Kansas Jayhawks’ Taiyanna Jackson selected in Monday’s Round 2 of 2024 WNBA Draft

For the first time since 2015, the Kansas Jayhawks on Monday had a women’s basketball player chosen in the WNBA Draft.

Senior center Taiyanna Jackson, the KU program’s all-time leader in blocked shots, was taken in the second round by the Connecticut Sun.

Jackson, a 6-foot-6 standout from East Chicago, Indiana, was the 19th overall pick in the draft, the seventh pick in Round 2. The eighth all-time WNBA Draft pick in KU history is the first Jayhawk to be taken since Chelsea Gardner was the 21st pick of the Indiana Fever in 2015.

Jackson is the fourth Jayhawk to be selected in the second round of the WNBA Draft.

A three-time Big 12 all-defensive team selection, Jackson blocked 301 shots in her KU career. She ranked third in the country in blockes (97) in 2023-24 to go with 12.6 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. She blocked a school-record 109 shots during the 2021-22 campaign.

Jackson averaged a double-double in both of her final two seasons at Kansas, becoming the first Jayhawk since 1982 to accomplish the feat over the course of an entire season.

In 2023-24, she recorded 14 double-doubles, giving her 41 for her career, which ranks second in school history behind Lynette Woodard.

Jackson finished her college career as KU’s all-time field goal percentage leader (.620). She’s No. 2 in KU history in games with 10 or more rebounds (50). She’s also No. 3 in program history with 1,027 career rebounds and No. 23 on the all-time scoring list with 1,227 career points.

Jackson earned first-team all-Big 12 mention for her junior and senior seasons. She is also a two-time All-America honorable mention selection by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and a two-time Naismith defensive player of the year semifinalist.

In 2022-23, Jackson was a candidate for the Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Award, and she was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2023 WNIT. Jackson was twice named the Big 12 Player of the Week during the 2023-24 season.

She earned that honor four times in her Kansas career, which matched Danielle McCray and Chelsea Gardner for the most by a KU player in conference history.

The Connecticut Sun being their training camp on April 28. Preseason games start on May 3. Final rosters for the 2024 WNBA season will be set on May 13, with the regular season set to tip on May 14.

Jackson will compete for a spot on the Sun’s roster and attempt to become the first Jayhawk to appear on a regular-season WNBA roster since Angel Goodrich played 23 games with the Seattle Storm during the 2015 season.

Kansas All-Time WNBA Draft Picks

2024, Round 2, Pick 19 – Taiyanna Jackson, Connecticut Sun

2015, Round 2, Pick 21 – Chelsea Gardner, Indiana Fever

2013, Round 3, Pick 29 – Angel Goodrich, Tulsa Shock

2010, Round 1, Pick 7 – Danielle McCray, Connecticut Sun

2001, Round 3, Pick 42 – Jaclyn Johnson, Orlando Miracle

2000, Round 1, Pick 7 – Lynn Pride, Portland Fire

2000, Round 2, Pick 25 – Charisse Sampson, Seattle Storm

1997, Round 2, Pick 14 – Tamecka Dixon, Los Angeles Sparks