The NBA offseason is here, and now the WNBA will give basketball fans something to look forward to throughout the summer.
With Detroit being announced as an expansion spot for the league on Tuesday, June 30, there’s never been a better time for fans in Michigan to really start locking into the league.
Caitlin Clark, A’ja Wilson and Angel Reese might make headlines and appear on commercials, but there are several players — past and present — who made their names on Michigan high school basketball courts.
Here is a list of WNBA players who called Michigan home early in their careers.
Active players
Crystal Bradford – Inkster: The Las Vegas Aces forward was considered a top-50 overall recruit in 2011 by ESPN after leading the Vikings to a state championship over Detroit Renaissance and earned an all-state honor in the same year. Bradford attended Central Michigan University and became the first Chippewa to be selected in the WNBA draft.
Rickea Jackson – Detroit Edison: Jackson led Detroit Edison to three consecutive state championships (2017-2019), and won three All-State honors from the Michigan Basketball Coaches Association, which named her Miss Basketball in 2019. After high school, she attended Mississippi State for her first three seasons before transferring to Tennessee for the next two seasons. Her season averages of 20 points and eight rebounds with the Lady Vols led her to being selected fourth overall in the 2024 draft to the Los Angeles Spark.
Aaliyah Nye – East Lansing: The East Lansing graduate led the Trojans to the MHSAA state championship game in 2018, but came up short to Saginaw Heritage in a 57-36 loss. In 2020, Nye was the runner-up for Miss Basketball and earned All-State honors. She played three seasons at Alabama after transferring from Illinois. She was selected No. 13 overall in the 2025 draft by the Aces.
Aerial Powers – Detroit Country Day: Powers appeared in two of Country Day’s three consecutive title appearances from 2008 to 2010. She was named the Associated Press Class B Player of the Year in 2011 and 2012 and earned first team All-State honors her junior year. In her years at Michigan State, Powers averaged 19 points and 10 rebounds and became the first freshman in school history to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors, according to Michigan State’s website. After college, she was drafted fifth overall in the 2016 draft to the Dallas Wings and has played for Washington, Minnesota, Atlanta and Golden State.
Notable former players
Lindsay Bowen–Dansville: Bowen’s name can be found all over the MHSAA records books as one of the best scorers in the state. She ranks fifth overall in career points with 2,577 and scored over 700 points in back-to-back seasons (2000 and 2001). She continued her basketball career at Michigan State, where she held the program record for most made 3-pointers for over a decade and earned All-Big Ten honors all four years. Although she was never drafted, Bowen did find her way to the WNBA where she played six games with the New York Liberty.
Tonya Edwards – Flint Northwestern: Edwards led the Wildcats to three consecutive state championship appearances in the 1980s where the team won back-to-back titles in 1983 and 1984. She tallied a career total 2,307 points, putting herself in the top 10 of the MHSAA career-best totals. Edwards won a third high school state championship for Flint Northwestern in 1993 as the team’s coach. She also won two national championships in 1987 and 1989 with the University of Tennessee under coach Pat Summit. In 1999, the Flint native entered the WNBA draft and was drafted to the Minnesota Lynx and was named an All-Star the same year. Edwards played four seasons in the WNBA.
Kysre Gondrezick –Benton Harbor: Gondrezick etched her name in the MHSAA’s record books when she set the record for most points scored in a single game, putting up 72 points in Benton Harbor’s 80-78 double-overtime district playoff game against Buchanan in 2016. She was also named Miss Basketball the same year and played at the University of Michigan for one season before transferring to West Virginia. In 2021, she was selected fourth overall to the Indiana Fever and played two seasons in the league.
Kristin Haynie – Mason: Haynie had success as a two-sport athlete at Mason High School in soccer and basketball, earning All-State honors and named the Lansing State Journal Player of the Year in each sport. She attended Michigan State after high school where she was named to the All-Big Ten freshman team, earned a first-team All-Big Ten honor her senior year and was a member of the 2005 Michigan State team that reached the championship game against Baylor. Haynie was a top-10 pick in the 2005 WNBA Draft and was selected by the Sacramento Monarchs and won a championship with the team during her rookie season and played for six seasons. She was inducted into the Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame in 2016, followed by the Michigan State Hall of Fame in 2017.
