Michigan star Leigha Brown drafted 15th overall by Atlanta Dream in second round of 2023 WNBA Draft

Former Michigan guard Leigha Brown starred for the Wolverines for the past three seasons, and now she’s on to a WNBA career. She’ll begin that journey with the Atlanta Dream, who selected her with 15th overall pick in the second round of the WNBA Draft on Monday.

Brown helped the Wolverines to an Elite Eight appearance in 2022 and got them to the second round of the NCAA Tournament this past season. She led Michigan with 17.5 points along with 5.8 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game first team Big Ten honors as well as honorable mention All-American by the Associated Press in 2022-23.

Brown scored 1,188 points across her three seasons with the Wolverines, ranking 17th in program history. Before Michigan, Brown spent two seasons at Nebraska, scoring a total of 1,910 points in her five-year college career. She is also one of just 13 players in Wolverines history with 300 career assists. Her 174 assists this past season were just four shy of the program record.

Brown will reunite with former Michigan teammate Naz Hillmon, who was also a part of the Elite Eight run in 2022. Atlanta selected Hillmon with the 15th overall pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft, and she went on to average 4.4 points and 5.1 rebounds in her rookie season.

Brown joins Stanford guard Haley Jones and South Carolina power forward Laeticia Amihere as the draft picks for the Dream. That trio will team up with last year’s No. 1 overall pick and Rookie of the Year Rhyne Howard, who led the team with 16.2 points per game.

Atlanta finished 14-22 last season to miss the playoffs for the fourth straight year. ESPN analyst Charlie Creme believes Brown will fit right in with the Dream, highlighting her ability to contribute in multiple ways.

“Brown’s versatility will give her a chance to make the Dream, who are clearly looking for that kind of player with the earlier selections of Jones and Amihere,” he wrote. “Brown was one of just three Division I players to average 15 points, five assists and five rebounds per game. At 6-foot-1, Brown is a physical guard who can get into the paint — and she’s a good decision maker once she gets there.”

Leigha Brown is the second Michigan player taken in the WNBA Draft in the past two seasons. Prior to that, the Wolverines had not had a player taken since 2005.