University of Tennessee Athletics
Five Lady Vols On WNBA Opening Day Rosters
May 19, 2023 | Women's Basketball
The WNBA tips off its 27th year Friday evening, and as the new season commences there will be five former Lady Vols on active rosters and three others with UT ties filling roles with teams around the league.
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Tennessee ranks second among SEC schools in the number of alums on WNBA squads, with South Carolina standing just ahead with eight. Mississippi State (2) is the only other school with multiple players in the league, while Auburn, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Ole Miss and Texas A&M boast one player each. Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, LSU and Vanderbilt have no players currently holding roster spots.
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LVFLs in the WNBA include Diamond DeShields (Dallas Wings), Isabelle Harrison (Chicago Sky) and Candace Parker (Las Vegas Aces), as well as Jordan Horston and Mercedes Russell with the Seattle Storm.
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All-time, 52 Lady Vols have gone on to play in the WNBA. A total of 45 of those Tennessee products were taken in league drafts, including 20 first-rounders and three No. 1 overall selections.
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The latest to join that group is 2023 No. 9 pick Horston, a 6-foot-2 guard who begins her professional career in Seattle after tallying 1,445 points, 731 rebounds, 455 assists, 163 steals and 109 blocks while starting 91 of 114 games for the Lady Vols. The two-time All-SEC First Team and AP All-America Honorable Mention selection joins sixth-year veteran Russell, who helped the Storm win league titles in 2018 and 2020.
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The 6-foot-6 center is in her fifth year with the franchise and looks to bounce back after seeing action in only five contests a year ago due to a non-basketball injury. In 2021, Russell started 28 of 30 games for Seattle, contributing 7.3 ppg. on 66.7-percent shooting along with 6.1 rpg. and 1.6 rpg.
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WNBA and Lady Vol legend Parker embarks on year No. 16 of her illustrious career, and she does so in a new city. During the offseason, Parker signed with the defending league champion Las Vegas Aces after spending the past two years with her hometown Chicago Sky. The 6-4 forward/center averaged 13.2 ppg., 8.6 rpg. and 4.5 apg. while starting 32 of 37 games in the Windy City in 2022 and helped that franchise win a WNBA title in 2021. She reunites with Aces Team President Nikki (Caldwell) Fargas, who was an assistant coach at Tennessee while Parker played here.
While Parker departed Chicago, Harrison made the move to the Sky in the offseason after playing the past four years in Dallas. The 6-3 forward produced 8.7 ppg., 4.3 rpg. and 1.3 apg. while starting 18 of 35 contests for the Wings in 2022. The seventh-season pro joins LVFL Tonya Edwards, who returns for her third campaign on the sidelines as an assistant coach for the franchise. Â
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Another player who made an offseason transition was DeShields, who shifted from Phoenix to Dallas for her sixth season in the "W." The 6-1 guard appeared in 30 games for the Mercury in 2022, averaging 13.1 ppg., 3.8 rpg. and 2.2 apg. DeShields, who won a WNBA title in 2021 in Chicago with Parker, will be in the Wings organization along with former Lady Vol April (McDivitt) Schilling, who is in her first season as an assistant coach there.
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Chicago is the first team with Tennessee ties to open the campaign, doing so Friday night at Minnesota. The Sky and Lynx are set to face off at 8 p.m. ET at the Target Center. The game will be available online via WNBA League Pass and televised in that area on Bally Sports North Extra and Marquee Sports Network / CW 26.
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On Saturday, ABC will televise an afternoon double dip. At 1 p.m. ET, Dallas hosts the Atlanta Dream at the College Park Center in Arlington. At 3 p.m., Horston, Russell and the Storm welcome Las Vegas to Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
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Tennessee ranks second among SEC schools in the number of alums on WNBA squads, with South Carolina standing just ahead with eight. Mississippi State (2) is the only other school with multiple players in the league, while Auburn, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, Ole Miss and Texas A&M boast one player each. Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, LSU and Vanderbilt have no players currently holding roster spots.
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LVFLs in the WNBA include Diamond DeShields (Dallas Wings), Isabelle Harrison (Chicago Sky) and Candace Parker (Las Vegas Aces), as well as Jordan Horston and Mercedes Russell with the Seattle Storm.
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All-time, 52 Lady Vols have gone on to play in the WNBA. A total of 45 of those Tennessee products were taken in league drafts, including 20 first-rounders and three No. 1 overall selections.
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The latest to join that group is 2023 No. 9 pick Horston, a 6-foot-2 guard who begins her professional career in Seattle after tallying 1,445 points, 731 rebounds, 455 assists, 163 steals and 109 blocks while starting 91 of 114 games for the Lady Vols. The two-time All-SEC First Team and AP All-America Honorable Mention selection joins sixth-year veteran Russell, who helped the Storm win league titles in 2018 and 2020.
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The 6-foot-6 center is in her fifth year with the franchise and looks to bounce back after seeing action in only five contests a year ago due to a non-basketball injury. In 2021, Russell started 28 of 30 games for Seattle, contributing 7.3 ppg. on 66.7-percent shooting along with 6.1 rpg. and 1.6 rpg.
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WNBA and Lady Vol legend Parker embarks on year No. 16 of her illustrious career, and she does so in a new city. During the offseason, Parker signed with the defending league champion Las Vegas Aces after spending the past two years with her hometown Chicago Sky. The 6-4 forward/center averaged 13.2 ppg., 8.6 rpg. and 4.5 apg. while starting 32 of 37 games in the Windy City in 2022 and helped that franchise win a WNBA title in 2021. She reunites with Aces Team President Nikki (Caldwell) Fargas, who was an assistant coach at Tennessee while Parker played here.
While Parker departed Chicago, Harrison made the move to the Sky in the offseason after playing the past four years in Dallas. The 6-3 forward produced 8.7 ppg., 4.3 rpg. and 1.3 apg. while starting 18 of 35 contests for the Wings in 2022. The seventh-season pro joins LVFL Tonya Edwards, who returns for her third campaign on the sidelines as an assistant coach for the franchise. Â
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Another player who made an offseason transition was DeShields, who shifted from Phoenix to Dallas for her sixth season in the "W." The 6-1 guard appeared in 30 games for the Mercury in 2022, averaging 13.1 ppg., 3.8 rpg. and 2.2 apg. DeShields, who won a WNBA title in 2021 in Chicago with Parker, will be in the Wings organization along with former Lady Vol April (McDivitt) Schilling, who is in her first season as an assistant coach there.
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Chicago is the first team with Tennessee ties to open the campaign, doing so Friday night at Minnesota. The Sky and Lynx are set to face off at 8 p.m. ET at the Target Center. The game will be available online via WNBA League Pass and televised in that area on Bally Sports North Extra and Marquee Sports Network / CW 26.
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On Saturday, ABC will televise an afternoon double dip. At 1 p.m. ET, Dallas hosts the Atlanta Dream at the College Park Center in Arlington. At 3 p.m., Horston, Russell and the Storm welcome Las Vegas to Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
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Players Mentioned
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