Connecticut Sun Select LSU Star Alexis Morris in WNBA Draft

LSU star point guard Alexis Morris is prepared for a new chapter as she begins her professional journey with the Connecticut Sun. The floor general was selected No. 22 overall in the 2023 WNBA Draft on Monday.

Morris is fresh off of a career year in Baton Rouge, propelling the Tigers to their first national championship victory in program history. After averaging 15.4 points and 4.1 assists per game for LSU, her excellence puts her where she always belonged: the WNBA.

The catalyst to LSU’s success, Morris showed just how clutch she is during the tournament, scoring 19 points in the second half of the title game.

The journey has been one for the history books for Morris. Four different schools during her college career, she never imagined living the moment of hearing her name called during the WNBA Draft, but the story is just beginning for Morris.

The All-SEC guard will begin her career with the Sun in Connecticut as she looks to carry her success from Baton Rouge to a new city.

The Journey of Alexis Morris

Morris was dismissed from the Baylor program where her basketball journey took her all over after. From Baylor to Rutgers, from Rutgers to Texas A&M, from Texas A&M to LSU. There’s beauty in the struggle and Morris is a prime example of that.

It wasn’t as simple as picking up and transferring schools for Morris. There were times of reflection. There were moments of doubt. The All-SEC First Team guard beat the odds, did her time and shined for the Tigers after pushing through those times.

“At one point when I left Rutgers, I wasn't even going to play basketball anymore,” Morris said. “So this moment is literally everything to me. I am the comeback kid. I went through so much adversity. The world counted me out. Media writing bad posts, portraying this image of me. Now I can just let it all go. I beat it. I beat the odds.”

Kim Mulkey’s Impact in Getting Here

It all came full circle for Morris. From starting her career with Mulkey to ending it with her first-year head coach. It’s surreal for the superstar guard, but it’s all “God’s Plan” in getting to become a professional.

Morris detailed how Coach Mulkey continued getting the best out of her players and kept them locked in all season, never getting above the moment. The expertise is what propelled the Tigers to their first national title in program history with Morris at the helm.

“One thing I haven't seen change about her is her will to win, how she pushes us and gets the best out of us. Never let us get the big head. She was definitely way more feisty when I was a freshman [at Baylor],” Morris said. “She's never going to lower her expectations for nobody. She doesn't really care how good you are. She has an expectation that she requires us to meet, and I think that's why we were able to elevate and do things that we sometimes don't even think that we can do.”

New Team, Same Goals

Morris is a fighter. She’s scrappy. She’s tenacious. But she’s also as caring and passionate of a hooper as there is. You see it on the court. For the electric point guard to make it this far is a product of hard work, prayer and fight.

“It's everything I asked for,” Morris said. “I remember when I was at Rutgers and I left Rutgers. And I went to spend some time with a friend in Reno, Nevada. And I remember I was at a park. Every morning I would get up early to go work on my game, because I didn't know if I was going to continue playing basketball. I remember asking God: ‘If you gave me another opportunity to be in a similar position that I was in my freshman year, that I would never self-sabotage.’ And you're just seeing a product of pain, a product of relentlessness, a product of tenacity. I just never gave up on myself. And I advise anybody who is going through anything -- it doesn't have to be basketball-wise. It could be life, school, just keep persevering.”

Morris will look to lead her new team to a title as she suits up in different colors once again. She isn’t shy to new beginnings as she takes on a new journey as a professional basketball player, a dream she’s had all her life.