JOURNAL SPORTS
BATON ROUGE – Angel Reese is winging away from LSU and into professional basketball.
Reese, one of the most colorful and at times controversial players in women’s college basketball history, announced Wednesday morning via a photo shoot in Vogue magazine and social media accounts that she will enter the 2024 WNBA Draft and turn professional.
The 21-year-old Maryland transfer became a two-time All-American and the 2023-24 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year for LSU. She was the catalyst for last season’s national championship team, with dynamic scoring and rebounding and a flair to her game and persona that earned her the nickname “Bayou Barbie.”
It has brought her a vast collection of high-profile endorsement deals in the rapidly emerging era of Name, Image and Likeness in college sports. Reese is a spokesperson for brands including Goldman Sachs, AirBnB, Reebok, Topps, Beats by Dre and others. Her NIL valuation is approaching $2 million.
LSU’s season ended Monday night with an NCAA Tournament Elite 8 loss to Iowa. She had told media she would quickly make an announcement whether she would return to LSU or turn pro, declaring for the WNBA Draft. That decision was already made, revealed the Vogue story, as her photo shoot to accompany the article was done in mid-March.
LSU coach Kim Mulkey praised Reese and indicated no surprise at the decision in a university press release.
“Angel transferred to LSU after my first season in Baton Rouge and she helped transform our program,” Mulkey said. “When she came here, she said she wanted to be here for two seasons and she has lived up to that. What a remarkable two years it has been.
“We are all indebted to Angel Reese for the contributions she has given to this program, helping us win our first national championship, and the contributions she made on our university as a whole. She not only helped grow our program but had an impact on growing the game of women’s basketball across the country.
“We wish her good luck as she moves to the WNBA and look forward to see all that she accomplishes. We will miss her but will always cherish the two years we got to spend with her.”
Reese had 61 double-doubles at LSU, trailing only Sylvia Fowles in school history. The Baltimore native had three separated streaks of at least 10 straight double-doubles and averaged 20.9 points and 14.4 rebounds as a Tiger. Reese became the first player since Wendy Scholtens from Vanderbilt in 1989 and 1990 to lead the league in both scoring and rebounding in consecutive seasons. Reese had seven games with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds over the past two seasons.
Reese recorded a double-double in all 10 of the NCAA Tournament games she played as a Tiger, tying the NCAA Tournament record for consecutive double-doubles.
“I’m leaving college with everything I ever wanted,” Reese said on a video she posted on her X account. “A degree, a national championship and this platform I could have never imagined.
“This is for the girls who look like me that’s going to speak up in what they believe in. It’s unapologetically you. To grow women’s sports and to have an impact on those coming next. This was a difficult decision, but I trust the next chapter because I know the author. Bayou Barbie out.”
Reese saw her brand skyrocket at LSU. She came to Baton Rouge with just about 70,000 instagram followers and now has 2.7-millions. She has appeared on numerous magazine covers including Sports Illustrated and Women’s Health. Reese won the 2023 ESPY for the Best Breakthrough Athlete, was named the 2023 BET Sportswoman of the Year and the 2023 Sporting News Athlete of the Year.
She had multiple viral moments such as the “Shoe Block” against Arkansas and a TikTok-style dance against Tennessee which helped her Bayou Barbie brand skyrocket, said LSU’s press release.
While WNBA salaries don’t approach NBA pay, most women in the league also play overseas, where they are compensated much better. Reese said she was “OK” with the challenge of going pro at the expense of comforts like charter air travel that LSU provided and is uncommon in the WNBA.
“I’ll be working with grown women,” Reese said. “I’ll be working with women that have kids, women that have a family to feed. I’m going to have to work my butt off every single day and grind. And who wouldn’t want that? I don’t want anything in my life to be easy.”
She expressed indifference at any criticism of her move.
“It was obviously a hard decision to make but it’s best for me my career and my family,” Reese said in a TikTok video. “Be happy for me, or don’t. I don’t care.”