As the WNBA season gets underway, here’s a look at UK basketball’s draft history
On April 14, Georgia Amoore became the latest WNBA draft pick out of the University of Kentucky when the Washington Mystics selected her sixth overall.
An ACL injury sustained during training camp is likely to keep Amoore sidelined all season, though she is expected to remain and recover with the franchise. Regardless, Amoore’s selection by Washington made her the fifth Wildcat to be selected in the first round of the WNBA draft (and eighth overall) dating back to Shantia Owens’ selection in 2000.
The WNBA season tips off Friday night (May 16), which marks the start of a new era for the league — it’s the inaugural season for the Golden State Valkyries and there is increasing interest in expansion with the increasing popularity of women’s basketball — and the race to the league championship.
Due to Amoore’s injury, only Kentucky icon Rhyne Howard will be playing on opening day when the Atlanta Dream take on the Mystics at 7:30 p.m. (airing on the WNBA app).
In honor of the start of another WNBA season, here is a look at every Wildcat to have heard their name called in the league’s draft.
Shantia Owens
2000: Fourth round, 53rd overall to the Phoenix Mercury//traded to the Miami Sol.
Owens transferred to UK after two seasons with Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas, and led the Wildcats in rebounds and blocks per game during her junior and senior campaigns. From 1998-2000, Owens averaged 8.8 points and 7.0 rebounds and was the first UK player to be drafted to the WNBA — which was established in 1997.
The center was chosen 53rd overall by the Phoenix Mercury before a draft-day trade to the Miami Sol, an expansion team for the 2000 season. As a rookie with the Sol, Owens averaged 4.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.4 steals and 0.8 blocks in 19.6 minutes across 31 contests that included 16 starts. That year, the Sol finished with a 12-19 record.
She was next acquired by the Charlotte Sting, but was suspended for the 2001 season. In 2002, Owens appeared in just two contests, playing 2.8 minutes per game. Her contract with the Sting was terminated on June 20, 2002. Charlotte finished the 2002 campaign with an 11-23 record.
Victoria Dunlap
2011: First round, 11th overall to the Washington Mystics.
One of the most celebrated players in Kentucky women’s basketball history, Dunlap still ranks within the top 10 on several program lists. The two-time SEC Player of the Year and SEC All-Defensive Team selection also earned two Associated Press All-America Third Team honors.
Dunlap was the first Wildcat picked in the first round of the WNBA draft, and she averaged 2.3 points, 1.7 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.2 blocks in 8.4 minutes across 26 contests during her rookie season. The Mystics finished the 2011 season a 6-28 record, which ranked sixth in the Eastern Conference.
Dunlap was traded to the Seattle Storm ahead of the 2012 campaign, during which she averaged 2.6 points and 2.2 rebounds in 5.6 minutes in five games played. She was waived at the end of June, and the Storm finished the season with a 16-18 record.
A’dia Mathies
2013: First round, 10th overall to the Los Angeles Sparks.
In four seasons with the Wildcats, Mathies started 138 of 140 games she played in. She averaged 14.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.3 steals in 30.2 minutes over the course of her college career and received All-America recognition in both her junior and senior seasons. The Louisville native was a two-time SEC Player of the Year, the 2009-10 SEC Freshman of the Year and a two-time SEC All-Defensive Team selection.
In her one season with the Sparks, Mathies averaged 2.3 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 9.2 minutes across 30 games played. L.A. finished the 2013 season with a second-place finish in the Western Conference with a 24-10 record.
DeNesha Stallworth
2014: Third round, 25th overall to the Connecticut Sun.
A 2009 McDonald’s All-American, Stallworth spent two seasons at California before transferring to Kentucky. In two seasons with the Wildcats, she scored 812 points, grabbed 417 rebounds and had 69 assists, 85 steals and 87 blocked shots.
Stallworth did not make the Sun’s roster for the 2014 season, which culminated with a 13-21 record and a sixth-place finish in the Eastern Conference.
Evelyn Akhator
2017: First round, 3rd overall to the Dallas Wings.
After two dominant seasons with Chipola Community College in Marianna, Florida, including a national championship at the end of her sophomore year, Akhator transferred to UK and became an immediate starter. As a junior, Akhator averaged 11.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 0.9 blocks, and, as a senior, Akhator earned All-America honors and delivered 15.9 points and 10.8 rebounds and was named to the 2017 SEC All-Tournament Team.
The highest WNBA draft selection out of UK until Rhyne Howard in 2022, Akhator played just one season with the Dallas Wings before she was waived. Through 15 games, Akhator averaged 0.9 points, 0.6 rebounds and 0.2 blocks in 4.1 minutes per contest.
The Wings finished the 2017 season fourth in the Western Conference with a 16-18 record.
Makayla Epps
2017: Third round, 33rd overall to the Chicago Sky.
The 2013 Kentucky Miss Basketball, Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year and Associated Press Girls Player of the Year developed into one of the most prolific scorers in Kentucky women’s basketball history. The three-time All-SEC honoree and three-time All-SEC Tournament selection graduated with career averages that included 13.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per contest.
After she was drafted, Epps played in 17 games with the Sky during the 2017 season, averaging 0.6 points, 0.2 rebounds and 0.4 assists in 3.8 minutes per contest. Chicago finished the 2017 campaign fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 12-22 record.
Epps was waived ahead of the 2018 campaign.
Rhyne Howard
2017: First round, 1st overall to the Atlanta Dream.
Howard spent four individually successful seasons with the Wildcats, and was named the MVP of the Wildcats’ 2022 SEC Tournament championship run. The three-time All-American, four-time All-SEC selection and two-time SEC Player of the Year averaged 20.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists across 114 games played in her UK career.
Howard made history when she became Kentucky’s first No. 1 overall pick, and she went on to earn the 2022 WNBA Rookie of the Year award. Howard remains the only Wildcat to have been named a WNBA All-Star, earning the recognition in 2022 and 2023.
Howard will enter her fourth season with the Dream this summer after a 2024 campaign during which she averaged 17.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. The Dream finished with a 15-25 record. With Howard, the Dream have now made two consecutive playoff appearances after a four-year drought but have yet to surpass the first round with the young star.
Howard also won an Olympic bronze medal with Team USA’s 3x3 Basketball squad at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Georgia Amoore
2025: First round, sixth overall to the Washington Mystics.
Amoore chose to exercise her fifth and final season of eligibility at UK, following Kenny Brooks to Lexington from Virginia Tech.
In Lexington, Amoore was named a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Award, and averaged 19.6 points, 2.3 rebounds, 6.9 assists, 1.0 steal and 0.4 blocks in 36.7 minutes across 31 contests. Amoore was named an All-American by several outlets, and was named the SEC Newcomer of the Year and to the All-SEC First Team.
Mystics head coach Sydney Johnson told media last week that Amoore was still being evaluated by doctors for her ACL injury, and a decision regarding surgery was not yet reached.
