WBB’s Smith, Egbo, Lewis Selected in 2022 WNBA Draft

4/11/2022 8:49:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Bears secure three draft picks for second time in program history

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Baylor All-American NaLyssa Smith dreamed of playing in the WNBA "since I was a little kid."
            On Monday, Smith and Baylor teammates Queen Egbo and Jordan Lewis saw their dreams come true, being taken in the WNBA Draft.
            Smith and Egbo were taken with the second and 10^th picks overall by the Indiana Fever, while Lewis became the fourth-straight grad transfer drafted, selected by the Connecticut Sun in the second round with the 24^th overall pick.
            First-year Baylor head coach Nicki Collen, who was the head coach of the WNBA's Atlanta Dream for the previous three years, said Smith "is a WNBA athlete."
            "Her game translates immediately," she said. "And she proved this season she will get down and guard people. She responds to a challenge. . . . You don't see ups and downs in box scores from NaLyssa. It's just steady. And I feel like she's still got so much room for growth. Her ceiling is high."
            The 2021 Wade Trophy winner, Smith averaged 22.1 points and 11.3 rebounds per game as a senior in earning first-team All-American honors and the Katrina McClain Award Power Forward of the Year for the second-straight year.
            ESPN analyst Charlie Creme said the "Fever, who are in full rebuild mode, get the most athletic and dynamic big in the draft in Smith. With no significant interior scoring threat on the roster, Smith instantly becomes one of the top options for new coach Marianne Stanley."
            After trading with the Washington Mystics for the No. 1 overall pick last week, the Atlanta Dream selected Kentucky All-American shooting guard Rhynne Howard at the top of Monday's WNBA Draft.
            Before the Draft, Smith was hearing that she was going to go 1 or 2. "I feel like I'm still slept on if you don't think I'm 1 off the bat."
            Baylor senior forward Caitlin Bickle, who is returning for a fifth year, said Smith will just use it as motivation.
            "It will not stop her from being great," Bickle said. "She's just going to prove that they made a mistake or that she is No. 1 in the league."
            After finishing last in the league last year with a 6-26 record, Indiana loaded up in the Draft with four of the first 10 picks and seven selections overall. Smith and Egbo will be joined by Louisville forward Emily Engstler (4^th), Stanford guard Lexie Hull (8^th), South Carolina point guard Destanni Henderson (20^th), Jackson State center Ameshya Williams-Holliday (25^th) and Indiana guard Ali Patberg (34^th).
            "It's a great feeling," Smith said. "We have four top picks, so it's a chance and an opportunity for this team to grow tremendously."
            Creme said Egbo, who averaged 11.0 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, "could help replace the rim protection and rebounding lost with the departure of Teaira McCown and provide protection for Smith as she did in college."
            As the first WNBA team with four first-round picks, Indiana general manager Lin Dunn said the Fever are "going to rebuild with young players" in trying to return to the playoffs for the first time in six years.
            "I'm seeing highly skilled players coming out of college, but the real key adjustments are the physicality and the speed of the game," Dunn said. "I need players who can adapt to that quickly."
            A transfer from Alabama who had already earned her undergrad and master's degrees, Lewis averaged 11.8 points and 5.3 assists in helping the Bears win their 12^th-consecutive Big 12 regular-season championship. She joins a Connecticut Sun roster that includes former Baylor guard DiJonai Carrington.
            "First and foremost, Jordan's a winner," said Connecticut general manager and head coach Curt Miller. "She's an outstanding point guard with a high basketball IQ. She is an excellent three-point shooter and a very physical defensive guard."
            Baylor has had 24 players selected in the WNBA Draft, including 10 in the last four years, while Smith and Egbo are the 10^th and 11^th Bears drafted in the first round. They are the only Baylor duo selected in the first round of the same WNBA Draft, joining Sheila Lambert (7^th by the Charlotte Sting) and Danielle Crockrom (11^th by the Utah Starzz) in 2002.

NEW YORK CITY – For the second time in program history, Baylor had three players selected in the WNBA Draft as NaLyssa Smith, Queen Egbo and Jordan Lewis each had their name called at Monday night's draft in New York City.

Smith was picked second overall by the Indiana Fever. She became the 10^th first-round pick in Baylor history and the third top-two pick in program history alongside Brittney Griner (1^st in 2013 to the Phoenix Mercury) and Odyssey Sims (2^nd in 2014 to the Tulsa Shock).

Not long after, Egbo was also selected by the Fever as the 10^th overall pick, marking Baylor's 11^th first-round selection in program history.

Smith and Egbo – a duo feared in the frontcourt the past few years – became the first duo to be picked in the top-10 in program history and the second pair to be selected in the first round in BU history after Sheila Lambert (7^th by the Charlotte Sting) and Danielle Crockrom (11^th by the Utah Starzz) did so in 2002.

Lewis was selected by the Connecticut Sun in the second round with the 24^th overall pick. She became the fourth-straight graduate transfer to come to Baylor and then get drafted, joining Chloe Jackson (15^th pick by the Chicago Sky in 2019), Te'a Cooper (18^th pick by the Phoenix Mercury in 2020) and DiJonai Carrington (20^th pick by the Connecticut Sun in 2021).

Thursday marked the second time in program history that three Bears were drafted as Baylor tied UConn with the most picks in the 2022 WNBA Draft. It was also the seventh-straight year that a Baylor player was selected. Overall, Baylor now has 24 draft picks with 10 in the last four years.

For the latest news on the Baylor women's basketball team all season long, follow its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorWBB.

BAYLOR WNBA DRAFT HISTORY
Year    Name                       Team                                  Rd           Pk
2002    Sheila Lambert           Charlotte Sting                      1             7
2002    Danielle Crockrom      Utah Starzz                          1             11
2005    Steffanie Blackmon    Seattle Storm                        3             38
2006    Sophia Young            San Antonio Silver Stars         1             4
2007    Bernice Mosby           Washington Mystics               1             6
2008    Angela Tisdale           Chicago Sky                         3             33
2009    Jessica Morrow          Atlanta Dream                       3             27
2013    Brittney Griner            Phoenix Mercury                   1             1
2013    Brooklyn Pope           Chicago Sky                         3             28
2014    Odyssey Sims            Tulsa Shock                         1             2
2016    Niya Johnson             Atlanta Dream                       3             28
2017    Alexis Jones              Minnesota Lynx                     1             12
2017    Alexis Prince              Phoenix Mercury                   3             29
2018    Kristy Wallace            Atlanta Dream                       2             16
2019    Kalani Brown             Los Angeles Sparks               1             7
2019    Chloe Jackson           Chicago Sky                         2             15
2020    Lauren Cox                 Indiana Fever                        1             3
2020    Te'a Cooper                 Phoenix Mercury                   2             18
2020   Juicy Landrum             Connecticut Sun                    3             35
2021    DiDi Richards              New York Liberty                   2             17
2021    DiJonai Carrington       Connecticut Sun                    2             20
2022    NaLyssa Smith           Indiana Fever                          1          2
2022    Queen Egbo               Indiana Fever                          1          10
2022    Jordan Lewis              Connecticut Sun                     2          24

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