Alanna Smith selected in WNBA draft

Alanna Smith is Stanford’s 12th first-rounder taken eighth overall in the WNBA Draft. (Courtesy of Stanford Athletics)

ALANNA SMITH became the 26th Stanford player to hear her name called in the WNBA Draft when the Phoenix Mercury selected the forward with the eighth overall pick on Wednesday night at Nike NYHQ in New York. Smith is the program’s 12th first-round selection and first since Chiney Ogwumike went No. 1 overall to the Connecticut Sun in 2014.

Smith, the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year and an Academic All-American, led Stanford to its 13th Pac-12 Tournament title with a 64-57 win over Oregon in Las Vegas on March 10. She was named the tournament’s most outstanding player after posting double-doubles in each of the Cardinal’s three wins and averaging 18.7 points and 12.3 rebounds.

Smith, who had 81 triples, 78 blocks and 699 points, is the only NCAA women’s basketball player to accumulate 70 3-pointers, 70 blocks and 600 points in a season in the last 20 years. It has been done once on the men’s side during that span.

She is the fourth player in program history to earn both All-America and Academic All-America honors, joining CHINEY OGWUMIKE, KRISTIN FOLKL and KATE STARBIRD.

Since the WNBA’s inaugural season in 1997, 29 former Stanford players have appeared in a regular-season game, and seven players have won a combined eight WNBA championships.

Read the full article on the Stanford Athletics website.