When UConn guard Kaitlyn Chen attended the 2025 WNBA Draft on Monday, she was just being a good teammate. Chen went with the rest of the Huskies to cheer on Paige Bueckers, who was selected as the No. 1 overall pick by the Dallas Wings.
Instead, Chen got a surprise: She was drafted as well. The guard was selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third round, as the 30th overall pick. Being drafted, while a happy surprise, was a surprise to Chen nonetheless.
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“I was really just here to watch Paige get drafted, and I’m so happy for her, but it’s been an unreal night,” Chen told reporters after being selected.
Chen’s selection earned one of the biggest cheers of the night, as her UConn teammates shouted and hugged her after the pick. The team, clearly tipped off to what was about to happen, all stood around Chen with their phones out, ready to record the moment.
“To be able to experience that with my team all around me and them all jumping and screaming was pretty amazing,” Chen told reporters.
The story rings similarly to last year, when Iowa guard Kate Martin attended the 2024 draft to support Caitlin Clark and ended up getting drafted by the Las Vegas Aces in the second round. Martin, who was selected by the Valkyries in the expansion draft, will now be Chen’s teammate for Golden State’s inaugural season.
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Chen joined UConn for her senior year, transferring after three seasons at Princeton. The guard, a Southern California native, first caught UConn coach Geno Auriemma’s eye during a matchup between the Tigers and the Huskies in December 2022, when Chen had 18 points and seven assists in a narrow loss to UConn.
Chen’s transfer paid off: She started 40 games for the Huskies, averaging 6.9 points and helping lead UConn to a national championship.
Princeton has never taken Chen’s transfer personally and has been publicly rooting for her all season. The team congratulated Chen on her selection Monday.
Now, Chen will have a chance to join Golden State as the team embarks on its inaugural season. Head coach Natalie Nakase will be hoping to lead the Valkyries to success in the team’s first year — and having great teammates like Chen and Martin in the locker room certainly won’t hurt.
