04/06/2021

Stanford boasts 26 selections all-time in WNBA Draft

STANFORD, Calif. – She’s cemented her name as one of the greatest to ever wear a Stanford jersey, and now she’s ready to take the next step. Kiana Williams has announced her decision to declare for the 2021 WNBA Draft.

Helping guide the Cardinal to its third national championship in program history, and first in 29 years, Williams finished the season leading the team in points (14.0), assists (3.1), 3-pointers (82) and minutes played (32.3). Her name is littered throughout the record books, most notably setting Stanford’s career 3-point mark, finishing her time on The Farm with 311.

“I am thrilled for Kiana as she is set to embark on this next chapter of her life,” said Setsuko and Ishiyama Director of Women’s Basketball Tara VanDerveer. “I have loved coaching her over the past four years and am very proud of both the player and person that she has become.”

Named an All-American by the WBCA, Associated Press and USBWA as a senior, Williams never missed a game after stepping on campus, appearing in 137 with 128 consecutive starts to finish her career. She was named the 2021 NCAA Tournament Alamo Region Most Outstanding Player, as well as the Most Outstanding Player of the 2021 Pac-12 Tournament. Her 1,834 career points rank 10th in program history, while her 464 career assists are good for ninth. Her 83.3% shooting percentage from the free throw line is tied for the second-best in program history.

Williams is one of only 22 women’s basketball players since 2000 to boast over 1,800 points, 450 assists and 300 made 3-pointers in her career – just one of three from the Pac-12 (Sabrina Ionescu, Sydney Wiese). She made the the third-most 3-pointers of any player in the nation throughout her four seasons at Stanford. Finishing in double-figure points 98 times in her career, and leading the team in scoring in 40 different games, Williams’ career-high in points came as a junior, scoring 29 in Stanford’s dramatic win at Colorado. She made a career-high seven 3-pointers in two different games, and also boasted a career-high 10 assists as a sophomore against UCLA. Off the court, Williams has earned several academic accolades and is set to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Science, Technology & Society at the conclusion of Stanford’s spring quarter.”Kiana’s leadership was vital to the team’s success this season, helping to navigate us through the most challenging year of our lifetimes. I know that myself, the rest the program, and our fans across the world are going to be cheering on Kiana’s successes in the future, and we know her experience on The Farm has her prepared for anything that life could throw at her,” added VanDerveer. 

Stanford boasts 26 WNBA Draft picks all-time, including 12 in the first round. Stanford’s last pick in the draft came in 2019, as Alanna Smith was picked eighth to the Phoenix Mercury. Nnemkadi and Chiney Oguwmike remain Stanford’s highest draft picks, both being selected No. 1 in 2012 and 2014.

The 2021 WNBA Draft will be held on April 15 on ESPN at 4 p.m. PST.

KIANA WILLIAMS BIO

23 Kiana Williams

• Position Guard
• Height 5-8
• Class Senior
• High School Karen Wagner
• Hometown San Antonio, Texas
• Major Science, Technology & Society

Career Accolades | Career Statistics and Single-Game Highs

• Pac-12 Tournament champion (2019)
• Wade Trophy Watch List (2021)
• Three-time All-Pac-12 – Coaches and Media (2019-21)
• WBCA All-America Honorable Mention (2020)
• Associated Press All-America Honorable Mention (2020)
• USBWA All-America Honorable Mention (2020)
• WBCA All-Region (2020)
• Pac-12 All-Defensive Team Honorable Mention – Coaches (2020)
• Two-time Pac-12 All-Tournament Team (2018, 2020)
• Two-time Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Finalist (2019-20)
• Chicago Regional NCAA All-Tournament Team (2019)
• All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention – Coaches (2018)
• Pac-12 All-Freshman Team – Coaches and Media (2018)
• Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Finalist (2018)
• Two-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week (Jan. 8, 2018; Feb. 5, 2018)
• CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team (2020)
• Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll (2020)
• Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention (2019)

As a Senior (2020-21) | Game-by-Game Stats (PDF)

• Wade Trophy Watch List
• All-Pac-12

As a Junior (2019-20) | Game-by-Game Stats (PDF)

• WBCA All-America Honorable Mention
• Associated Press All-America Honorable Mention
• USBWA All-America Honorable Mention
• WBCA All-Region
• All-Pac-12 – Coaches and Media
• Pac-12 All-Defensive Team Honorable Mention – Coaches
• Pac-12 All-Tournament Team
• Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Finalist
• CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team
• Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll
• Started all 33 games, averaging 15.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.1 steals in 34.2 minutes per game
• Led the team in points, assists, minutes and made 3-pointers
• Shot 41.6 percent from the floor (182-of-437), including 34.7 percent from deep (67-of-193) and 84.0 percent from the free throw line (63-of-75)
• Scored in double figures a team-high 25 times, including nine straight games to the end the season, with nine 20-point efforts
• Has made 229 career 3-pointers, ranking fifth in program history and fifth among Power 5 conference players over the last three seasons
• Joined the 1,000-point club in a win over No. 23 Tennessee (12/18), finishing the year with 1,372 career points, 25th in program history
• Averaged 18.7 points, 2.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists at the Pac-12 Tournament, with 10 of her 19 made field goals coming from behind the arc
  • In nine career Pac-12 Tournament games, is averaging 17.4 points on 50 percent shooting, including 48.5 percent from the 3-point line
• Went off for a career-high 29 points at Colorado (2/16), including the game-tying 3-pointer, followed by a steal and a game-winning 40-foot buzzer beater in a 69-66 victory
  • Made seven 3-pointers against the Buffaloes, one of 12 in program history to hit that many in a single game
  • The first Stanford player since Bonnie Samuelson in 2014-15 to combine for at least 11 made 3-pointers in back-to-back games, adding four at Utah (2/14)
• Made at least three 3-pointers in 10 games, including six of the last nine games of the year
• Dished at least five assists in 14 games, with a season-high nine against Washington (1/5)
• Tied a career-high with seven rebounds twice: vs. California Baptist (11/28) and USC (2/9)
• Played the entire 45 minutes in an overtime loss at No. 13 Arizona (2/28), scoring 27 points
• Nabbed a season-best three steals twice: vs. Gonzaga (11/17) and Colorado (1/24)
  • Made six free throws vs. the Bulldogs

As a Sophomore (2018-19) | Game-by-Game Stats (PDF) • Pac-12 Tournament Champions

• Chicago Regional NCAA All-Tournament Team
• All-Pac-12 – Coaches and Media
• Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Finalist
• Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention
• Started all 36 games and averaged 14.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 34.5 minutes
• Shot 42.2 percent from the field (189-of-448), 36.7 percent on 3-pointers (91-of-248) and 79.3 percent at the line (46-of-58)
• Scored in double figures in 28 games and had seven 20-point efforts
• The first Stanford player to average 4.5 assists in a season since Jeanette Pohlen in 2010-11
• 91 made 3-pointers are tied for third in program history (Krista Rappahahn; 2006)
• Has made 162 career 3-pointers, 10th among Power 5 conference players over the past two seasons
• Averaged 34.5 minutes per game, the second most for a Stanford player in the last two decades (Milena Flores; 37.6; 1999-00)
• Put up 16.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists at the Pac-12 Tournament with 11 of of her 15 made field goals coming from behind the arc
• Had her first career double-double with 21 points and 10 assists in a Jan. 6 win against UCLA
  • Was Stanford’s first 20-point, 10-assist double-double since Jeanette Pohlen had 21 and 12 in a win over USC on Jan. 22, 2011
• Grabbed a career-high seven rebounds in the Pac-12 Tournament against Cal (3/8)
• Tallied a career-high five steals in the regional semifinal against Missouri State (3/30)

As a Freshman (2017-18) | Game-by-Game Stats (PDF)

