By WRAL Sports

After leaving a lasting impact on women’s college basketball in the Triangle, local players are seeing their WNBA dreams come true.

NC State’s do-it-all senior Saniya Rivers was drafted No. 8 overall to the Connecticut Sun in the first round. Rivers, from Wilmington, NC, transferred to the Wolfpack after spending her freshman year at South Carolina. In three seasons with NC State Rivers averaged 11.9 points, 6 rebounds and 3.5 assists. Her athleticism has grabbed the interest of WNBA top brass.

“Maybe the best athlete, overall athlete in the draft,” Chicago Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca said of Rivers during a media call Thursday.

Rivers is the 19th NC State women’s basketball player drafted in the WNBA and is the first first-round pick for the team since Kiara Leslie in 2019. She played a critical role in NC State’s postseason success in recent years, including a trip to the Final Four in 2023 and the Elite Eight in 2024.

“She’s proven she can guard multiple positions which always matters in our league because with length you can cause some problems with point guards and wings,” Pagliocca said. “So you got to pay attention to players like that.”

Rivers was named to the All-ACC first team ACC All-defensive team in back-to-back seasons.

One-on-one with NC State star Saniya Rivers

Teammate guard Aziaha James was the final pick in the first round, going No. 12 overall to the Dallas Wings. Over the course of four seasons with the Wolfpack, James turned into a high-powered scorer, averaging 17.9 points per game in her senior season. During the Final Four run in 2023, James scored 29 points against Stanford and 27 points against Texas to help lift the Wolfpack to the national semifinals.

James was named All-ACC first team for the second consecutive season. She was also named All-American honorable mention.

ESPN analyst Andraya Carter called James a “microwave scorer” ahead of the draft. She’s projected as a first round pick by many experts in the field. James is the 20th NC State women’s basketball player drafted in the WNBA.

James joins No. 1 overall pick, UConn guard Paige Bueckers, in Dallas.

NC State players drafted in the WNBA

1997
Sharon Manning – Charlotte Sting (Round 2, Pick 10)
Trena Trice – New York Liberty (R3, P22)
Umeki Webb – Phoenix Mercury (R3, P24)
Rhonda Mapp – Charlotte Sting
Andrea Stinson – Charlotte Sting

1999
Chasity Melvin – Cleveland Rockers (R1, P11)

2000
Summer Erb – Charlotte Sting (R1, P11)

2001
Tynesha Lewis – Houston Comets (R2, P31)

2004
Kaayla Chones – Washington Mystics (R2, P15)

2006
Tiffany Stansbury – Houston Comets (R3, P29)

2007
Gillian Goring – Washington Mystics (R3, P32)
Ashley Key – Indiana Fever (R3, P35)

2008
Khadijah Whittington – Indiana Fever (R2, P26)

2014
Markeisha Gatling – Chicago Sky (R1, P10)
Kody Burke – Washington Mystics (R3, P32)

2019
Kiara Leslie – Washington Mystics (R1, P10)

2022
Elissa Cunane – Seattle Storm (R2, P17)
Kayla Jones – Minnesota Lynx (R2, P22)

2025

Saniya Rivers – Connecticut Sun (R1, P8)

Aziaha James – Dallas Wings (R1, P12)

Source: wralsportsfan.com