Tennessee women’s basketball standout Rickea Jackson has accepted an invitation to be in New York City on Monday night for WNBA Draft 2024 presented by State Farm®.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert will announce the draft picks live on ESPN with exclusive coverage beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET. The draft, along with the WNBA Countdown Presented by Google (ESPN, 7 p.m. ET) will also be available live on the ESPN App.
New this year, the draft will be held at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in Brooklyn, New York. This marks the first time the draft will be a seated event with fans in attendance since the 2014-16 drafts were held at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
The Indiana Fever possess the top pick in the WNBA Draft 2024 presented by State Farm, followed by Los Angeles, Chicago, Los Angeles (again) and Dallas rounding out the top five.
Jackson, a 6-foot-2 forward, finished as the official SEC leader in scoring this season at 20.2 points per game and contributed a team-high 8.2 rebounds per contest while adding 2.3 assists per outing. Her single-season scoring average is the ninth-best ever recorded by a Lady Vol. Jackson shot 48.5 percent from the field and 78.0 percent from the free throw line after overcoming an early-season injury that sidelined her for eight games.
The four-time All-America honorable mention selection, three-time All-SEC performer and two-time Cheryl Miller Award finalist is expected to become the 46th Lady Vol taken in all WNBA Drafts and the 44th in drafts featuring only college players.
In a variety of mock drafts, Jackson is projected to be taken No. 3 by Chicago (CBS Sports, The Sporting News), No. 4 by Los Angeles (ESPN) and No. 7 by Minnesota (The Next) in the opening round. If that is the case, she would become the 21st Lady Vol taken in the first round (19th in college-only drafts) and give UT first-round picks in four consecutive drafts for the first time in the program’s rich history.
The past three WNBA Drafts featured identical No. 9 overall picks for Tennessee’s Rennia Davis (Minnesota), Rae Burrell (Los Angeles) and Jordan Horston (Seattle) from 2021 through 2023, respectively. The Lady Vols previously had three in a row during the Pat Summitt era, celebrating first-round picks in 2001 (Tamika Catchings), 2002 (Michelle Snow) and 2003 (Kara Lawson, Gwen Jackson).
Jackson’s season stats were even more impressive against ranked teams, as she put up 25.0 ppg. and 10.0 rpg. in those contests in 2023-24. Over UT’s last 11 outings, which included three meetings with No. 1 South Carolina, one with No. 8 LSU and another with No. 11 NC State, the Big Orange star averaged 22.5 ppg. and 8.4 rpg. while shooting 52 percent from the field and 79 percent from the charity stripe.
The fifth-year standout recorded four double-doubles this season and 13 games with 20 or more points scored, including two with 30-plus. The number of 20+ efforts increased her two-year total on Rocky Top to 29, which ranks as the fifth-best ever by a Lady Vol behind only program legends Chamique Holdsclaw (83), Bridgette Gordon (58), Candace Parker (48) and Tamika Catchings (37). All of those players except Parker (three) spent four seasons at Tennessee.
Also reflective of her scoring prowess, Jackson tallied 1,176 points in only 60 games at UT, ranking No. 35 on a UT all-time scorer’s list that primarily features players who spent three or four seasons in Knoxville. Her 19.6 career average finished at No. 4 among Lady Vols, winding up behind only Patricia Roberts (29.9), Cindy Brogdon (20.8) and Chamique Holdsclaw (20.4) while finishing just ahead of Candace Parker and Jill Rankin (19.2).
For career point production, she generated 2,261 in 127 collegiate contests, ranking sixth among anyone who played at UT, including transfers. In 2023-24, she passed Tamika Catchings (2,113) and Candace Parker (2,137) and finished behind only Cindy Brogdon (3,204), Chamique Holdsclaw (3,025), Jill Rankin (2,851), Bridgette Gordon (2,462) and Patricia Roberts (2,447).
