Indiana Fever Select Emily Engstler with No. 4 Overall Pick of 2022 WNBA Draft
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The first Louisville player in the 2022 WNBA Draft is off the board, as the Indiana Fever have selected forward Emily Engstler in the first round with the No. 4 overall pick.
Engstler becomes the fifth former Cardinal to ever be taken in the first round of the WNBA Draft, and is the 15th overall. She is the third-highest ever drafted, trailing only Angel McCoughtry, who went No. 1 overall in 2009, and Asia Durr, who was taken at No. 2 in 2019.
Coming over from Syracuse as a graduate transfer, the 6-foot-1 forward had an extremely impactful 2021-22 campaign with Louisville, and established herself as one of the top defensive players in the nation.
Engstler was the Cardinals' third-leading scorer at 11.9 points per game, while shooting 46.1 percent from the field and 37.6 percent on three-point attempts. She also tallied 9.4 rebounds, 2.7 steals and 1.8 blocks per game, leading the team in all three categories, resulting in being named an All-ACC First Team and ACC All-Defensive Team selection.
"She just has a knack for the basketball. She's great at reading defenses, anticipating," ESPN women's basketball analyst LaChina Robinson said earlier this week. "What we haven't seen as much that I think we will see in the WNBA is she has some more offense to her game, as well. This was a kid who was a McDonald's All-American who put in the work to get her body in shape, so we know she has the work ethic.
"She just can come in and change the complexion of a game with her defensive reads and her high-level understanding of the game of basketball at a very high level. Not to mention she can play multiple positions."
The New York City native was a vital piece of Louisville's run to the Final Four, and drastically improved her draft stock in the process. In five NCAA Tournament games, she averaged 14.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 4.6 steals and 1.8 blocks per game.
Engstler spent the first three years of her collegiate career at Syracuse, and was one of 12 players to transfer out of the program during the 2021 offseason. In her final season with the Orange, she averaged 10.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, and was named ACC Co-Sixth Player of the Year.
Louisville had a stellar 2021-22 season, finishing at 29-5 and reaching the Final Four for the fourth time in program history, before falling to the eventual national champion, South Carolina.
(Photo of Emily Engstler: Matt Krohn - USA TODAY Sports)
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