BERKELEY – California’s Brittany Boyd and Reshanda Gray became the first Golden Bear teammates to be drafted in the same year as the duo were selected Thursday in the 2015 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
Boyd was selected with the No. 9 overall pick by the New York Liberty, matching former teammate Layshia Clarendon as the highest drafted Golden Bear in program history. Gray was selected with the No. 16 overall pick by the Minnesota Lynx.
California has now had at least one player drafted in each of the last three seasons, the only Pac-12 program to hold that distinction. Clarendon was picked ninth by the Indiana Fever in 2013 and Gennifer Brandon was picked 22nd in 2014 by the Chicago Sky.
Training camps in New York and Minnesota will begin in the next few weeks. The WNBA season opener is scheduled for June 5 with New York hosting Atlanta and Minnesota hosting Tulsa.
“It’s a blessing just to be able to hear my name called,” Boyd said. “I’m happy to go to New York and do my job with the best people in the game. I’m going to do whatever (New York Head Coach) Bill (Laimbeer) needs me to do. Whatever he needs me to do, that’s what I’m willing to do. This is a dream come true for me, my family and my friends.”
Boyd became just the second Golden Bear to ever become honored by both the AP and WBCA as an All-American in the same season after she was selected by both organizations this season. Also a Wade Trophy and Wooden Award finalist as well as a Naismith Trophy (Atlanta Tip-Off Club), Nancy Lieberman Award and Dawn Staley Award midseason candidate, Boyd became a player with arguably the most all-around game in the nation, averaging 13.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 2.9 steals per game. She is the only player in the country to have registered two triple-doubles already this season after hitting the mark against San Jose State and Sacramento State. She set the California single-game mark for assists with 16 against the Hornets and is the NCAA’s active career steals leader with 353 in her career. Her 6.8 assists per game rank sixth in the NCAA, and her 19 rebounds against Sacramento State are the most for a guard from a “power five conference” in a single-game in the country this season. She is the only current player in the NCAA – and the only player in Pac-12 history – to hit career marks of at least 1,400 points, 700 rebounds, 600 assists and 300 steals.
“We were surprised Boyd was still available,” Liberty Head Coach Bill Laimbeer said. “She was an obvious choice; she enhances our ability to attack the basket. She can really fill up a stats sheet.”
Gray was named a Third Team AP All-American and was the Pac-12 Player of the Year this season as well as being selected as a Wade Trophy and Wooden Award finalist after finishing the year averaging 17.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. She ranks 12th in the country in field goal percentage shooting a sizzling .568 and finishes her career as the California all-time leader in career field goal percentage at .557. Gray was fourth in the Pac-12 in scoring and 10th in rebounding. Her 37 points scored against Sacramento State on Dec. 3 are the most by a post player in the Pac-12 this season and the 11th-most by a post player in the country.
“Minnesota is known for having a lot of great people on the court and off the court,” Gray said. “I can contribute to that because I'm a wonderful person and on the court I'm very physical. That's something I can add to the team as well as playing with a lot of heart and passion and just doing little things.”
“She's somebody that we had penciled in much higher than No. 16,” Lynx Head Coach Cheryl Reeve added. “I think looking at our needs having someone that enjoys playing down low, enjoys contact is big for us. ... She's not necessarily that big. She just plays in a way that makes her a little bit bigger than she actually is.”
California Women’s Basketball All-Time WNBA Draft Selections
2000 – Round 4, Pick 1 (49th) – Sophie von Saldern (Cleveland Rockers)
2009 – Round 1, Pick 12 (12th) – Ashley Walker (Seattle Storm)
2010 – Round 3, Pick 6 (30th) – Alexis Gray-Lawson (Washington Mystics)
2013 – Round 1, Pick 9 (9th) – Layshia Clarendon (Indiana Fever)
2014 – Round 2, Pick 10 (22nd) – Gennifer Brandon (Chicago Sky)
2015 – Round 1, Pick 9 (9th) – Brittany Boyd (New York Liberty)
2015 – Round 2, Pick 4 (16th) – Reshanda Gray (Minnesota Lynx)
