After tearing her ACL in the final regular season game of her collegiate career, Elizabeth Kitley wasn鈥檛 quite sure what to expect on the night of the WNBA Draft.
Before her injury 鈥� which she suffered during the third quarter of a game against Virginia on March 3 鈥� the Summerfield, North Carolina native was projected by many to be a first-round pick. And for a lot of reasons. The 6-foot-6 Kitley had become a three-time Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year while playing for Virginia Tech and holds the conference鈥檚 career record for rebounds (1,506) and double-doubles (76).
Kitley had surgery to repair the knee last month and showed up to Monday night鈥檚 draft in Brooklyn, New York wearing a bulky black brace on her left leg. During the second round, she had to put her crutches to use to walk up on stage after WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert called her name.
The Las Vegas Aces 鈥� the WNBA鈥檚 reigning champs 鈥� selected Kitley in the second round with the 24th overall pick.
鈥淢y emotions have been so up and down over the last six weeks. I had different expectations in February than I did at the end of March,鈥� Kitley said Monday night. 鈥淭o be able to learn from the people at Vegas for the next year 鈥� what more could you ask for? 鈥� I'm really excited, and that's my No. 1 emotion right now.鈥�
A product of Northwest Guilford High School, Kitley was the only North Carolina native selected in this year鈥檚 WNBA Draft and one of just three ACC players selected. The others were Syracuse鈥檚 Dyaisha Fair and Louisville鈥檚 Kiki Jefferson. Former Duke guard Celeste Taylor 鈥� who transferred to Ohio State ahead of this past season 鈥� was taken 15th by the Indiana Fever.
While Kitley鈥檚 father Ralph played at Wake Forest and professionally in Germany, she says she didn鈥檛 start taking basketball seriously until high school. There, at Northwest Guilford, she blossomed into a top prospect while winning a pair of state championships.
But North Carolina and Duke didn鈥檛 recruit Kitley, and she fell in love with Blacksburg, Virginia, and took her talents out of the Tar Heel State and to Virginia Tech, where she become the catalyst for a transformative era for Hokies鈥� women鈥檚 basketball. Kitley started in all 151 games she played in for the Hokies and averaged 17.9 points, 10 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game while leading the program to new heights.
Before Kitley鈥檚 arrival, Virginia Tech had little success or history to brag about in women鈥檚 basketball. With her leading the way, the Hokies won an ACC Tournament in Greensboro last season, went to the program鈥檚 first-ever Final Four in 2023, won the ACC鈥檚 regular-season title this season, and hosted five sellout games in Cassell Coliseum this year. Virginia Tech has already announced plans to retire Kitley鈥檚 No. 33 jersey. The three-time AP All-American leaves as the program鈥檚 all-time leader in games started, minutes played, rebounds and points scored.
鈥淭hat means everything. Those five years at Virginia Tech were so, so special. I wouldn't change a thing about it,鈥� Kitley said. 鈥淭he people I had around there, the teammates, the coaches, they were just incredible. They made me who I was. For me to bring that attention to Virginia Tech was just so fun.鈥�
Kitley will forever be part of this WNBA Draft class 鈥� which also includes Iowa鈥檚 Caitlin Clark and LSU鈥檚 Angel Reese 鈥� that brought tremendous levels of growth in viewership and attention to women鈥檚 basketball. More than 18.7 million people tuned in to watch this year鈥檚 national title game, making it the most-watched women鈥檚 basketball game on-record. The WNBA is hoping that new fans continue to follow these players.
鈥淭he class that I'm in right now has done an incredible job to bringing attention to women's sports, women's basketball, and now taking it into this league I think is super exciting,鈥� Kitley said. 鈥淚 think we're already seeing the impact of that on little girls. I think they're way more aware of it than I was at that age, and that's super exciting.鈥�
Kitley joins an Aces team coached by Becky Hammon and led on the court by South Carolina product A鈥檍a Wilson. It鈥檚 unclear, because of her injury, whether Kitley will suit up for the Aces this year. Whether she鈥檚 on the court or on the sidelines, she鈥檒l do what she can to help the team win its third straight WNBA championship.
