Jackson State’s Ameshya Williams-Holliday Selected by Fever, Becomes First HBCU Draft Pick in 20 Years

On a night dedicated to the past, present and future of the WNBA, the Fever made league history in the third round of Monday night’s draft.

Indiana selected Jackson State star center Ameshya Williams-Holliday with the 25th pick, making her the first draft selection from a historically Black college and university since 2002. 

A video shared on social media by WLOX sports reporter Michael Dugan captured the moment Williams-Holliday, surrounded by a room full of supporters at a draft watch party, learned the exciting news.

Williams-Holliday, a three-time first-team All-Southwestern Athletic Conference selection and SWAC Defensive Player of the Year, joins Denique Graves (1997), Karen Wilkins (1998), and 2002 picks Andrea Gardner, Amba Kongolo and Jaclyn Winfield as the only prospects selected from an HBCU in the WNBA’s 25-year existence.

After leaving Mississippi State following her freshman year in 2017, Williams-Holliday enrolled at Jackson State in 2018 and sat for two seasons before going on to average 16.1 PPG, 11.2 RPG and 2.9 BPG over three standout seasons with the Lady Tigers. 

Williams-Holliday helped lead the program to 60 combined wins, three straight SWAC regular season titles, two straight conference tournament titles and two consecutive NCAA appearances (2021, 2022). She now heads to Indiana where she’ll join a promising rookie class as the team begins its rebuild. 

Earlier in the night, the Fever also made history by becoming the first WNBA team to make four selections in the first round. Indiana selected Baylor forward NaLyssa Smith No. 2 overall, Louisville forward Emily Engstler fourth overall, Stanford guard Lexie Hull sixth overall, and Baylor center Queen Egbo 10th overall.