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Ex-UConn Star Katie Lou Samuelson to Miss WNBA Season After Tearing ACL
The Seattle Storm's season doesn't begin for another two weeks, but the franchise has already been decimated by injuries.
Storm forward Katie Lou Samuelson tore her ACL Thursday and will miss the 2025 WNBA season, Seattle announced Saturday afternoon.
Samuelson, 27, was entering her sixth WNBA season and returning to the Storm after four years away.
The Fullerton, Calif. native was a three-time All-American for UConn from 2016 to '19 before being drafted fourth by the Chicago Sky in '19. Since turning professional, Samuelson has struggled to find her college groove but did average as many as 9.7 points per game for the Los Angeles Sparks in 2022.
Katie Lou Samuelson suffered a torn ACL in her right knee during practice on Thursday, the Seattle Storm announced.
— espnW (@espnW) May 3, 2025
She is expected to miss the season along with teammates Nika Muhl and Jordan Horston who also suffered torn ACLs. pic.twitter.com/2bwBSGAEsS
Other Seattle players with season-ending ACL injuries include forward Jordan Horston, an All-Rookie team selection in 2023, and guard Nika Muhl.
The Storm, who lost in the first round of the playoffs a year ago, are scheduled to open their season on May 17 against the Phoenix Mercury.
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Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .