CHICAGO (April 11, 2023) — The Chicago Sky selected Kayana Traylor with the 23rd overall pick in the second round of the 2023 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm, which aired this Monday, April 10th on ESPN and live from New York.
“We are so excited to bring Kayana into the fold here in Chicago,” Chicago Sky General Manager/Head Coach James Wade said. “We felt really great about seeing her growth throughout her college career. She is a proven winner and we cannot wait to add her into the mix this year.”
Traylor began her collegiate career at Purdue University, where she became only the sixth player in program history to amass 100 assists as a freshman and sophomore. With the Boilermakers, she averaged 8.8 points, 3.5 assists, and 2.2 rebounds over 27.6 minutes per game over three seasons. She was named Second Team All-Big Ten, Honorable Mention All-Big Ten, and a two-time Academic All-Big Ten Honoree.
The Martinsville, Indiana native then spent the rest of her collegiate career at Virginia Tech, where she spent her senior and graduate years. As a Hokie, she was named to the ACC All-Academic Team (2022) and ACC Academic Honor Roll (2022).
As a senior in 2021-22, she started 11 of 33 contests, averaging 10.4 points per game in 27.4 minutes. She shot 43.8% from the floor and 81.6% from the free-throw line.
This past season, the 5’9” guard reached 1,000 career points on February 8, 2022, against Clemson. Traylor also started 29 of 35 games for the Hokies, averaging 11.0 points and scoring in double figures in 17 of those games.
Entering its 18th WNBA season, the Sky finished the 2022 season with a franchise record of 26-10 and the second-highest overall record. General Manager/Head Coach James Wade won the WNBA Executive of the Year Award for 2022, along with Coach of the Month twice during June and July.
The Chicago Sky tip off the 2023 regular season on Friday, May 19 against the Minnesota Lynx in Minneapolis at 7:00 p.m. CST. Follow @chicagosky on social media and sky.wnba.com for the latest news, content, and ticket purchasing.