Ameshya Williams-Holliday became the first HBCU player drafted into the WNBA in 20 years, CNN reports.
The 6ft. 4-inch, senior from Gulfport, Mississippi was selected in the third round (25th overall) by the Indiana Fever on Monday night. She is the second-highest drafted HBCU player in league history.
“It’s an honor, a dream come true and a blessing to be able to be a part of history and to be able to open doors for our HBCU community,” Williams-Holliday said in a statement. “Being a trailblazer feels amazing, but there is so much more to accomplish.”
“I’m very grateful for this opportunity to continue my career on the next level and most importantly to continue to be a great example for my son Jace and my younger siblings and for the kids in my community,” she continued. “I want every HBCU athlete to never lose hope and to know anything is possible.”
An accomplished collegiate player, Williams-Holliday was a three-time first-team All-SWAC selection (2020, 2021, 2022), a three-time league Defensive Player of the Year (2020, 2021, 2022), and in 2022 became the first SWAC player since 2019 to win both SWAC Player Of The Year and Defensive Player Of The Year honors in the same season.
For her career, Williams-Holliday averaged 16.1 points and 11.2 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks per game
Since the WNBA’s founding in 1996, only five players from HBCUs have ever been drafted into the league. Denique Graves from Howard University was drafted in 1997. In 1998, Karen Wilkins from Howard University was also drafted in to the league. And in 2020, Andrea Gardner from Howard University; Amba Kongolo from North Carolina Central University;and Jacklyn Winfield from Southern University and A&M College were among the HBCU drafts.
Currently, there are no active WNBA players from HBCUs in the league.
