Alissa Pili selected by Minnesota Lynx in 2024 WNBA draft

Alissa Pili is headed to Minnesota.

The former Utah All-American forward was drafted by the Minnesota Lynx with the eighth overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft on Monday night.

She becomes the seventh Ute to be selected in the WNBA draft, and the first since Megan Huff was a third-round selection by the New York Liberty in 2019.

Pili thrived in Lynne Roberts’ system over the past two seasons — she was named the 2023 Pac-12 Player of the Year in her first season in Utah after transferring from USC, and this past season, she earned All-Pac-12 honors for the third time.

What is Minnesota getting in Pili?

Two-year averages at Utah: 21.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists per game.

Shooting percentages at Utah: 56.8% on field goals, 41.1% 3-point, 80.9% free throws.

The Alissa Pili file

Height: 6-foot-2.

Position: Forward.

College: USC (2019-22), Utah (2022-24).

Hometown: Anchorage, Alaska.

What others said about Alissa Pili

“Footwork, ball skills and shooting touch make Pili an intriguing prospect,” said ESPN’s Charlie Creme. “She has the makings of a pick-and-pop power forward. But she’s a bit slow as a defender and struggles to play vertically as a rebounder, so how Pili is used will be critical.”

“Even by the time you reach the latter stage of the first round in the WNBA draft, you’re not expecting to hit a home run as a general manager. This is when you may start to target players with one obvious skill, a label that applies to Utah’s Alissa Pili,” said Bleacher Report’s Joseph Zucker. “Pili shot 41.1 percent from beyond the arc in two years at Utah. While she’ll have to learn how to play without the ball much more (30.3 percent career usage rate, per Sports Reference), she has the potential to be a small-ball stretch 4.”

“I think she’s a pro-ready offensive player. My question is what do you do with her defensively? She’s 6 feet and she’s a center at 6 feet. Can she defend at our level?” an anonymous WNBA GM told The Athletic. “Can she make her body more prepared? Offensively, she can play in our league. It’s the other end of the floor that’s the question mark.”

Utah Utes players previously taken in the WNBA draft

2006 — Shona Thorburn, guard, first round, No. 7 overall pick, Minnesota Lynx.

2006 — Kim Smith, forward, first round, No. 13 overall pick, Sacramento Monarchs.

2008 — Leilani Mitchell, guard, second round, No. 25 overall pick, Phoenix Mercury.

2009 — Morgan Warburton, guard, third round, No. 33 overall pick, Sacramento Monarchs.

2014 — Michelle Plouffe, forward, second round, No. 19 overall pick, Seattle Storm.

2019 — Megan Huff, forward, third round, No. 26 overall pick, New York Liberty.