As Kansas State women’s basketball guard Serena Sundell reflected on her college career last month following the Wildcats’ Sweet 16 loss to Southern California in the NCAA Tournament, she marveled at how far she has come in four years.
Further testament to her accomplishments came Friday when Sundell was one of 15 players invited to attend the 2025 WNBA Draft in New York. The draft starts at 6:30 p.m. central time with coverage on ESPN and the ESPN App beginning at 6.
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“I would just credit my coaching staff and teammates for helping me grow over the last four years,” Sundell said after helping the Wildcats reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2002. “I’m a much better player, and I have a lot more confidence than the 18-year-old I was when I first stepped on campus.
“So just a credit to the people around me, and yeah, I’m grateful to be a Wildcat.”
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Mar 29, 2025; Spokane, WA, USA; Kansas State Wildcats guard Serena Sundell (4) controls the ball against USC Trojans guard Kennedy Smith (11) during the first half of a Sweet 16 NCAA Tournament basketball game at Spokane Arena. at Spokane Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images
Sundell, a 6-foot-1 point guard from Maryville, Missouri, capped her standout career by averaging 14.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and leading the nation with 7.3 assists per game. She was named to the Big 12 all-conference first team for a second straight year and joined teammate Ayoka Lee as an honorable mention All-American.
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Sundell leaves K-State with 1,771 career points, 577 rebounds and a school-record 811 assists.
Sundell led the Wildcats with 22 points and six assists while grabbing six rebounds in the Wildcats’ season-ending 67-61 loss to USC in Spokane, Washington.
“I’m a big fan of Sundell,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “I think she should be in somebody’s WNBA camp for sure, if not drafted.”
Sundell responded to Gottlieb’s remark by calling it “a huge compliment,” but there is little doubt now that Sundell will be selected in the draft. Just where she will go remains a mystery.
Three publications’ mock drafts have Sundell as one of the 12 first-round picks while one has her barely cracking the top 30 in the third and final round. Yahoo predicts that she will be the No. 9 overall selection by the Los Angeles Sparks, USA Today has her going to the Minnesota Lynx at No. 11 and Bleacher Report says No. 12 to the Dallas Wings.
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The outlier is nbadraftroom.com, which predicts that Sundell will fall to No. 29 overall to the Seattle Storm.
When she is picked, Sundell will become the ninth player in school history selected in the WNBA Draft. She would be the 12th Wildcat to play in the league and the first since Breanna Lewis in 2018.
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at [email protected] or on X (formerly Twitter) at @arnegreen.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State women’s basketball guard Serena Sundell gets draft invite