• All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention – Coaches
• Pac-12 All-Freshman Team – Coaches and Media
• Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Finalist
• Pac-12 All-Tournament Team
• Two-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week (Jan. 8; Feb. 5)
• Played in all 35 games, started 26 and averaged 10.4 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 25.7 minutes
• Shot 41.4 percent from the floor (128-of-309), 38.4 percent from deep (71-of-185) and 81.8 percent at the line (36-of-44)
• 71 made 3-pointers are the second most for a Stanford freshman in program history behind Jamie Carey (81; 1999-2000)
• Fourth in the conference and 71st in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (.384)
• Fifth in the Pac-12 and 108th nationally in 3-point makes (71)
• 27th in the league in scoring and second among freshmen (10.4)
• Averaged 3.1 points and shot 20.7 percent (6-of-29) in her first seven games and in the final 28 upped those numbers to 12.2 points on 43.6 percent shooting (122-of-280)
• Scored in double figures in 19 of the season’s final 28 games
• Averaged 13.3 points per game in the NCAA Tournament, which was third among freshmen
• Poured in 21 on 8-of-16 shooting (.500), including a 5-of-8 clip from deep (.625), in her NCAA Tournament debut against Gonzaga (3/17)
• Shot 56.9 percent (29-of-51) from deep in the last nine games to lead the country during that span
• Was voted to the Pac-12 All-Tournament Team after averaging 17.7 points on 70.4 percent shooting (19-of-27), including 72.2 percent from deep (13-of-18) in three games in Seattle
• Tied Oregon State’s Sydney Wiese (2016) for the second-most 3-point makes in tournament history (13)
• Scored 24 on 6-of-7 shooting from behind the arc in Stanford’s semifinal win over Arizona State (3/3)
• Season-high six 3-pointers tied for the third most in a single game in Pac-12 Tournament history
• Posted a season high with 26 points to go with four steals in the regular-season home finale against Cal (2/15)
• 26 points were the most for a Stanford freshman since Nneka Ogwumike had 27 in the NCAA Tournament against San Diego State on March 23, 2009
• Had a season-high seven assists in a win over Arizona (1/28)
• Went more than 99 minutes without a turnover from Feb. 2 at No. 16 Oregon State until Feb. 11 against Colorado
• Grabbed a season-high six rebounds against Utah (2/9)
• Averaged 11.0 points and 2.4 assists per game in conference
• Came off the bench to score 17 at San Francisco (11/29) and 13 at No. 3 Baylor (12/3) before starting the rest of the season beginning with UNLV on Dec. 16
• Scored Stanford’s first 10 points on the road against the Lady Bears

USA Basketball

• Won silver with the United States at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru in Aug. 2019
• Averaged 5.2 points, 2.4 assists and 1.6 steals in 17.8 minutes per game in her first event with USA Basketball
• Had previous experience at trials at the U17 (2014 and 2016) and U16 (2015) levels

Prior to Stanford

• A 2017 graduate of Karen Wagner High School in San Antonio, Texas
• A five-star talent, rated as the eighth best player in the country according to ESPN HoopGurlz and 12th by Prospects Nation
• McDonald’s All-American (2017)
• Jordan Brand Classic All-American (2017)
• WBCA High School Coaches’ All-American (2017)
• Naismith High School Girls’ Second Team All-American (2017)
• Stanford’s first top-10 recruit since Chiney Ogwumike signed as the top player in the country in Nov. 2009
• Two-time team captain
• Averaged 21.0 points, 3.8 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 3.1 steals in leading her team to a 26-5 overall record in 2016-17
• Earned MVP honors for the West Team at the 2017 Jordan Brand Classic after scoring a game-high 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting
• Averaged 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and 2.5 steals per game as a junior
  • First-team all-state selection for the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches as well as the Texas Girls Coaches Association
• Two-time District 27 champion (2014, 2015)
• Two state championship tournament appearances (2014, 2015)
• District 27 Newcomer of the Year (2014)
• San Antonio All-Area All-American (2015)
• Played five years of club for San Antonio’s Finest

Personal

• Born in San Antonio, Texas
• Daughter of LaChelle and Michael Williams
• Has three older brothers, Chancy Campbell, Michael Williams and Javion Coleman
• Brother, Chancy, was a running back at Abilene Christian and a 2002 Texas 6A state champion with Converse Judson High School
  • Played in the 2004 U.S. Army All-American Bowl
• Father played linebacker at Texas Southern
• Graduated summa cum laude, was a three-time National Honor Society member and once received Spanish National Honor Society recognition
• Volunteered at Haven for Hope, a place of new beginnings for those experiencing homelessness in in Bexar County

COURTESY STANFORD ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS