Angel Reese announces that she is leaving LSU for the WNBA
By Jill Martin, CNN
(CNN) — LSU basketball star Angel Reese has announced that she is leaving school for the WNBA.
Reese posted the announcement Wednesday on Instagram, and her decision was also detailed in a story in Vogue.
LSU lost to Iowa in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament Monday, a rematch of last year’s national championship game. ESPN, the network that aired Monday’s game, announced Tuesday that it was the most-watched women’s college basketball game in history.
“I’ve done everything I wanted to in college,” Reese said in the Vogue story. “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.”
The WNBA draft takes place on April 15. Reese, a 6-foot-3-inch forward, is projected in mock drafts to be a top-10 pick.
A year ago, Reese and LSU won the program’s first women’s basketball national championship, upending Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes in the final, 102-85.
Reese, named last year’s Final Four Most Outstanding Player, famously waved her hand in front of her face toward Clark and then pointed to her ring finger as LSU closed in on the national title, stirring debate about trash talking’s place in the game.
On Monday night in the Elite Eight, Clark and Iowa avenged last year’s loss, beating Reese and LSU 94-87 to advance to the Final Four for the second consecutive season.
In Reese’s final collegiate game, despite rolling her ankle in the second quarter, she had 17 points, 20 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals before fouling out with 1:45 left in the game. It was Reese’s 10th consecutive double-double in the NCAA tournament, tying the tournament record. In 33 games this season, she averaged 18.6 points and 13.4 rebounds.
Reese, who turns 22 in May, spent her first two college seasons at Maryland before transferring to LSU.
After Monday’s game, Clark and Reese shared a moment in the handshake line.
“(Clark) just told me, ‘Continue to be a great player,’ and I told her continue to be a great player as well, and keep elevating the game and go win it,” Reese said to reporters.
When LSU won the national title in 2023, 9.9 million viewers tuned in, which at the time was the most-watched women’s college basketball game in history. Monday’s much-anticipated rematch shattered those numbers with 12.3 million viewers, peaking at 16.1 million.
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