Kingston, Ont.’s Aaliyah Edwards selected by the Washington Mystics at WNBA Draft

Kingston, Ont.’s Aaliyah Edwards is headed to the WNBA. The University of Connecticut Senior was selected 6th overall by the Washington Mystics in Monday night’s draft in Brooklyn, New York. She is the first-ever Kingstonian to be selected in the WNBA Draft.

It was a historic night in the WNBA, as the league held arguably its most important draft ever, with a field stocked with talented players such as Caitlin Clark, Edwards and many others.

But it was also a historic night for the Kingston native, capping off a remarkable year. Edwards scored 17.6, 9.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game in 2023-24 for the University of Connecticut Huskies of the NCAA. The perennial powerhouse made it to the Final Four during three of her four seasons with the team, including an appearance in the national championship game in 2022.

The former Frontenac Falcon was highly decorated while in Storrs, Ct., during the 2023-24 season alone, Edwards secured a spot on the Big East first team, the USBWA Second Team All-America, WCBA All-America, Wooden Award All-America, AP All-America honourable mention and NCAA Tournament Regional All-Tournament Team.

She’ll also join Team Canada at this summer’s Paris Olympics. It will be her second time playing for the senior national team on the Olympic stage.

Washington finished 7th in the league last season with a record of 19-21 and was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. However, they will be without veteran forward Elena Della Donne, who is taking a year away from the league due to injury.

The Mystics’ first game is May 14th against the New York Liberty.