UNCASVILLE, CONN., APRIL 14, 2016 – University of South Florida standout Courtney Williams continued to make program history Monday night by becoming the first Bull to be selected in the first round of the WNBA draft. Williams will call the Valley of the Sun home and join the three-time WNBA Champion Phoenix Mercury in the league's 20th anniversary season.
“I had no idea where I might go, so it was very nerve-wracking,” Williams said. “I tried not to think about it too much. But those are big questions. What team wants me? Where will I live? Now I know the answers. I just want to go there, fit in and do my thing. I have no idea what comes next, but I'm ready to play and ready to work.”
Williams joins elite USF company, becoming the fifth USF women's basketball player to join the WNBA, and the fourth player drafted in the past nine years.
"She's going to be a great defender in this league,” said Phoenix General Manager Jim Pitman. “I'm really thrilled she was available today. We have a lot of all-star caliber players but we don't have the speed and quickness necessarily that Courtney Williams brings."
Williams ended her four-year career shattering her own single-season points record with 763 points. She ends her career leaving her mark in the USF record books. In the single season ranks, Williams holds both the top (763) and second (710) spots in points, and she's fifth in 3-point field percentage (.426). In the career books, Williams is second in points (2,304), just 100 points shy of Jessica Dickson. Williams finished with 931 rebounds, which rank third, 318 assists (sixth), 163 steals (12th), 93 blocks (seventh), and a 3-pt field goal percentage of .353 (fifth) in the most games played by any player (138) and 98 starts, which rank 11th in program history.
Williams is the second-highest draft pick of any women's sport at USF. USF Hall of Famer Monica Triner ('99) was the second overall pick in the 1999 Women's Professional Softball League draft. Only six Bulls of any sport have been selected in the top 10. Men's soccer has had four top-10 picks in the MLS drafts: Mark Chung '97 – sixth; Mike Mekelburg '96 - eighth; Jeff Cunningham '98 – ninth; Anthony Wallace '07 – ninth.
Other former Bulls selected in the WNBA Draft include Inga Orekhova, who was chosen 18th overall by the Atlanta Dream in 2014, Andrea Smith, who was chosen 35th by the Connecticut Sun in 2013 and Dickson, who was chosen 21st in the 2007 WNBA draft by the Sacramento Monarchs. Wanda Guyton was chosen fifth in the Elite Draft in 1997, the league's inaugural season.
Williams joined Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck from UConn as the four players from the American Athletic Conference chosen in the first round, the most of any conference in the 2016 Draft.
The Phoenix Mercury will open preseason camp April 29 and will open the 20th anniversary season of the WNBA on May 14 at the Minnesota Lynx.
About the WNBA
The WNBA, which features 12 teams, is a unique global sports property combining competition, sportsmanship, and entertainment with its status as an icon for social change, achievement, and diversity. The league, which counts Verizon as its leaguewide marquee partner, will begin its 20th season on May 14, 2016.
Through WNBA Cares, the WNBA is deeply committed to creating programs that improve the quality of life for all people, with a special emphasis on programs that promote a healthy lifestyle and positive body image, increase breast and women's health awareness, support youth and family development, and focus on education. For more information on the WNBA, log on to www.wnba.com.
– #GoBulls –