Pam McGee – Flint Northern: McGee, along with her twin sister Paula, led the Vikings to back-to-back state championships (1978-1979) and continued their winning ways during their time at USC (1983-1984). Pam McGee won gold with USA Basketball during the 1984 Olympics and played international professional basketball. Pam McGee was the second overall pick in the inaugural WNBA draft in 1997, going to the Sacramento Monarchs and was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012. Her son, Javale, played 16 years in the NBA.
Liz (Shimek) Moeggenberg – Glen Lake High School: The 2001 Miss Basketball winner played two seasons with the Chicago Sky after being drafted No. 18 overall in the 2006 WNBA Draft by the Phoenix Mercury. Before going pro, Moeggenberg was also a member of the 2005 Spartan team. She holds the program’s record for most career-made field goals (719) and rebounds (1,130) and was inducted into Michigan State Hall of Fame in 2021. Moeggenberg returned to her high school alma mater in 2012 as an assistant coach during the Lakers’ 2023 state championship run.
Deanna Nolan – Flint Northern: The Flint native found championship success throughout her years in Michigan. Nolan helped the Vikings win two consecutive state championships (1994 and 1995) and captured the 1996 Miss Basketball honor before playing college basketball at Georgia for three seasons. She returned to Michigan in 2001 after being drafted sixth overall by the Detroit Shock, which won three championships within Nolan’s nine season’s with the team. Nolan’s professional accolades include four All-Star appearances, five All-WNBA honors, and just as many All-Defensive team recognitions. She was named the 2006 WNBA Finals MVP.
Kristen Rasmussen – Okemos: Rasmussen ventured around the league throughout her eight-season career. After being drafted by the Utah Starzz in 2000, she played for various organizations including Indiana, Phoenix, Connecticut and Minnesota. In 2016, the former player returned to Okemos as the head coach of the girls basketball team.
Aiysha Smith – Redford Bishop Borgess: The 1997 Miss Basketball winner was selected seventh overall in the 2003 WNBA Draft by the Washington Mystics. Smith won two state championships with the Bishop Borges Spartans before playing at St. John’s and Louisiana State University in college.
Jennifer Smith – DeWitt: Smith’s high school achievements led her to two Hall of Fame inductions, one at her alma mater and the other for the Greater Lansing area. She finished her career with the Panthers with a 67-9 record, scored 1,011 career-points, led the team to three-consecutive Ingham County League Championships, earned first-team All-State honors in her senior year and was a finalist for Miss Basketball in 1999. She continued her career at Michigan, where she held the program’s single-season scoring record for 12 seasons and was a member of the All-Big Ten team in 2004. After college, Smith was drafted in the sixth round of 2004 WNBA Draft by the Detroit Shock, but was waived by the team and missed out on the season. She played two games for the New York Liberty in 2005 and played internationally.
Stacey Thomas, Flint Southwestern: On the basketball court in high school, Thomas was a two-time All-State player in 1994 and 1995 and was the Michigan Girls Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year for the 1995-96 season. She also won three state championships for the high jump with the school’s track and field team. During her time at Michigan, she set the program’s record for career steals with 372. Thomas played six seasons in the WNBA after being drafted in the second round to the Portland Fire and was a contributor to the Shock’s 2003 championship team. In 2011, she was inducted into the Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Fame.
Honorable mentions
Tabitha Pool of Ann Arbor Huron and Micaela Kelly of Martin Luther King High School had great careers in high school and in college and were both drafted in the WNBA, but were waived from their teams and did not log official minutes during their time, according to basketball reference.
Eric Guzmán covers youth sports culture at the Free Press as a corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support this work.
Contact Eric Guzmán: eguzman@freepress.com; 313-222-1850. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter: @EricGuzman90.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan high school basketball players who’ve made it to the WNBA