEASON: South Carolina women's basketball starter Raven Johnson returning for 2025-26 season
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at [email protected] and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Dawn Staley celebrates South Carolina's trio of 2025 WNBA draft picks
Continue reading...
After not having a first-round WNBA draft pick for the first time in three years, Staley watched three of her players get selected within minutes of each other in the second round of the 2025 WNBA Draft on April 14.
Starting guard Te-Hina Paopao was selected No. 18 overall by the Atlanta Dream; starting guard Bree Hall was taken at No. 20 by the Indiana Fever; and starting forward Sania Feagin rounded it off, picked at No. 21 by the Los Angeles Sparks.
Staley and the coaching staff were at The Shed at Hudson Yards in Manhattan, New York, to support Feagin and the 2025 draft class. Paopao and Hall were watching from home with their respective families.
Shortly after the chaotic moments and series of picks, Staley took to X, formerly Twitter.
"Thank you Lord," Staley wrote. "Proud of @GamecockWBB @tehinapaopa0 @breezyhalll @supremenia for being selected in the @WNBA draft. @AtlantaDream @IndianaFever @LASparks yall have some class act human beings and highly tested talented individuals! Let’s gooooo!!!"
Training camp begins on April 27, with the season beginning on May 14. Each WNBA team has a minimum roster size of 11 players and a maximum of 12, which means every player drafted still has to earn a roster spot.
If Paopao makes the final roster for the Dream, she'll likely have South Carolina fans in the stands supporting her. Gateway Center Arena is just under four hours from Colonial Life Arena, and Gamecocks fans are known to travel well.
Staley is an Atlanta Dream season ticket holder. Allisha Gray, who was at South Carolina in the 2016-17 season, plays for the Dream, but Staley also gets to see other former players when they are in town as opponents.
For Hall, it's a potential reunion with one of her former teammates, Aliyah Boston, who was selected first overall in the 2023 WNBA Draft by the Fever. The two won a national championship together at South Carolina in 2022.
Boston wrote on X shortly after Hall's name was called, "BIG BREEZY REUNION," with a happy tears emoji. "I'm literally crying (right now)."
Feagin, also on the national championship team from 2022, will look to make the roster that just acquired veteran guard Kelsey Plum, who played with A'ja Wilson on the Las Vegas Aces until this offseason. Wilson and Feagin did not share the South Carolina court at the same time, but they have a connection nonetheless.
In the post-draft interview, Feagin said Wilson was her favorite player growing up, and that her younger self would be proud to know they are now in the same league.
Feagin was asked what it was like to be drafted at the same time as her teammates, sharing the national championship in 2024 and finishing as runner-up to UConn on April 6.
"It meant a lot to me," she said. "I texted in the group chat to let them know congratulations because we did it, we made it this far and it just means a lot to be here with my teammates."
NEXT SEASON: South Carolina women's basketball starter Raven Johnson returning for 2025-26 season
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at [email protected] and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Dawn Staley celebrates South Carolina's trio of 2025 WNBA draft picks
Continue reading...
