LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Two of college basketball’s most competitive guards — one who recently wrapped up her career at Kentucky, the other once a star at Louisville — heard their names called Monday night during the first round of the WNBA Draft.
The Washington Mystics selected Kentucky point guard Georgia Amoore with the No. 6 overall pick, making her the highest-drafted Australian since Liz Cambage went No. 2 in 2011. Just five spots later, former Louisville and current TCU standout Hailey Van Lith was picked No. 11 by the Chicago Sky, setting up a reunion with her former LSU teammate Angel Reese.
Amoore, who transferred to Kentucky from Virginia Tech and averaged 19.6 points and 6.9 assists last season, enters the pros with an eye on making an immediate impact in a big-splash draft class.
The Mystics, under new leadership, owned three of the top six picks and used them to land Sonia Citron (Notre Dame), Kiki Iriafen (Stanford), and Amoore, creating what the 24-year-old Aussie called an “amazing” trio.
“I’ve always said playing against Sonia for the past four years when she was at Notre Dame and I was at Tech that I wanted to play with her one day,” Amoore said. “Now, I didn’t think it would be in a situation like this.”
She also arrives with a unique NBA connection — styled on draft night by Russell Westbrook, who designed her outfit through his clothing brand “Honor The Gift.”
“I can't even find the words, so if you can help me, because it's phenomenal,” she said. “He's done such a good job, and it didn't feel like just to put his name on something. When we talked about the fit, it was very collaborative. He spent hours with me at the hotel today fitting it, trying it on. So, he's been very active in the process, and I can't thank him enough because even the little bits of advice he's given me along the way, to have a contact like that now as someone I can try and lean on or lean into, it's amazing.”
For Van Lith, who returned to form at TCU after a rocky year at LSU, the draft marked both a fresh start and a full-circle moment. Her selection by Chicago was followed quickly by a message from Reese, tweeting her excitement to “run it back.”
TCU'S Hailey Van Lith, left, poses for a photo with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected 11th overall by the Chicago Sky during the first round of the WNBA basketball draft,
“Angel has maintained contact with me this whole past year since she's been in the league and I transferred,” Van Lith said. “I really appreciate her. We have a very mature relationship, a very -- a mutual respect relationship where we both have respect for each other's game and also the character and the person we are off the court. Mostly I'm just excited to get to be around her again. I think we have a lot of similarities about how we carry ourselves and our mindset on what's important to us. She's a dog, man. She turns up the intensity of everybody around her.”
The Sky are betting on Van Lith’s versatility, grit, and mental toughness — qualities she said were forged during a college career that included a Final Four run at Louisville, a bit of adversity at LSU, and a resurgent senior year at TCU.
“Whatever my role is, whatever my opportunities are, I think I just want to contribute to the culture of tough, selfless, hardworking players that I think that they're looking to join to the program,” she said. “That's what I am looking to bring. It's more of an attitude, a mindset than anything, and I think I'm more than capable of doing that.”
Her resilience, she added, stems in part from work with a sports psychologist and a focus on mental health that she plans to continue advocating for as a pro.
“All I have asked for is an opportunity my whole career,” Van Lith said. “I couldn't be more honored and blessed that (Chicago) was the team that gave me the opportunity.”
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