April 16, 2015

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina senior Aleighsa Welch was the 22nd overall pick in the second round of the WNBA Draft 2015 presented by State Farm tonight, becoming the fifth Gamecock all-time to be selected. The first of head coach Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks to be taken in the WNBA Draft, Welch joins Jocelyn Penn (1st round, 2003), Petra Ujheyli (2nd round, 2003), Shaunzinski Gortman (1st round, 2002) and Teresa Geter (3rd round, 2002) as the program’s all-time selections.

Welch completed her career at South Carolina as the program’s top career offensive rebounder and one of just four Gamecocks all-time to record at least 1,000 points and 900 rebounds in her career. She is a three-time All-SEC selection, including first-team honors in 2014 and 2015, and was the 2015 SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Her career .577 field goal percentage is second in school history. In her senior season, Welch turned in 9.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.