According to ESPN LSU star forward Angel Reese made public her decision to enter the 2024 WNBA draft on Wednesday.
Reese will join the professional ranks as a highly recognizable name in the sport.
Her national prominence soared last year when she led LSU to its first-ever national title and was named Final Four Most Outstanding Player.
This year, the Tigers continued their success by reaching the Elite Eight before being defeated by Iowa on Monday.
“I’ve done everything I wanted to in college,” Reese told Vogue about her decision. “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 6-foot-3 Reese was named SEC player of the year last month and was a unanimous first team All-American last season, when she set a NCAA record for single-season double-doubles with 34.
After spending her first two seasons at Maryland, her hometown school, Reese transferred to LSU and established herself as one of the top players in the country.
In 69 career games in Baton Rouge, she averaged 20.9 points, 14.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game while compiling 61 double-doubles in all — second only in school history to legend Sylvia Fowles.
This season, Reese was named a second-team All American by the Associated Press and a first-team All-American by the USBWA while earning a spot on the Wooden All-American team.
“I want to start at the bottom again,” Reese told Vogue. “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.”
Off the court, Reese — known as the “Bayou Barbie” — became one of the faces of new rules that allow college athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness. She boasts deals with Reebok, Beats by Dre, Goldman Sachs and others.
Watch:
NEW: Angel Reese reveals that she will be on the cover of VOGUE as part of her WNBA draft announcement. pic.twitter.com/SL2RFkTER3
— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) April 3, 2024
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Exclusive: Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) is taking her talents to the WNBA! "I've done everything I wanted to in college," Reese said when sharing her plans to enter the WNBA draft with Vogue. See all of the details on the basketball star's next move here: https://t.co/oZWqwNsdeS pic.twitter.com/tEqyj77z8j
— Vogue Magazine (@voguemagazine) April 3, 2024
Congratulations!