By Ben Pickman, Jelani Scott and Chantel Jennings
Connecticut star Paige Bueckers, long considered the presumptive No. 1 pick in next month’s WNBA Draft, will indeed enter that draft after the NCAA Tournament, a program spokesperson said Friday.
Bueckers, 23, is in her fifth season at UConn but has one year of college eligibility remaining. ESPN commentator Rebecca Lobo first reported the news.
The news comes as Bueckers and the No. 2-seeded Huskies prepare to play No. 3-seeded Oklahoma in the Sweet 16 on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. (ET) in Spokane, Wash. The winner will play Sunday against either No. 1-seeded USC or No. 5-seeded Kansas State.
Bueckers had been open about the fact that this could be her final season in college.
“This is my last year to get what I came here for, which is a national championship,” she told The Athletic in June.
Recently, she has remained consistent in her messaging. Earlier this week, the Huskies and their fans celebrated Bueckers after their final game this season at Gampel Pavilion — a 91-57 second-round NCAA Tournament win over South Dakota State in which Bueckers tied her career high with 34 points.
“It’s been a dream to play here, a dream to wear this uniform, a dream to play in this environment,” she told the crowd. “You just take…
