Cardoso Selected Third in 2024 WNBA Draft
COLUMBIA, S.C. –South Carolina center Kamilla Cardoso was the third selection in the 2024 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm by the Chicago Sky. She is the 19th Gamecock to be drafted by the WNBA and the 15th in the Dawn Staley era of the program.
In three seasons at South Carolina, Cardoso helped the Gamecocks to two National Championships in three Final Four appearances, three SEC Regular-Season Championships and a pair of SEC Tournament titles. She was the WBCA Defensive Player of the Year and a unanimous All-American as a senior, and she turned her 2023 SEC 6th Woman of the Year and Second-Team All-SEC selection into SEC Defensive Player of the Year and First-Team All-SEC honors in 2024. Cardoso capped her career by earning Most Outstanding Player honors in both the NCAA Final Four and Albany 1 Regional as she averaged 16.6 points and 10.8 rebounds to lead South Carolina to its third national championship in the last seven tournaments. She also etched her name into South Carolina’s single-season record books, coming in fifth in field goal percentage (.594), sixth in blocks per game (2.48), eighth in offensive rebounds (122) and 10th in defensive boards (198).
Over the course of her three seasons at South Carolina, during which she started just 32 of her 101 games, Cardoso averaged 9.9 points and 7.8 rebounds. She is part of the program’s career top 10 in blocks per game (3rd, 1.96), double-doubles in SEC play (4th, 11), defensive rebounds (9th, 474), offensive rebounds (10th, 317) and double-doubles (10th, 27).
“When Kamilla first came in, she was kind of just taking everything in,” South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said. “In year three, she ends her college career as a two-time National Champion. And, if you’re patient enough, just like Kamilla was, when your time comes, you thrive. She was one of the reasons why we were able to excel and be who we are and develop into the team that we became this year, to win a national championship. I’m super proud that Kamilla chose the University of South Carolina when she was making that transition to now when she’s making the transition from the University of South Carolina to the WNBA. She is well prepared.”
At least one Gamecock has been selected in eight of the last 10 WNBA Drafts, including 11 first-roudn selections. A’ja Wilson was the first Gamecock taken No. 1 overall when the Las Vegas Aces picked her at the top of the 2018 draft, and Aliyah Boston followed in 2023 when the Indiana Fever selected her first overall.
The 2017 and 2023 drafts each featured three Gamecocks taken in the first 10 picks, the most in program history, and the Gamecocks are one of just seven college programs to have at least three first-round picks in the same draft. In 2023, a total of five Gamecocks were drafted, making South Carolina one of just three programs to have at least that many selections in a single draft.
Continue to check GamecocksOnline.com and the team’s social media accounts (@GamecockWBB) for the most up-to-date information on the women’s basketball season.
