Photo by: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Eight Pro Bruins Prepare for 2025 WNBA Season
May 16, 2025 | Women's Basketball, Bruin Varsity Club
LOS ANGELES – UCLA Women's Basketball is well-represented in the WNBA as the women's professional league kicks off its 2025 season Friday.
The Bruins boast five total players on four teams and claim two of the head coaching gigs in the W; Natalie Nakase and the Golden State Valkyries make their historic debut at the Chase Center against the Los Angeles Sparks Friday night. Noelle Quinn returns to the helm for the Seattle Storm, her fifth season in charge of the Pacific Northwest's women's basketball team.
Ann Meyers Drysdale will also be following the Phoenix Mercury as an analyst with its broadcast team for the summer.
WNBA Bruins
Monique Billings – Golden State Valkyries
Years at UCLA: 2014-18
WNBA Draft: Selected by the Atlanta Dream – 2018, 2nd Round, 15th Pick
Billings was selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the 2024 WNBA Expansion Draft via the Phoenix Mercury and will start her eighth year in the league under first-time head coach Natalie Nakase. The veteran forward spent the first six years of her career with the Atlanta Dream before landing in Dallas ahead of the 2024 season. Billings finished the 2024 campaign with the Mercury, and she averaged 7.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists over her 37 appearances.
While she was with the Bruins, Billings was named two-time All-Pac-12 and two-time All-Defensive Team Honoree by coaches and media. She finished her career ranks first in UCLA history with 228 blocks. Billings became only the third player in UCLA history and the 14th in the Pac-12 to score over 1,500 points and grab over 1,000 rebounds; she averaged 12.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 26.9 minutes per game during UCLA career. She was selected in the second round of the 2018 WNBA draft by the Dream.
Kennedy Burke – New York Liberty
Years at UCLA: 2015-19
WNBA Draft: Selected by the Dallas Wings – 2019, 2nd Round, 22nd Pick
Burke returns for the 2025 season with the reigning WNBA champion New York Liberty; she appeared in 38 games, making three starts in 2024. She'll start the year with UCLA alum Rebekah Gardner as a teammate in the Big Apple.
While in Westwood, Burke became the fourth player in UCLA women's basketball history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocks. She helped the Bruins reach the NCAA Tournament all four years, advancing to the Elite Eight as a junior, and was named to the PAC-12 All-Defensive Team as a senior.
Jordin Canada – Atlanta Dream
Years at UCLA: 2014-18
WNBA Draft: Selected by the Seattle Storm – 2018, 1st Round, 5th Pick
Canada starts year eight in the WNBA with the Atlanta Dream; she was acquired by the Dream prior to the 2024 season. The point guard is a two-time WNBA Champion (2018, 2020), two-time WNBA Steals leader (2019, 2023) and two-time WNBA All-Defensive First Team (2019, 2023) member. She played 20 games for the Dream in 2024, averaging 10.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game. Canada recorded her first double-double of her Dream career against Dallas (Sept. 6) with 15 points and a season-high 10 assists.
Canada has been ruled out with a right knee injury to begin the 2025 season; the point guard will be re-evaluated two weeks into the summer campaign.
Rebekah Gardner – New York Liberty
Years at UCLA: 2008-12
Gardner started her WNBA career in 2022 with the Chicago Sky. The Bruin was No. 2 among rookies in steals per game (1.4) and No. 5 among rookies in scoring (8.4 PPG), leading to her being named to 2022 All-WNBA Rookie Team and 2022 AP All-WNBA Rookie Team.
She sat out the 2024 season due to injury but has returned to the New York Liberty's roster ahead of the 2025 campaign. During her last full season, Gardner was No. 8 in league field goal percentage (2022, 35 GP: .542 FG%).
Michaela Onyenwere – Chicago Sky
Years at UCLA: 2017-21
WNBA Draft: Selected by the New York Liberty – 2021, 1st Round, 6th Pick
The 2021 WNBA Rookie of the Year returns to the Chicago Sky after a year in the Windy City. Onyenwere shot a career-best 41.5 percent from the floor (.368 3FG%) in the 2024 campaign with the Sky; she averaged 6.6 points and 1.8 rebounds per game over her 34 appearances.
Onyenwere is a four-year letter winner for the UCLA Bruins. As a senior in 2020-21, she averaged 19.1 points and 7.2 rebounds while shooting 42.1 percent, leading UCLA to a Sweet Sixteen appearance…. She finished her collegiate career as fourth overall leading scorer in program history (1,888 points) and was named a Third-Team All-American by AP and USBWA in two consecutive seasons (2019-20, 2020-21).
