Jaylyn Agnew is smart on and off the court.
She graduated from Creighton University in Omaha with a 3.79 grade point average. She also excelled on the hardwood.
Agnew led her team in scoring, averaging 20 points per game. She also led the nation in free-throw percentage and was named Big East Player of the Year.
A 5-foot-11 forward, Agnew scored a career high 43 points in her final home game, Senior Day, at Creighton.
And now, the former Andover basketball player received good news in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic: She was drafted by the reigning WNBA champions, the Washington Mystics.
Agnew said she found out she was selected while watching the draft on television Friday in Andover with her family.
“And all of a sudden my name came across the screen with the Mystic selection, and I was so excited," she said. "My mom started screaming. We all started kind of jumping up and down, and it just was so fun to kind of experience it with my family and to go to a great organization.”
An organization that’s at the top tier in women’s professional basketball: The Washington Mystics won the 2019 WNBA title, defeating the Connecticut Sun. It was the Mystics’ first championship, and Agnew said she is glad she was selected by the franchise.
"I was just super excited and happy to know that my hard work had paid off,” Agnew said. “And I had gotten to this point and was going to be able showcase what I know I can do in front of the best players and coaches in the world.”
Agnew will leave for training camp in Washington, D.C., in the coming weeks. The WNBA's regular season usually begins in May and runs through the summer but has been delayed due to the coronavirus.
In the meantime, Agnew said she will happily train in her basement.
“I’m doing weights," she said. "I’m doing ball handling and conditioning outside whenever I can and going to my neighborhood basketball goal to shoot and get reps in that way.”
Carla Eckels is director of cultural diversity and the host of Soulsations. Follow her on Twitter @Eckels. To contact KMUW News or to send in a news tip, reach us at news@kmuw.org.
