Willoughby taken in first round of the WNBA Draft

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Photo: UVA Athletics

Virginia women’s basketball senior guard Jocelyn Willoughby was selected by the Phoenix Mercury with the tenth pick in the first round of the WNBA 2020 Draft, presented by State Farm. After the completion of the draft, Willoughby was traded to the New York Liberty for Shatori Walker-Kimbrough.

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced the draft picks live on ESPN, with all of the draftees watching remotely.

Willoughby (East Orange, N.J.) is the 11th player in program history to be taken in a WNBA draft, and the fifth to be taken in the first round. She is the first Virginia player to be drafted since Monica Wright was the second overall pick in the 2010 draft.

Willoughby, an honorable mention for All-America honors, finished the season as the ACC scoring leader at 19.2 points per game, making her just the second player in program history to pace the conference in scoring. She also ranked 10th in the ACC in rebounding at 7.5 per game and was named All-ACC First Team in votes by the Blue Ribbon Panel and the league’s head coaches.

Willoughby, a third-team CoSIDA Academic All-American, was the first player in program history to be the recipient of the 2019-20 Kay Yow Award as the Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Willoughby was also named to the 2019-20 All-ACC Academic Team, making her Virginia’s first four-time recipient of that honor.

All-Time Cavaliers Taken in the WNBA Draft

Wendy Palmer – 1997 Elite Draft, Utah Starzz, 2nd Round, 1st pick (9th overall)

Tammi Reiss – 1997, Utah Starzz, 1st Round, 5th pick

Tora Suber – 1997, Charlotte Sting, 1st Round, 7th pick

Dawn Staley – 1999, Charlotte Sting, 1st Round, 9th pick

Renee Robinson – 2000, Indiana Fever, 4th Round, 9th pick

Svetlana Volnaya – 2001, Detroit Shock, 3rd Round, 6th pick (38th overall)

Telisha Quarles – 2003, Phoenix Mercury, 3rd Round, 4th pick

Sharnee Zoll – 2008, LA Sparks, 3rd Round, 1st pick (29th overall)

Lyndra Littles – 2009 Connecticut Sun, 2nd Round, 4th pick (17th overall)

Monica Wright – 2010 Minnesota Lynx, 1st Round, 2nd pick