Natalie Nakase – Golden State Valkyries (Head Coach)
Years at UCLA: 1998-2003
A two-time champion with the Las Vegas Aces, Nakase spent the past three seasons (2022-24) as the first assistant coach with the Nevada WNBA team. The WNBA's first Asian head coach boasts more than 16 years of professional basketball coaching experience, including 10 seasons in the NBA with her hometown Los Angeles Clippers.
Nakase began her UCLA career as a walk-on women's basketball player. During her career (1998-2003), she played her way into the starting lineup and served as a three-time team captain for the Bruins. She started in 87-consecutive games to finish her Bruin career, earning All-Pac-10 Honorable Mention in the 2001-02 campaign.
Noelle Quinn – Seattle Storm (Head Coach)
Years at UCLA: 2003-07
WNBA Draft: Selected by the Minnesota Lynx – 2007, 1st Round, 4th Pick
Quinn leads the Seattle Storm for her fifth-consecutive season; she was named Storm head coach on May 30, 2021. She led the Storm to a 25-15 record in 2024. Seattle averaged 83.2 points per game, ranking fifth in the league, and held opponents to 78.8 points per game (fourth in the WNBA).
Noelle Quinn achieved a UCLA Basketball first, becoming the first Bruin men's or women's player to total 1,700 points, 700 rebounds and 400 assists in her career. She finished her career ranked in the school's Top 10 in 14 different categories, including points (1,829), rebounds (794) and assists (450). Quinn was a two-time honorable mention All-American, a three-time first-team All-Pac-10 player and a two-time Pac-10 All-Tournament honoree. Quinn was selected by the Minnesota Lynx in the 2007 WNBA draft and enjoyed an 12-year career in the league that culminated in a WNBA Championship with the Seattle Storm in 2018.
Ann Meyers Drysdale – Phoenix Mercury (Broadcast Team)
Years at UCLA: 1974-78
The first woman athlete ever to receive a full scholarship at UCLA, Ann Meyers earned seven letters — four in basketball, two in volleyball and one in track and field — in her four years with the Bruins (1975-78). While at UCLA, she was a member of the U.S. Olympic basketball team that won a silver medal at the 1976 Games.
Now a successful sportscaster, Ann carried the American flag and competed in the Pan American Games in Puerto Rico, competed in the Spartakiade in Moscow; played against the People's Republic of China and, in 1977, won a silver medal at the World University Games in Bulgaria. She also won a gold medal in the 1975 Pan American Games at Mexico City. She is the sister of Dave Meyers, a forward on John Wooden's last championship team in 1975.
The Bruins boast five total players on four teams and claim two of the head coaching gigs in the W; Natalie Nakase and the Golden State Valkyries make their historic debut at the Chase Center against the Los Angeles Sparks Friday night. Noelle Quinn returns to the helm for the Seattle Storm, her fifth season in charge of the Pacific Northwest's women's basketball team.
Ann Meyers Drysdale will also be following the Phoenix Mercury as an analyst with its broadcast team for the summer.
WNBA Bruins
Monique Billings – Golden State Valkyries
Years at UCLA: 2014-18
WNBA Draft: Selected by the Atlanta Dream – 2018, 2nd Round, 15th Pick
Billings was selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the 2024 WNBA Expansion Draft via the Phoenix Mercury and will start her eighth year in the league under first-time head coach Natalie Nakase. The veteran forward spent the first six years of her career with the Atlanta Dream before landing in Dallas ahead of the 2024 season. Billings finished the 2024 campaign with the Mercury, and she averaged 7.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists over her 37 appearances.
While she was with the Bruins, Billings was named two-time All-Pac-12 and two-time All-Defensive Team Honoree by coaches and media. She finished her career ranks first in UCLA history with 228 blocks. Billings became only the third player in UCLA history and the 14th in the Pac-12 to score over 1,500 points and grab over 1,000 rebounds; she averaged 12.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 26.9 minutes per game during UCLA career. She was selected in the second round of the 2018 WNBA draft by the Dream.
Kennedy Burke – New York Liberty
Years at UCLA: 2015-19
WNBA Draft: Selected by the Dallas Wings – 2019, 2nd Round, 22nd Pick
Burke returns for the 2025 season with the reigning WNBA champion New York Liberty; she appeared in 38 games, making three starts in 2024. She'll start the year with UCLA alum Rebekah Gardner as a teammate in the Big Apple.
While in Westwood, Burke became the fourth player in UCLA women's basketball history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocks. She helped the Bruins reach the NCAA Tournament all four years, advancing to the Elite Eight as a junior, and was named to the PAC-12 All-Defensive Team as a senior.
