\u201cPut your V\u2019s up\u201d and get ready to rep the Dream as the Atlanta Dream and the Golden State Valkyries suit up for Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Saturday, Oct. 17.<\/p>\n
Since officially joining the WNBA in 2023, this is the Valkyries\u2019 first WNBA Finals appearance, and they are now the quickest expansion team to reach the WNBA Finals in league history. The Dream make their first Finals appearance in 13 years and are looking to win their first WNBA Finals in program history.<\/p>\n
A majority of the players in this year’s Finals first made their names known at the college level. Between national champions and record-setters, here is a look at where each WNBA Finals player played college hoops.<\/p>\n
NOTE: Some players played for more than one program, but the list below highlights the program each player attended just before entering the WNBA. <\/p>\n
\t\t\tPLAYER NAME
\n\t\t\tPLAYER NAME
\n\t\t\tCOLLEGE
\n\t\t\tYEARS ATTENDED<\/p>\n
\t\t\tAngel Reese
\n\t\t\tAtlanta Dream
\n\t\t\tLSU
\n\t\t\t2022-24<\/p>\n
\t\t\tJordin Canada
\n\t\t\tAtlanta Dream
\n\t\t\tUCLA
\n\t\t\t2014-18<\/p>\n
\t\t\tRhyne Howard
\n\t\t\tAtlanta Dream
\n\t\t\tKentucky
\n\t\t\t2018-22<\/p>\n
\t\t\tTe-Hina Paopao
\n\t\t\tAtlanta Dream
\n\t\t\tSouth Carolina
\n\t\t\t2023-24<\/p>\n
\t\t\tAllisha Gray
\n\t\t\tAtlanta Dream
\n\t\t\tSouth Carolina
\n\t\t\t2013-17<\/p>\n
\t\t\tShatori Walker-Kimbrough
\n\t\t\tAtlanta Dream
\n\t\t\tMaryland
\n\t\t\t2013-17<\/p>\n
\t\t\tBrionna Jones
\n\t\t\tAtlanta Dream
\n\t\t\tMaryland
\n\t\t\t2013-17<\/p>\n
\t\t\tNaz Hillmon
\n\t\t\tAtlanta Dream
\n\t\t\tMichigan
\n\t\t\t2018-22<\/p>\n
\t\t\tDeWanna Bonner
\n\t\t\tAtlanta Dream
\n\t\t\tAuburn
\n\t\t\t2005-09<\/p>\n
\t\t\tIndya Nivar
\n\t\t\tAtlanta Dream
\n\t\t\tNorth Carolina
\n\t\t\t2023-26<\/p>\n
\t\t\tMadina Okot
\n\t\t\tAtlanta Dream
\n\t\t\tSouth Carolina
\n\t\t\t2025-26<\/p>\n
\t\t\tGabby Williams
\n\t\t\tGolden State Valkyries
\n\t\t\tUConn
\n\t\t\t2014-18<\/p>\n
\t\t\tKaitlyn Chen
\n\t\t\tGolden State Valkyries
\n\t\t\tUConn
\n\t\t\t2024-25<\/p>\n
\t\t\tTiffany Hayes
\n\t\t\tGolden State Valkyries
\n\t\t\tUConn
\n\t\t\t2008-12<\/p>\n
\t\t\tKiah Stokes
\n\t\t\tGolden State Valkyries
\n\t\t\tUConn
\n\t\t\t2011-15<\/p>\n
\t\t\tVeronica Burton
\n\t\t\tGolden State Valkyries
\n\t\t\tNorthwestern
\n\t\t\t2018-22<\/p>\n
\t\t\tKalia Charles
\n\t\t\tGolden State Valkyries
\n\t\t\tMaryland
\n\t\t\t2016-20<\/p>\n
\t\t\tLaeticia Amihere
\n\t\t\tGolden State Valkyries
\n\t\t\tSouth Carolina
\n\t\t\t2019-23<\/p>\n
\t\t\tKayla Thornton
\n\t\t\tGolden State Valkyries
\n\t\t\tUTEP
\n\t\t\t2010-14<\/p>\n
\t\t\tMiela Sowah
\n\t\t\tGolden State Valkyries
\n\t\t\tDuke
\n\t\t\t2018-22<\/p>\n
\t\t\tAshten Prechtel
\n\t\t\tGolden State Valkyries
\n\t\t\tStanford
\n\t\t\t2019-23<\/p>\n
Here is a look at every player from each team who has participated in March Madness, and their accolades from the tournament:<\/p>\n
Deeper Dive<\/p>\n
Angel Reese
Colleges: Maryland, LSU
Years: 2020-24
A name that needs no introduction, Angel Reese not only is going to her first WNBA Finals in her three years in the league, but she was also named the 2026 Defensive Player of the Year.<\/p>\n
Reese kicked off her collegiate career in Maryland and later led LSU to its first national championship in 2023. In the national title game vs. Iowa, Reese posted a double-double \u2014 15 points and 10 rebounds \u2014 and was named the Most Outstanding Player.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Jordin Canada
College: UCLA
Years: 2014-18
Starring in three NCAA tournaments during her time at UCLA, Jordin Canada was a force to be reckoned with in college.<\/p>\n
During her time at UCLA, Canada was named the both the 2017 and 2018 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, was named to All-Pac-12 and All-Pac-12 Defensive Team three years in a row (2016-2018), and was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year (2015).<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Rhyne Howard
College: Kentucky
Years: 2018-22
The current record holder for most threes in a WNBA season, Rhyne Howard also had a phenomenal collegiate career as a Wildcat.<\/p>\n
At Kentucky, Howard was a two-time SEC Player of the Year (2020, 2021) and the 2019 SEC Freshman of the Year. She also was the SEC Tournament MVP in 2022 and was voted All-SEC First Team all four years at Kentucky (2019-22).\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Te-Hina Paopao
College: Oregon, South Carolina
Years: 2020-25
Another national champion on this list, Te-Hina Paopao was\u00a0a key piece in South Carolina\u2019s perfect 38-0 season in 2023-24. Paopao was named to the All-SEC Second Team in 2024 and 2025). She holds the record at South Carolina for the highest 3-point percentage in career NCAA tournament games at .432, and she’s second in career 3-point percentage at .422.<\/p>\n
Allisha Gray
College: North Carolina, South Carolina
Years: 2013-17
One of a few former Gamecocks on this list,\u00a0Allisha Gray led South Carolina to its first national championship in 2017. During that run, Gray was named to the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team and the NCAA Stockton Region All-Tournament Team.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough
College: Maryland
Years: 2013-17
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough was a driving force in helping to lead Maryland to back-to-back Final Four appearances in 2014 and 2015.\u00a0<\/p>\n
During her time at Maryland, she led the NCAA and set the Big Ten 3-point percentage record in 2016 (54.5%), was named to the All-Big Ten First Team three years in a row (2015, 2016, 2017), She was also named to the All-Big Ten Defensive Team in 2017 and was the Big Ten Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player in 2016.<\/p>\n
Brionna Jones
College: Maryland
Years: 2013-17
Alongside Walker-Kimbrough, Brionna Jones also appeared in back-to-back Final Four appearances in 2014 and 2015.<\/p>\n
During her four years at Maryland, Jones led the nation in FG percentage in 2015-16 (66.5%) and 2016-17 (69%) and was named All-Big Ten First Team three years in a row (2015-2017), All-Big Ten Defensive team (2017) and the Big 10 Tournament Most Outstanding Player (2017).<\/p>\n
Naz Hillmon
College: Michigan
Years: 2018-2022
The first Michigan player to be name an All-American, Naz Hillmon solidified her status as one of the most decorated players in Michigan basketball history; she also became the only Wolverine, man or woman, to eclipse 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds, and holds the single-game scoring record with 50 points in a game.<\/p>\n
During her senior year in 2022, Hillmon led the Big Ten with 18 double-doubles on the season, finishing her career as the Michigan program leader with 52 double-doubles.\u00a0She also graduated as the program leader in rebounds (1,063) and free-throws made (487).<\/p>\n
DeWanna Bonner
College: Auburn
Years: 2005-09
After earning SEC Player of the Year honors in 2009, Bonner took the Tigers to the second round of the tournament, eclipsing the Auburn scoring leader title and capping her career points off at 2,162.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Indya Nivar
Colleges: Stanford, North Carolina
Years: 2022-26
In three years with the Tarheels, Nivar appeared in three NCAA Tournaments, going as far as the Sweet 16 in back-to-back seasons (2025, 2026).\u00a0 She\u00a0also earned All-ACC Second Team and ACC All-Defensive honors during her senior year at North Carolina.<\/p>\n
Madina Okot\u00a0
College: Mississippi State, South Carolina
Years: 2024-26
Okot is in the Gamecocks’ record books for a number of accolades, including holding the second-most offensive rebounds in a season (149), third-most rebounds in a season (412) and second-most double-doubles in SEC games in one season (10), all in 2025-26.<\/p>\n
Gabby Williams
College: UConn
Years: 2014-18
Williams reached the Final Four all four years of her UConn career, winning back-to-back national championships in 2015 and 2016. Over the span of 149 games played in her time with the Huskies, Williams earned honors including WBCA National Defensive Player of the Year (2017) and All-NCAA Tournament Team (2017).<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Kaitlyn Chen
