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10 former Pac-12 standouts on WNBA opening day rosters

May 14, 2016

SAN FRANCISCO - The 20th season of the WNBA tips off today and 10 former Pac-12 players will help usher in the milestone season for the league. Five different Pac-12 schools are represented on eight different team rosters. Both CALIFORNIA and STANFORD have the most former players on roster with three each.

Just selected in the WNBA draft last month, UCLA’s Nirra Fields and OREGON STATE’s Ruth Hamblin earned roster spots. Fields joins former Bruin Noelle Quinn on the Phoenix Mercury and open the season at defending WNBA Champion Minnesota Lynx. Hamblin will put on a Dallas Wings uniform for the first time today and will go against former ARIZONA STATE Sun Devil Briann January, who has seven years of experience under her belt.

The Atlanta Dream has a pair of CALIFORNIA Golden Bears on the roster with Reshanda Gray welcoming Layshia Clarendon to the team after Clarendon was traded to the squad this week. The Bears have three former players on WNBA rosters as Brittany Boyd starts her second season with the New York Liberty. It ties for the most WNBA players with STANFORD.

The Ogwumike sisters Chiney and Nnemkadi play on opposite sites of the country, Chiney playing for the Connecticut Sun while Nnemkadi is with the Los Angeles Sparks. Jayne Appel-Marinelli rounds out the trio of Cardinal in the WNBA, marking her sixth season with the San Antonio Stars.

In addition to the players, several WNBA assistant coaches hail from Pac-12 schools. USC graduates Karleen Thompson and Miles Cooper are assistants on the Atlanta Dream, while former ARIZONA Wildcat Julie Hargrove is an assistant for the Phoenix Mercury. Shelley Patterson from WASHINGTON STATE is an assistant with the Minnesota Lynx.

For more information on the WNBA, including a full season schedule, visit wnba.com.

PLAYER PAC-12 SCHOOL WNBA TEAM
Layshia Clarendon California Atlanta Dream
Reshanda Gray California Atlanta Dream
Chiney Ogwumike Stanford Connecticut Sun
Ruth Hamblin Oregon State Dallas Sun
Briann January Arizona State Indiana Fever
Nnemkadi Ogwumike Stanford Los Angeles Sparks
Brittany Boyd California New York Liberty
Nirra Fields UCLA Phoenix Mercury
Noelle Quinn UCLA Phoenix Mercury
Jayne Appel-Marinelli Stanford San Antonio Stars