Los Angeles Sparks draft G/F Rae Burrell with No. 9 pick

The Los Angeles Sparks have selected 21-year-old G/F Rae Burrell from Tennessee with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft.

Rae Burrell scouting report

Burrell was one of the top prospects entering this year’s draft after helping the Lady Vols reach the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Women’s Tournament last month. Tennessee ended up losing to the No. 1 seeded Louisville Cardinals with a score of 76-64.

Burrell finished her college career ranked No. 36 in all-time scoring for Tennessee with 1,131 points overall. She averaged 12.3 points and 3.9 rebounds in the 2021-22 season through 22 games played, just a notch below her 2020-21 stats which saw her average 16.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.

Notable career statistics, accomplishments

Rae Burrell was named to the NCAA Wichita Region All-Tournament Team in 2021-22, and was rewarded with a handful of preseason honors including the Wade Trophy Preseason Watch List, Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List, Cheryl Miller Award Preseason Watch List, and several others ahead of her last season at UT.

She played 110 games and started 47 of those through four seasons with the Lady Vols, averaging 10.3 points and 4.2 rebounds throughout her college career. In 2020-21, her 16.8 points per game tied the eighth-best season average by a Lady Vol junior.