Colleges: Princeton, UConn
Years: 2021-25
Before transferring to UConn and winning a national championship in her graduate year, Kaitlyn Chen was a star player for Princeton, winning Ivy League Player of the Year in 2023 and back-to-back First-team All-Ivy League honors in 2023 and 2024. She was also a three-time Ivy League tournament MOP (2022-2024)<\/p>\n
Tiffany Hayes
College: UConn
Years: 2008-12
Tiffany Hayes reached the Final Four in all four years she played for the Huskies while also winning back-to-back national championships in 2009 and 2010. In her final tournament run in 2012, Hayes recorded her 474th assist against Prairie View A&M, putting her alongside UConn legends Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, and Renee Montgomery as the only players in UConn history to rank in the program’s top 10 for career games played, points, assists and three-pointers made.<\/p>\n
Kiah Stokes
College: UConn
Years: 2011-15
Stokes was a member of the UConn three-peat national championship run (2013, 2014, 2015). During her time at UConn, she was named Big East All-Rookie Team (2012), American Athletic Conference Second Team (2015), and American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year (2015).<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Veronica Burton
College: Northwestern
Years: 2018-22
Veronica Burton played four years at Northwestern, leading the Big Ten in steals as a freshman and sophomore and earning back-to-back Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors as a sophomore and junior.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Kaila Charles
College: Maryland
Years: 2016-20
As a senior in 2019-20, Charles became one of just six players in Maryland history to be top 10 in points (1,984) and rebounds (930). She made three NCAA Tournament appearances, including helping Maryland make the Sweet 16 in 2017.<\/p>\n
Laeticia Amihere\u00a0
College: South Carolina
Years: 2019-23
Another formidable force on defense, Laeticia Amihere stepped up her performance in the tournament. In the 2021 Elite Eight game vs. Texas, Amihere wrote her name into the Gamecocks’ record books after recording nine blocks in a game.<\/p>\n
Kayla Thornton
College: UTEP
Years: 2010-14
In her four seasons at UTEP, Kayla Thornton was named a two-time All Conference USA second-team honoree (2012,2013) and is second at UTEP for career double-doubles (21), third for career rebounds (688) and ninth for scoring (1,016). She is also one of three players in program history with at least 800 points, 600 rebounds and 100 steals.<\/p>\n
Miela Sowah
College: Duke
Years: 2018-22
Sowah ranks eighth all-time in three-pointers made in a season in the ACC and fourth-all time at Duke (73). She was also named All-ACC Freshman (2019).<\/p>\n
Ashten Prechtel
College: Stanford
Years: 2019-23
Prechtel was a member of the 2021 National Championship team at Stanford. She was also a three-time Pac-12 champion (2021-2023) Pac-12 Sixth Player of the Year (2020), and Pac-12 All-Freshman Team Honorable Mention (2020).<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cPut your V\u2019s up\u201d and get ready to rep the Dream as the Atlanta Dream and the Golden…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":934750,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[49,48,2668,82,630],"class_list":["post-934749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-homepage","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/934749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=934749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/934749\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/934750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=934749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=934749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=934749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}