SEC Women’s Basketball: SEC Players in the WNBA Roundup, Post-Regular Season Edition

Los Angeles Sparks (17-23 record, Missed Playoffs)

Zia Cooke (South Carolina) – This year’s No. 10 overall pick, Cooke was a regular rotation player for the Sparks who just missed out on the playoffs by one game. Cooke averaged 4.8 PPG, 0.9 RPG, and 0.8 APG while playing in 39 games (and making 4 starts). Cooke will hope to continue to progress in Year #2 in 2024.

Rae Burrell (Tennessee) – A mid-season re-sign on a hardship deal, Burrell turned into an important piece down the stretch for the Sparks. Burrell played in almost every game after signing (ended up with 29 games played and 3 starts), and ended up averaging 3.6 PPG and 1.2 RPG. Burrell will hope to carve out a larger role in 2024 after improving from Year #1 last year to Year #2 this year.

Indiana Fever (13-27 record, Missed Playoffs)

Aliyah Boston (South Carolina) – While it hasn’t been officially announced yet, Aliyah Boston will be the 2023 WNBA Rookie of the Year. The 2023 No. 1 overall pick averaged 14.5 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.3 SPG, and 1.3 BPG on 57.8% shooting from the field, 40% shooting from deep (albeit on limited attempts), and 74.5% shooting from the field. Boston led all rookies in points per game, rebounds per game, steals per game, and blocks per game. Boston is also one of just four former SEC players and just 35 players across the league to play in all 40 games this season. A dominant rookie season. While the Fever missed the playoffs, they have to be excited in what they have in the star 21-year old Boston.

Victoria Vivians (Mississippi State) – Vivians was in-and-out of the starting lineup for the Fever, but was a key player and played in 38 games on the year. The former Bulldog went for averages of 5.2 PPG and 3.1 RPG on the year while shooting 38% from the field. Vivians started 14 games on the year, averaging 17.7 minutes per appearance.

Victaria Saxton (South Carolina) – Another rookie, this year’s No. 25 overall pick, struggled to find playing time in 2023. However, Saxton was able to carve out more of a role as the year went on. Saxton ended up averaging 1.3 PPG and 0.7 RPG across 15 games played on the year.

Maya Caldwell (Georgia) – The lone former Georgia Bulldog on our list, Caldwell played a lot for the Fever this year, but did not fill up the stat-sheet a ton. Caldwell averaged just 1.9 PPG, 0.9 RPG, and 0.6 APG on the year, but appeared in 30 games and played over 300 minutes total on the season.

Seattle Storm (11-29 record, Missed Playoffs)

Jordan Horston (Tennessee) – Horston was arguably one of the WNBA’s better rookies in 2023 (outside of Boston). The 2023 No. 9 overall pick ended up averaging 6.9 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 1.6 APG, and 1.2 SPG on the year. Horston ended up playing 36 games on the year, and made 17 starts. The Storm have a strong young player on their hands in Horston as they look to improve heading into 2024.

Mercedes Russell (Tennessee) – 2023 was one of the better year’s of Russell’s career so far. The former Vol averaged 5 PPG and 4 RPG on the year, while appearing in 37 games and starting 13 of them. Russell also shot a strong 51.6% from the field. It was a strong bounce-back season in 2023 for Russell after an injury cut-short 2022.

Phoenix Mercury (9-31 record, Missed Playoffs)

Sophie Cunningham (Missouri) – While it was a disappointing 2023 season for the Mercury, Cunningham had another strong season. The former Tiger averaged 11.3 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 2.1 APG on the year while shooting 41.3%/33.7%/87.5%. While the efficiency numbers are down from the previous two seasons, Cunningham had a strong stretch towards the end of the year shooting 43.8% from the field and 37.1% from deep across 14 games from July 18th to August 23rd.

Destanni Henderson (South Carolina) – Henderson played on two different teams this season, first as a hardship signing with the Sparks and then with the Mercury after signing two 7-day contracts. I’m including Henderson with the Mercury since that is where the second year player played most recently. With the Sparks, Henderson averaged 5.0 PPG and 2.5 APG across 10 games (1 start) before being released. With the Mercury, Henderson averaged 1.4 PPG across 5 games. Overall for the season, Henderson averaged 3.8 PPG, 1.8 APG, and 0.8 RPG across 15 games.