South Carolina women's basketball: Lynx pick Brea Beal
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Brea Beal was selected by Minnesota Lynx with the 24th pick in the WNBA Draft.
Beal becomes the 17th Gamecock selected in the WNBA Draft and the 13th of the Dawn Staley era. Earlier Monday, Aliyah Boston (first), Laeticia Amihere (eighth) and Zia Cooke (10th) were selected in the first round. Beal was the last pick of the second round.
An underappreciated defender for three seasons, Beal finally got the national recognition she deserved after shutting down Louisville’s Hailey Van Lith in the 2022 Final Four.
“Coming into college you’re expecting to score, you’re expecting to be the leading scorer of a team because that’s what you’re used to,” Beal said. “Just being able to establish another role and be great at that and build all-around character, it shows my growth, my discipline and my patience. Just to see that the Minnesota Lynx was able to see that, it’s a blessing to be there.”
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Beal rose up draft boards during her senior season. She continued to play outstanding defense but also made significant strides on offense. Beal shot 38% from three and finished second on the team in assists.
“You get so caught up in getting stops and whatever the case may be and only taking one or two shots per quarter because you’re just so caught up in getting those stops,” Beal said. “Just being levelheaded when there are games where I’m scoring and making plays, and on the other end I’m being passive on defense. So just being able to balance out.”
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Beal was named to the SEC All-Defensive Team as a senior and was a finalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year. She was also named an honorable mention all-American.
Beal helped lead the Gamecocks to the consensus #1 ranking before the 2020 NCAA Tournament was canceled. She led the Gamecocks to three Final Fours and the wire-to-wire national championship in 2022.
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Beal was widely projected to be a first-round pick, but dropped to the end of the second round. However, Minnesota is a stable franchise in a rebuilding mode. Beal is probably in a better position than several players drafted earlier in the second round. Beal joins former Gamecock Tiffany Mitchell in Minnesota.
The WNBA preseason starts on May 5, and the regular season starts on May 19. Minnesota opens the season on the 19th against Chicago.
