Selena Lott Has Opted In To The WNBA Draft

A great Marquette women’s basketball career has come to an end.

On Friday, MU star senior guard Selena Lott announced that she had opted in to the 2021 WNBA Draft. Due to the NCAA granting all winter sports athletes a bonus year of eligibility, any seniors that wished to be a part of the draft were required to inform the league that they were making themselves eligible for the draft. Historically, all players who have exhausted their eligibility are automatically a part of the WNBA Draft pool, but this year was different.

Here’s the message that Lott posted on her Instagram account announcing her decision.

“Dear Marquette Nation,

My past four years at Marquette University have been nothing short of amazing. From the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank my teammates, coaches, the entire women’s basketball staff and loyal fans for the guidance and support I received throughout this incredible journey. Of course, I would like to thank my mother for her endless sacrifice and support. I would not be where I am today without her and for that, I will be forever grateful.

Marquette University has helped me to develop as a person and as a basketball player while preparing me for life ahead. Looking back to the day I committed to this program, I leave with no regrets. This university has certainly left its MARQ.

With that being said, I would like to pursue my dreams as a professional basketball player and declare for the 2021 WNBA Draft.

As always, Go Golden Eagles!”

Here’s what head coach Megan Duffy had to say about her departing star:

“Selena has truly made an impact over these last four years at Marquette,” head coach Megan Duffy said. “Her growth both on and off the court has led to another great opportunity ahead in professional basketball. We cannot wait to see the next steps of her career and appreciate her commitment to making Marquette basketball special.”

And here’s MU’s official bio paragraph on the New York native, which is really just mostly about her senior season:

The Big East Co-Defensive Player of the Year, Lott was also selected to the All-BIG EAST First Team. The Troy, N.Y., native led the Golden Eagles in points (14.7), assists (5.2), defensive rebounds (4.2), steals (2.1) and blocked shots (0.8). She scored in double figures 17 times, had 15 games with five-or-more assists and tallied four double-doubles during her senior season. Lott posted two double figure rebound games and had two-or-more steals on 12 different occasions in 2020-21. The all-around wing also took home the first BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year award in program history. She also earns her second career yearly honor from the conference after making the All-BIG EAST Second Team in 2019-20.

Somehow, this doesn’t mention the fact that Lott leaves Marquette sitting at #23 on the all-time scoring chart, #10 on the all-time assists chart, and #12 all time in made three-pointers.

Lott will be attempting to become the fourth Marquette player to ever be selected in the WNBA Draft and the second Golden Eagle to ever play in the WNBA. Abbie Willenborg (2000) and Angel Robinson (2011) were both selected in the draft, but never made it to a WNBA roster during the season. Natisha Hiedeman (2019) is the third ever Marquette player to be drafted, but she’s the first to make a roster during the season, the first to play in the WNBA, the first to appear in the WNBA Playoffs, and the first to appear in the WNBA Finals. Connecticut had a very good season during Hiedeman’s rookie year.

There are two relatively recent mock drafts that give us an idea of where Lott might end up being selected in the WNBA Draft. ESPN published the third iteration of their mock draft on March 25th, and they have Lott at #33 in the 36 woman draft. As of March 18th, WInsider has Lott at #27, quite a bit away from the back of the draft. It might be touch and go as the draft proceeds, but it seems more likely than not that Lott will be drafted and will go to training camp with a team for sure. Whether that means she makes a roster? We’ll have to wait and see.

And so, we can make what I presume will be the final adjustment to the Marquette scholarship chart for the 2021-22 season.

With Lauren Van Kleunen returning for her COVID bonus season, Purdue all-time three-point leader Karissa McLaughlin joining the roster for her COVID bonus season, and Illinois sophomore Kennedi Myles transferring to MU, it appears that Duffy will head into next season with a 16 woman roster. That’s one over the NCAA maximum limit, but for one year only, Marquette will be allowed to exceed the limit in order to allow Van Kleunen to play one extra year.

It’s going to be interesting to see how all the pieces fit together, but that’s an article for a different time.....