For Triangle stars, WNBA dream still alive — even without hearing name called

Reigan Richardson’s WNBA dream didn’t begin — or end — with the draft.

While N.C. State stars Aziaha James and Saniya Rivers heard their names called in the first round in New York, the former Duke guard is one of several high-level ACC women’s players who went undrafted — yet remains undeterred.

For players like Richardson — and fellow undrafted standouts like North Carolina’s Alyssa Ustby and Maria Gakdeng — the path to the WNBA won’t be linear. Team training camps, which begin April 27, offer a narrow window to prove you belong. Each of the league’s 13 teams can only carry 12 players, making for just 156 roster spots league-wide — even with the addition of an expansion team in the Golden State Valkyries.

The WNBA has a space problem, but it also has a timing problem.

Roughly a week after the NCAA championship game, dozens of college stars are thrust into the next chapter of their careers — drafted, flown out and dropped into the fire of WNBA training camps. The turnaround is short, and brutally so.

“It’s like a crash course,” said April Sykes, a former WNBA player and pro development coach who has worked with Richardson. “Everybody doesn’t process and learn that fast. So you may be cut because it’s too fast… it’s very messed up for us as women because the men have so much time. They have the NBA combine, they have draft training that they do for months, they have summer league that they can go play in to get ready. We don’t have all that.”

But Richardson is maximizing the limited time she has.

The Duke guard spent the weekend before Monday night’s draft in Atlanta with Sykes. In just 72 hours, Richardson completed five intense training sessions, worked with a strength and conditioning coach and got recovery treatment from a massage therapist — all part of a holistic system aimed at preparing pros.

The work paid off Wednesday when Richardson signed a training camp contract with the Minnesota Lynx.

Sykes knows the grind because she was once there herself. After a standout career at Rutgers and roughly a decade playing overseas — including a season with the Los Angeles Sparks — she transitioned into player development around the start of the pandemic.

Much of her on-court work with Richardson this past weekend focused on expanding the guard’s game beyond the role she played at Duke. Because Richardson didn’t handle the ball as much in Kara Lawson’s system — her offense came from catch-and-shoot opportunities or drives — Richardson and Sykes focused on making reads out of the pick-and-roll, understanding timing and shooting off of dribble hand offs.

That ability to adapt is crucial, Sykes said. She still recalls her own time with the Sparks, where her job was clear: “When Candace [Parker] gets doubled and throws this ball to me, all I gotta do is knock this shot down.”

The advice she gives to players heading into training camp is simple but blunt: know the system, make sure your agent is advocating for you behind the scenes and be ready.

For Ustby and Gakdeng, that opportunity is coming soon as well.

Neither heard their names called in the draft, but both quickly signed training camp contracts this week. Ustby will join the Sparks, while Gakdeng is headed to the Atlanta Dream. Both players will have a short window to make their case before cuts are made ahead of the WNBA’s May 16 season opener.

A five-year contributor, Ustby leaves UNC as the program’s all-time leading rebounder. Her versatility — averaging 10.9 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists this past season — earned her a second straight All-ACC First Team selection.

Gakdeng, a 6-foot-3 forward, transferred to UNC after two seasons as a starter at Boston College. Her career field goal percentage, 59.2%, ranks No. 9 in ACC history. Last season, Gakdeng averaged 10.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game en route to All-ACC Second Team honors.

“I’m thrilled for both Alyssa and Maria as they get their opportunity to live out their dream,” UNC coach Courtney Banghart said. “Both have earned this chance with a decorated college career, and have continued to add layers to their game. They are ready to shine.”

Meanwhile, N.C. State’s Madison Hayes — a former McDonald’s All-American who averaged 10.9 points, 7.1 rebounds this past season — also went undrafted. As of Wednesday morning, Hayes had not signed a camp contract, but is still working with her agent to get a foot in the door.

Between the draft and getting her training camp deal done on Wednesday, Richardson kept working to earn her spot.

“Reigan is a very positive kid,” Sykes said. “She understands this process. She just wants the opportunity to get in there and showcase her ability and that she can play in the W. That’s all anybody can ever ask for.”

This story was originally published April 16, 2025 at 12:49 PM.