The Canadian forward will begin her professional career in the nation’s capital.
A Canadian is heading to the nation’s capital after the Washington Mystics took UConn forward Aaliyah Edwards with the sixth pick of the 2024 WNBA Draft on Monday in Brooklyn. After her name was called, an emotional Edwards hugged her family as well as classmate Nika Mühl and her UConn coaches before reaching the stage.
“I can actually breathe now,” she told ESPN.
The moment @AaliyahEdwards_ became a member of the @WashMystics pic.twitter.com/TFKIbkSOdz
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) April 16, 2024
During a tumultuous four-year stretch in Storrs that included the Covid campaign in 2020-21 followed by three straight injury-plagued seasons, Edwards established herself as a constant for the Huskies down low.
She earned Big East Sixth Woman of the Year and all-freshman team honors in her first season, then added the league’s most improved player award and an all-conference first-team selection as a junior. Edwards was a unanimous All-Big East First Team pick this past season. She was also honored with USBWA and AP Third Team All-American nods in 2023 and then landed on the WBCA and Wooden All-American teams — along with the USBWA second team — in 2024.
She became one of nine players in UConn’s history to grab 1,000 rebounds while finishing 15th on the program’s scoring list (1,861) and sixth on the double-doubles list (34). Edwards is the Huskies’ 46th WNBA Draft pick and the 28th first-rounder.
The Mystics are coming off a 19-21 season that ended in the first round with a sweep at the hands of the New York Liberty. Washington also features fellow UConn alum Stef Dolson, who was excited about the pick.
Yesssssss aaliyahhhh!!! I’m so excited to get another husky on the squaddddd
— stefanie dolson (@bigmamastef) April 16, 2024