Jordin Canada – Atlanta Dream
Years at UCLA: 2014-18
WNBA Draft: Selected by the Seattle Storm – 2018, 1st Round, 5th Pick
Canada starts year eight in the WNBA with the Atlanta Dream; she was acquired by the Dream prior to the 2024 season. The point guard is a two-time WNBA Champion (2018, 2020), two-time WNBA Steals leader (2019, 2023) and two-time WNBA All-Defensive First Team (2019, 2023) member. She played 20 games for the Dream in 2024, averaging 10.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game. Canada recorded her first double-double of her Dream career against Dallas (Sept. 6) with 15 points and a season-high 10 assists.
Canada has been ruled out with a right knee injury to begin the 2025 season; the point guard will be re-evaluated two weeks into the summer campaign.
Rebekah Gardner – New York Liberty
Years at UCLA: 2008-12
Gardner started her WNBA career in 2022 with the Chicago Sky. The Bruin was No. 2 among rookies in steals per game (1.4) and No. 5 among rookies in scoring (8.4 PPG), leading to her being named to 2022 All-WNBA Rookie Team and 2022 AP All-WNBA Rookie Team.
She sat out the 2024 season due to injury but has returned to the New York Liberty's roster ahead of the 2025 campaign. During her last full season, Gardner was No. 8 in league field goal percentage (2022, 35 GP: .542 FG%).
Michaela Onyenwere – Chicago Sky
Years at UCLA: 2017-21
WNBA Draft: Selected by the New York Liberty – 2021, 1st Round, 6th Pick
The 2021 WNBA Rookie of the Year returns to the Chicago Sky after a year in the Windy City. Onyenwere shot a career-best 41.5 percent from the floor (.368 3FG%) in the 2024 campaign with the Sky; she averaged 6.6 points and 1.8 rebounds per game over her 34 appearances.
Onyenwere is a four-year letter winner for the UCLA Bruins. As a senior in 2020-21, she averaged 19.1 points and 7.2 rebounds while shooting 42.1 percent, leading UCLA to a Sweet Sixteen appearance…. She finished her collegiate career as fourth overall leading scorer in program history (1,888 points) and was named a Third-Team All-American by AP and USBWA in two consecutive seasons (2019-20, 2020-21).
Natalie Nakase – Golden State Valkyries (Head Coach)
Years at UCLA: 1998-2003
A two-time champion with the Las Vegas Aces, Nakase spent the past three seasons (2022-24) as the first assistant coach with the Nevada WNBA team. The WNBA's first Asian head coach boasts more than 16 years of professional basketball coaching experience, including 10 seasons in the NBA with her hometown Los Angeles Clippers.
Nakase began her UCLA career as a walk-on women's basketball player. During her career (1998-2003), she played her way into the starting lineup and served as a three-time team captain for the Bruins. She started in 87-consecutive games to finish her Bruin career, earning All-Pac-10 Honorable Mention in the 2001-02 campaign.
Noelle Quinn – Seattle Storm (Head Coach)
Years at UCLA: 2003-07
WNBA Draft: Selected by the Minnesota Lynx – 2007, 1st Round, 4th Pick
Quinn leads the Seattle Storm for her fifth-consecutive season; she was named Storm head coach on May 30, 2021. She led the Storm to a 25-15 record in 2024. Seattle averaged 83.2 points per game, ranking fifth in the league, and held opponents to 78.8 points per game (fourth in the WNBA).
Noelle Quinn achieved a UCLA Basketball first, becoming the first Bruin men's or women's player to total 1,700 points, 700 rebounds and 400 assists in her career. She finished her career ranked in the school's Top 10 in 14 different categories, including points (1,829), rebounds (794) and assists (450). Quinn was a two-time honorable mention All-American, a three-time first-team All-Pac-10 player and a two-time Pac-10 All-Tournament honoree. Quinn was selected by the Minnesota Lynx in the 2007 WNBA draft and enjoyed an 12-year career in the league that culminated in a WNBA Championship with the Seattle Storm in 2018.
Ann Meyers Drysdale – Phoenix Mercury (Broadcast Team)
Years at UCLA: 1974-78
The first woman athlete ever to receive a full scholarship at UCLA, Ann Meyers earned seven letters — four in basketball, two in volleyball and one in track and field — in her four years with the Bruins (1975-78). While at UCLA, she was a member of the U.S. Olympic basketball team that won a silver medal at the 1976 Games.
Now a successful sportscaster, Ann carried the American flag and competed in the Pan American Games in Puerto Rico, competed in the Spartakiade in Moscow; played against the People's Republic of China and, in 1977, won a silver medal at the World University Games in Bulgaria. She also won a gold medal in the 1975 Pan American Games at Mexico City. She is the sister of Dave Meyers, a forward on John Wooden's last championship team in 1975.
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