Doyle Admits To Being A Little 'Star-Struck' Heading Into First WNBA Season

Kathleen Doyle is on a WNBA roster.

That doesn’t mean she can’t be, as she said Thursday night, “star-struck a couple of times.”

Doyle, on a Facebook Live event with the four other Iowa athletes who were named Big Ten athlete/player of the year, said she was “trying to play it cool” in the WNBA’s “bubble” in preparation for the season which started Saturday.

“I was just picking up some groceries, and Diana Taurasi walked out of the hotel,” Doyle said, laughing. “So that was kind of a wild moment — ‘I’m really in the league.’ There’s been a bunch of those. The league is full of phenomenal athletes I’ve grown up watching. So it’s been pretty special so far.”

Doyle, who was the Big Ten’s women’s basketball player of the year last season, was selected in the second round of the WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever, and made the team’s roster in an unusual offseason because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Doyle and the rest of the WNBA players have been in the “Wubble,” the protected area in Bradenton, Fla., where players have been preparing for the season.

“I feel extremely blessed for the opportunity,” Doyle said. “I mean, I know a lot of people would kill to be in my position. I’m trying to make the most of it, enjoy every minute of it. Yeah, just take advantage of the opportunity — I’m surrounded by so many of the elite players, the elite company.

“It’s definitely been an interesting experience. It’s a little bit of summer-camp vibes, but you’re surrounded by, like, your childhood idols. So it’s definitely an interesting experience.”

Doyle averaged 18 points and 6.3 assists last season, joining former Iowa teammate Megan Gustafson as back-to-back winners of the conference’s player of the year honor.

Gustafson is in the WNBA as well with the Dallas Wings. Doyle said she had been in constant contact with Gustafson.

“It’s been nice to have a friend in the bubble with me, for sure,” Doyle said. “We text pretty much daily about how it’s going. It’s good to give each other advice. She helps me out with that, having a year under her belt. It’s definitely nice having a familiar face in here.”