NEW YORK (WCMH) — For the first time in five years, an Ohio State women’s basketball player was selected in the WNBA Draft.
Guard Taylor Mikesell was selected by the Indiana Fever with the 13th overall pick in Monday night’s draft in Manhattan to become the first Buckeye since Kelsey Mitchell to be drafted into the WNBA. Mitchell was drafted and currently on the Fever and will now have a fellow Buckeye teammate next season.
Mikesell’s second and final season at Ohio State saw her lead the team in scoring as she averaged 17.2 points per game while shooting over 40% from the field and on three-point shots.
Her play helped lead the Buckeyes to its best March Madness finish in 30 years with OSU making the Elite Eight. Mikesell scored 25 points in the Buckeyes’ loss to Virginia Tech in Seattle.
The Massillon, Ohio, native began her college career at Maryland and after spending two seasons in College Park, she transferred to Oregon for the 2020-21 season. Mikesell only stayed with the Ducks for one season and played the last two as a Buckeye.
Mikesell isn’t the only Ohio player headed to the WNBA.
- Jordan Horston, a 21-year-old Columbus Africentric College K-12 graduate, was picked 9th overall and is heading to the Seattle Storm.
Horston, a Tennessee Lady Volunteers senior, averaged 15.6 points this season, shooting 43.8 from the field across 35 games. She also averaged 7.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists. The 6-foot, 2-inch guard played in 114 games (starting in 91 of them) for the Lady Vols, finishing her career with 1,445 points, 731 rebounds, 455 assists, 163 steals, and 109 blocks.
- Toledo native Zia Cooke is headed to the Los Angeles Sparks picked 10th overall in the draft.
Cooke, a 5-foot, 9-inch guard for the South Carolina Gamecocks, finishes her college career averaging 13.5 points per game, having played in 137 games. She finished the 2022-23 season averaging 15.4 points per game shooting 40.5 percent from the floor.
The 2023 WNBA season begins on May 19.