WNBA Draft Central | UT In The WNBA | Burrell Bio
Tennessee women’s basketball standout Rae Burrell has accepted an invitation to be in New York City on Monday for WNBA Draft 2022 presented by State Farm and will be among 12 prospects in attendance.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert will announce the picks live on ESPN with exclusive coverage beginning at 7 p.m. ET. The draft will also be available live on the ESPN App.
Top prospects will take part live as the WNBA Draft presented by State Farm returns to an in-person event for the first time since 2019, with the acclaimed Spring Studios, located in the Tribeca section of New York and the home to such iconic events as Fashion Week and The Tribeca Film Festival, serving as the venue for the evening’s events.
Expected to join Burrell in attendance are center Shakira Austin (Ole Miss), guard Kierstan Bell (Florida Gulf Coast), guard Veronica Burton (Northwestern), guard Nia Clouden (Michigan State), center Elissa Cunane (NC State), forward Emily Engstler (Louisville), guard Destanni Henderson (South Carolina), forward Naz Hillmon (Michigan), guard Rhyne Howard (Kentucky), forward Nyara Sabally (Oregon) and forward NaLyssa Smith (Baylor).
In preparation for the WNBA Draft 2022 presented by State Farm, ESPN2 will broadcast the first-ever WNBA Draft Preview Show on Saturday, April 9 (1:30 p.m. ET). LaChina Robinson will host the 30-minute special with analyst Rebecca Lobo. Together they will break down the top draft prospects, discuss team needs and whose stock is on the rise following the NCAA Tournament.
Burrell, who overcame an early-season injury to finish her career at Tennessee ranked No. 36 in all-time scoring with 1,131 points, is expected to become the 44th Lady Vol taken in all WNBA Drafts and the 42nd in drafts featuring only college players. She is slated to become the second UT player taken during the Kellie Harper era, following No. 9 overall pick Rennia Davis in 2021.
In mock drafts, Burrell is projected to be taken anywhere from No. 7 to No. 12 in the first round. If that is the case, she would become the 19th UT player taken in that round (17th in college-only drafts) and give the program first-round picks in back-to-back drafts for the first time since 2005 and 2006.
Burrell, a native of Las Vegas, was injured in the opener vs. Southern Illinois and missed the next 12 contests. She bounced back to play in 21 additional games, starting 12 of them including the last eight. She ended the season at 12.3 ppg. and 3.9 rpg., but she gained momentum heading down the stretch, tallying 16.6 ppg., 5.6 rpg. and 3.2 apg. over her last five contests, including the SEC and NCAA Tournaments.
After scoring a season-high 22 points and pulling down six rebounds vs. No. 4/4 Louisville in the NCAA Sweet 16. Burrell was named to the Wichita Region All-Tournament Team. Prior to her injury, she had been on preseason watch lists for the Wade Trophy, Wooden Award and Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy and projected as a preseason All-American and first-team All-SEC pick. Burrell was a second-team All-SEC pick in 2020-21 while averaging 16.8 ppg. and 4.6 rpg.
“Draft Central” on WNBA.com will enable fans to access multiple offerings in advance of and throughout the WNBA Draft 2022 presented by State Farm, including an interactive Draft Board, prospect profiles with insights powered by SAP, in-depth features on the top draft prospects and coverage of all draft events. Fans will also be able to access an array of content across @WNBA channels that will include the unique stories and personalities of the prospects via Instagram and TikTok, a Twitter Spaces Mock Draft Debate and cross platform live coverage including the “Orange Carpet.”
-UT Athletics & WNBA
