LSU star Angel Reese has officially declared for the WNBA draft, just two days after her team’s loss to Caitlin Clark’s Iowa in the NCAA Tournament.
Reese made the announcement on Wednesday via a photo shoot in Vogue, where she donned clothes by Valentino, Diesel, Wales Bonner and Christian Louboutin.
The 21-year-old explained how she was inspired by tennis legend Serena Williams retiring via Vogue in 2022 and revealed she had already made up her mind about the April 15 draft before the March Madness.
“Of course, I like to do everything big,” Reese told the magazine. “I didn’t want anything to be basic.”
“I’ve done everything I wanted to in college,” Reese added. “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 forward was a unanimous first-team All-American last season, the same season she set an NCAA record for single-season double-doubles (34).
This season, Reese was named a second-team All-American by The Associated Press and a first-team All-American by the USBWA, made the Wooden All-American team and was named SEC Player of the Year last month.
But is excited for a new challenge.
“I want to start at the bottom again,” Reese said. “I want to be a rookie again and build myself back up; I want to be knocked down and learn and grow at the next level.”
The WNBA is a highly competitive draft space, considering there are just 144 spots across 12 teams in the WNBA and only 36 new athletes are drafted into the league every season.
Off the court, Reese is known as “Bayou Barbie” and has been one of the highest paid NIL athletes.
She has deals valued at $1.8 million with brands such as Reebok, Beats by Dre, Goldman Sachs and has 2.8 million followers on Instagram.
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