Sun add LSU's Morris, Stanford's Prechtel in WNBA draft
Apr. 10—The Connecticut Sun, without a first-round pick in Monday night's WNBA draft, still managed to select a player from the NCAA national champions.
The Sun picked guard Alexis Morris of LSU with the 22nd pick in the second round.
They also added forward Ashten Prechtel of Stanford in the third round.
Morris averaged a career-best 15.4 points per game and was named All-SEC this past season. She was a semifinalist for the Lieberman Award as one of the nation's top point guards.
Sun first-year general manager Darius Taylor called Morris a "first-round talent in the second round ... we definitely didn't think she would be there at 22 (the 22nd pick). We definitely had to change our whole game plan."
"We're really excited about the opportunities we have to add to our core group," Sun coach Stephanie White said during a post-draft Zoom call. "Alexis is a shot-maker who isn't afraid of the moment."
Prechtel scored 16 second-half points, including going 3-of-3 from three-point range, to help Stanford overcome a 12-point deficit and advance to the Final Four in 2022. Taylor called her "a deceptive athlete."
The Sun had a hectic offseason, most notably losing coach Curt Miller and guard Jasmine Thomas to Los Angeles and former league Most Valuable Player Jonquel Jones (at her request) to New York.
Connecticut resigned guard Natisha Hiedeman to a two-year deal in February. Hiedeman, in her fourth season with the Sun, became their starting point guard six games into last year when Thomas suffered a season-ending knee injury on May 22. Hiedeman averaged a career-high 9.1 points, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals.
Forwards DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas and Hiedeman are the starters under contract for Connecticut. It has also cored free agent post Brionna Jones, the 2022 WNBA Sixth Player of the Year who started for the Sun in 2020 when Jonquel Jones sat out the season related to concerns about the pandemic.
Hiedeman will lead a Connecticut backcourt in transition. DiJonai Carrington and Nia Clouden both return while Rebecca Allen and Tyasha Harris were acquired in the Jonquel Jones trade.
Also in the draft, UConn's Lou Lopez-Senechal went fifth overall to Dallas before Dorka Juhasz went to the Minnesota Lynx in the second round with the No. 16 pick overall.
