The Dallas Wings selected Paige Bueckers as the top pick of Monday night’s WNBA Draft, while the Seattle Storm picked Dominique Malonga as the second pick.
Several other players, including Hailey Van Lith, Aziaha James, and Harmoni Turner, heard their names called by the commissioner on Monday night, but Oregon Duck Deja Kelly was one of those who didn’t.
Why Was Deja Kelly Snubbed?
Deja Kelly’s snub at the 2025 WNBA Draft came as a surprise, as there were several teams in the draft that needed a shooting guard, and Kelly is one of the best guards available. She scored 2,249 points in her collegiate career at Oregon and North Carolina.
It remains to be seen if she’ll be signed as an undrafted free agent,, but people are beginning to wonder why the San Antonio native wasn’t picked.
CBS analyst Terrika Foster-Brasby seems to think the snub has to do with her transferring to Oregon from North Carolina.
“When I think about someone like Deja Kelly, who is incredibly talented and played incredible basketball, but also maybe because Oregon didn’t perform at the level that we had seen perform previously, it may have people wondering about Deja’s draft stock and where she could place,” Terrika said.
She later added that “not being drafted doesn’t mean they don’t have the opportunity to play in the WNBA.”
A year ago, Kelly left North Carolina for Oregon for her final season of college basketball.
“I found myself not playing with the joy that I used to play the game with,” Kelly said. “That’s as blunt as I can get, and that is not a great feeling. I felt it early on in the season, mid-season, to where I really just did not want to play.”
WNBA Draft 2025 Snubs: Deja Kelly, Sedona Prince, and Other Shocking Omissions
She led Oregon to a 20-12 record and a first-round win over Vanderbilt in the NCAA tournament before losing to Duke in the second round.
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