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Connecticut Sun select NC State's Saniya Rivers with No. 8 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft
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- Connecticut Sun select NC State's Saniya Rivers with No. 8 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft
No matter what it is, Saniya Rivers can do it all on the court. If there's a most intriguing player in the 2025 WNBA draft, Rivers fits the mold.
Rivers was selected by the Connecticut Sun with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA draft . The Sun previously selected LSU forward with the seventh pick .
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After starting her college career with a national championship at South Carolina, Rivers transferred to North Carolina State in hopes of doing the same in her home state. While the Wolfpack didn't win a title, Rivers was a key piece in NC State remaining an ACC powerhouse, and led the team to its second ever Final Four in 2024.
Each season continued to get better as Rivers went from a bench player to solidified starter.
NC State Wolfpack guard Saniya Rivers (22) brings the ball up court during the fourth quarter against North Carolina Tar Heels at First Horizon Coliseum.
She showed off what she could do in her senior season as she averaged 11.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, while leading the team with 3.8 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. The guard/forward turned it up toward the end of the season, and heads into the professional game with plenty of momentum, and scouts noticed.
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"Maybe the best athlete, overall athlete in the draft, and she's got a lot of length, too," Chicago Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca said of Rivers. "She's proven she can guard multiple positions, which always matters in our league, because with length you can cause some problems with point guards and wings. So you've got to pay attention to players like that."
Saniya Rivers career stats
Rivers played 128 games in her college career. Here are her career numbers, with her total NC State stats in parenthesis:
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Points per game: 9.2 (11.1)
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Rebounds per game: 5.1 (6.0)
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Assists per game: 3.1 (3.5)
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Steals per game: 1.6 (1.9)
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Blocks per game:1.0 (1.1)
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Field goal percentage: 39.5% (40.9%)
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Saniya Rivers is 2025 WNBA Draft No. 8 pick by Connecticut Sun
