April 17 (UPI) — The New York Liberty selected Oregon superstar guard Sabrina Ionescu with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft on Friday.
Ionescu, who was expected to be the top pick in this year’s draft since she returned to Oregon for her senior season, was chosen as the league conducted a virtual draft on ESPN because of the coronavirus pandemic. Draft picks remained in their homes, and WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced the selections from her house.
“I’m blessed to be in this position that I have worked for my whole life,” Ionescu said from her home in California.
While at Oregon, Ionescu became the sixth woman to win more than one John R. Wooden Award, which is given annually to the nation’s most outstanding player. She also won the Naismith Trophy and Wade Trophy in her final season with the Ducks.
Ionescu, who became the first men’s or women’s college basketball player to reach career marks of at least 2,000 points, 1,000 assists and 1,000 rebounds, led the country in assists at 9.2 per game this past season. She also led the Ducks in scoring at 17.5 points per game and finished third in the Pac-12 in rebounding at 8.6 per contest.
.@sabrina_i20 gets selected first overall by the @nyliberty! #WNBADraft 2020 presented by @StateFarm pic.twitter.com/nnblsMQ2hJ— WNBA (@WNBA) April 17, 2020
Forward Satou Sabally, one of Ionescu’s teammates at Oregon, was selected with the No. 2 overall pick by the Dallas Wings. It is only the fourth time in WNBA Draft history that the top two choices were from the same program.
Baylor star Lauren Cox went third to the Indiana Fever, and Texas A&M guard Chennedy Carter was the No. 4 pick by the Atlanta Dream. The Wings, who had two selections in the top five, took Bella Alarie with the fifth-overall pick.
Below is the round-by-round results from the 2020 WNBA Draft:
Round 1:
1. New York Liberty: Sabrina Ionescu, G, Oregon
2. Dallas Wings: Satou Sabally, F, Oregon
3. Indiana Fever: Lauren Cox, F, Baylor
4. Atlanta Dream: Chennedy Carter, G, Texas A&M
5. Dallas Wings: Bella Alarie, G/F, Princeton
6. Minnesota Lynx: Mikiah Hebert Harrigan, F, South Carolina
7. Dallas Wings: Tyasha Harris, G, South Carolina
8. Chicago Sky: Ruthy Hebard, F, Oregon
9. New York Liberty: Megan Walker, F, UConn
10. New York Liberty (via trade with Phoenix Mercury): Jocelyn Willoughby, F, Virginia
11. Seattle Storm: Kitija Laksa, G, Latvia/South Florida
12. New York Liberty: Jazmine Jones, G, Louisville
Round 2:
13. New York Liberty: Kylee Shook, F, Louisville
14. Indiana Fever: Kathleen Doyle, G, Iowa
15. New York Liberty: Leaonna Odom, F, Duke
16. Minnesota Lynx: Crystal Dangerfield, G, UConn
17. Atlanta Dream: Brittany Brewer, C, Texas Tech
18. Phoenix Mercury: Te’a Cooper, G, Baylor
19. Seattle Storm: Joyner Holmes, F, Texas
20. Los Angeles Sparks: Beatrice Mompremier, F, Miami
21. Dallas Wings: Luisa Geiselsoder, C, Germany
22. Los Angeles Sparks: Leonie Fiebich, G, Germany
23. Connecticut Sun: Kaila Charles, G, Maryland
24. Washington Mystics: Jaylyn Agnew, F, Creighton
Round 3:
25. Atlanta Dream: Mikayla Pivec, G, Oregon State
26. Minnesota Lynx (via trade with New York Liberty): Erica Ogwumike, G, Rice
27. Atlanta Dream: Kobi Thornton, F, Clemson
28. Indiana Fever: Kamiah Smalls, G, James Madison
29. Phoenix Mercury: Stella Johnson, G, Rider
30. Chicago Sky: Japreece Dean, G, UCLA
31. Seattle Storm: Haley Gorecki, G, Duke
32. Chicago Sky: Kiah Gillespie, F, Florida State
33. Las Vegas Aces: Lauren Manis, F, Holy Cross
34. Los Angeles Sparks: Tynice Martin, G, West Virginia
35. Connecticut Sun: Juicy Landrum, G, Baylor
36. Washington Mystics: Sug Sutton, G, Texas
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