Rhyne Howard Becomes Kentucky’s First WNBA Draft No. 1 Pick

NEW YORK – Rhyne Howard, the most decorated player in Kentucky women's basketball history, added another milestone Monday as she was selected first overall at the 2022 WNBA Draft by the Atlanta Dream. Held at Spring Studios in New York, Howard made history at the draft, becoming the first Kentucky women's basketball player ever to be selected first overall.

The native of Cleveland, Tennessee, becomes the seventh player in program history to be selected in the WNBA Draft and the first since Evelyn Akhator and Makayla Epps were both selected in 2017. Akhator was previously the highest draft pick in school history at third overall. Howard, Akhator, A'dia Mathies and Victoria Dunlap are the only first-round picks in program history. Howard's accomplishment makes Kentucky only the 16th program to produce a No. 1 WNBA Draft selection and one of only five schools in the league to produce such a player.

Howard becomes the seventh player in Southeastern Conference history to be selected first overall, joining Dena Head (1997 – Tennessee), Chamique Holdsclaw (1999 – Tennessee), LaToya Thomas (2003 – Mississippi State), Seimone Augustus (2006 – LSU), Candace Parker (2008 – Tennessee) and Aja Wilson (2018 – South Carolina).

Howard's fulfilled dream of being a No. 1 pick bookends a historic collegiate career. The guard became the only player in program history to receive multiple first-team All-America honors from multiple organizations along with being the only UK WBB player to earn four first-team All-SEC honors. This season alone, Howard earned first-team All-America honors from the Senior CLASS Award, Women's Basketball Coaches Association, The Associated Press, Wooden Award and United States Basketball Writers Association. Howard joined Oregon's Sabrina Ionescu, South Carolina's Wilson, Baylor's Brittney Griner, Tennessee's Holdsclaw, Duke's Alana Beard, Oklahoma's Courtney Paris and UConn's Breanna Stewart and Maya Moore as the only three-time first-team AP All-America honorees. Howard was also tabbed Wooden Award, AP and USBWA First-Team All-America in 2020 and 2021 after historic seasons for the Wildcats. She was WBCA First-Team All-America in 2021 and honorable mention from the organization in 2020.

One of college basketball's best, Howard has been a finalist for nearly every major national player of the year award each of the last three seasons. Howard is currently still a finalist for the 2022 Honda Women's Sports Award and was also in the running for the 2022 WBCA Wade Trophy, 2022 Cheryl Miller Award, 2022 Wooden Award and 2022 Dawn Staley Award. She was one of 10 Dawn Staley Award. She was one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Trophy this season as well. Her junior season, she was a finalist for the Honda Women's Sports Award, WBCA Wade Trophy, Cheryl Miller Award, Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy and Dawn Staley Award. As a sophomore, Howard was a finalist for the Wade Trophy, Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy, Cheryl Miller Award and Dawn Staley Award.