10 Gamecocks Make WNBA Opening Day Rosters
COLUMBIA, S.C. – After seeing 13 Gamecocks enter training camp, 10 South Carolina women’s basketball alumnae made opening day rosters as the WNBA tips off its 2024 season today. Head coach Dawn Staley’s program is the second-most represented as the league opens its 28th season, trailing just UConn (16). South Carolina’s 10 entries lead the SEC, which has a total of 26 alumnae on rosters to lead the nation.
Tiffany Mitchell is the longest tenured Gamecock in the group, entering her ninth WNBA season and her first with the Connecticut Sun where she is teammates with Tyasha Harris, who is in her fifth professional season.
Allisha Gray is next in line with seven years of experience behind her as she embarks on her second season with the Atlanta Dream. In the closest team to their alma mater, Laeticia Amihere is also in her second season in Atlanta this summer.
Happy #WNBATipOff to our 🔟 sisters in the league!
2nd most of any program in the country – @dawnstaley made 💪 pic.twitter.com/wUSRCcUxDW
— South Carolina Women’s Basketball (@GamecockWBB) May 14, 2024
Reigning two-time WNBA Champion and Defensive Player of the Year A’ja Wilson is opening her seventh season with the Aces, including a pair of MVP seasons (2020, 2022) and five All-Star selections. Mikiah Herbert Harrigan is on the Phoenix Mercury roster, resuming a career that saw her play 21 games for Minnesota in 2020 and one for Seattle in 2021 before stepping away for the birth of her first child.
Three more of the Gamecocks’ 2023 draftees return for their second seasons. Reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston and Victaria Saxton are back with Indiana, and Zia Cooke is set for season two in Los Angeles.
The newest Gamecock to join the WNBA ranks, Kamilla Cardoso, is on the Chicago Sky roster after the team took her with the No. 3 overall pick in last month’s draft. Cardoso is currently out with an injury but is expected to return to the court in the coming weeks.
In program history, 16 Gamecocks have played in the WNBA, including 13 in Staley’s 16-year tenure. Five Gamecocks have been named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team with three claiming WNBA Rookie of the Year honors – Gray (2017), Wilson (2018), Boston (2023). All three were named to the 2023 WNBA All-Stars.
Continue to check GamecocksOnline.com and the team’s social media accounts (@GamecockWBB) for the most up-to-date information on South Carolina women’s basketball.
