Kaitlyn Chen had a Cinderella-esque draft night this week.
Chen, who attended the 2025 WNBA Draft to support UConn teammate and No. 1 overall pick Paige Bueckers, received a massive surprise when she was drafted by the Golden State Valkyries in the third round. The 5'9" guard played for Geno Auriemma for season as a graduate transfer after spending four years at Princeton.
Chen represents something new in the league: increasingly, athletes like Chen and Harvard alum Harmoni Turner (who was drafted in the third round by the Aces Monday night) are putting equal weight on basketball and their educational opportunities. Chen is the fourth Ivy player to be drafted into the WNBA in the last two years and averaged 15.8 points, 4.9 assists and 3.5 rebounds her senior year — she also played an instrumental role in leading the Princeton Tigers to the NCAA tournament three years in a row.
Auriemma scouted Chen during her senior season at Princeton and brought her over to UConn, where she filled in a more traditional guard role and supported the team's heavyweights (Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, and Sarah Strong). Chen averaged 6.9 points and 3.4 assists for the Huskies this season, but she improved her 3-point shooting (up to 35.4% from 29.3% at Princeton) and consistently set Bueckers, Fudd, and Strong up to hit the shots the team needed, all while maintaining her focus and her cool.
So why is it still possible she might not make the Valkyries' final roster?
How 2nd and 3rd WNBA picks typically fare
Unfortunately, even with steady steps toward league expansion being made (in addition to the Valkyries, the Toronto Tempo and an unnamed team out of Portland, Oregon, will debut soon), the reality remains that there are simply not enough spots for every athlete who is drafted, and hearing your name called isn't a guarantee that you'll actually wear that team's jersey in the WNBA.
Last year fewer than half of the women drafted ended up on a team roster, and a lot of those who got cut ended up playing overseas (where you can truly enjoy a thriving career with the right team). While that's a dismal reality, it's worth noting that simply being drafted can help a player's stock enormously overseas and be the difference between a $1,000 a month paycheck and several thousands of dollars (this is especially true for athletes from high-caliber teams) and the difference between being signed to a team with no resources to a team that can support you.
Why the Golden State Valkyries might keep all 3 WNBA Draft picks
The Valkyries are a little different from the rest of the WNBA for a key reason: they have money to spend. Unlike a lot of teams, Golden State came into the Draft with enough cap space to support three rookies and still make a surprise last-minute deal with a vet, something that Chen and Shyanne Sellers likely appreciate. If there's a team in the WNBA that can keep Kaitlyn Chen, it's Golden State — so it will be up to her to show everyone why she deserves to be in the league in the first place.