New York, NY (April 10, 2019)—After months of speculation, the wait finally ended at 4:10 pm PT today when WNBA Chief Operating Officer Christin Hedgepeth strode to the podium at Nike Headquarters in New York City and announced “With the first pick in the 2019 WNBA Draft, the Las Vegas Aces select … Notre Dame guard, Jackie Young.”
One of the few triple-threat offensive players in the nation, Young was one of just four collegians in 2018-19 to average more than 14.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. She also ranked third in the nation in shooting percentage by a guard, and made 45.2 percent of her three-pointers for good measure.
The Princeton, Indiana native was named an AP All-American this season, and also earned ACC Tournament MVP honors, averaging 19.3 points, 10.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists in the three games.
“As we continue to build the Aces into a championship contender, one need we identified was strength and athleticism on the perimeter,” said Las Vegas General Manager Dan Padover. “Jackie will provide that immediately on both ends of the floor. She is also the consummate teammate and a smart basketball player. She will do all of the little things that winning teams need, and has all the tools on the offensive end to be a difficult matchup in the WNBA for years to come.”
Young was a late entry into the draft pool, declaring her intention to forgo her final year of eligibility just two days ago. As a draft-eligible junior, she had 24 hours after her final game to announce her decision, and her final game happened to be the national championship game Sunday evening.
| CAREER COLLEGIATE STATISTICS | |||||||||||||||||||
| G-GS | Min-MPG | FG-FGA | FG% | 3G-3GA | 3G% | FT-FTA | FT% | OR | DR | REB | RPG | PF-DQ | A | TO | B | S | Pts | PPG | |
| 2016-17 (Notre Dame) | 33-0 | 707-21.4 | 88-190 | .463 | 11-29 | .379 | 53-66 | .803 | 66 | 86 | 152 | 4.6 | 77-0 | 47 | 48 | 9 | 27 | 240 | 7.3 |
| 2017-18 (Notre Dame) | 38-38 | 1308-34.4 | 212-408 | .520 | 11-39 | .282 | 116-147 | .789 | 102 | 150 | 252 | 6.6 | 68-0 | 139 | 93 | 18 | 52 | 551 | 14.5 |
| 2018-19 (Notre Dame) | 38-37 | 1225-32.2 | 211-400 | .528 | 14-31 | .452 | 124-158 | .785 | 102 | 179 | 281 | 7.4 | 55-0 | 192 | 73 | 16 | 49 | 560 | 14.7 |
| Totals | 109-75 | 3240-29.7 | 511-998 | .512 | 36-99 | .364 | 293-371 | .790 | 270 | 415 | 685 | 6.3 | 200-0 | 378 | 214 | 43 | 128 | 1351 | 12.5 |
DRAFT NOTES
The Aces have had the number one overall pick four times in the history of the franchise—1998, Margo Dydek (Utah Starzz); 2017, Kelsey Plum (San Antonio Stars); 2018, A’ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces); and 2019, Jackie Young (Las Vegas Aces).
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Jackie Young is the second Notre Dame player to be selected with the number one overall pick in the WNBA Draft, joining Jewell Loyd, whom the Seattle Storm selected in 2015.
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Jackie Young is the second Notre Dame player that the Aces have selected in the WNBA Draft—2014, Kayla McBride, No. 3 overall (San Antonio Stars).
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Jackie Young is the 15th Notre Dame player to be selected in the WNBA Draft.
| Year | Round | Pick | Player | Team |
| 2019 | 1 | 1 | Jackie Young | Las Vegas Aces |
| 2019 | 1 | 5 | Arike Ogunbowle | Dallas Wings |
| 2019 | 1 | 11 | Brianna Turner | Atlanta Dream |
| 2019 | 2 | 16 | Jessica Shephard | Minnesota Lynx |
| 2019 | 2 | 19 | Marina Mabrey | Los Angeles Sparks |
| 2017 | 2 | 14 | Lindsay Allen | New York Liberty |
| 2015 | 1 | 1 | Jewell Loyd | Seattle Storm |
| 2014 | 1 | 3 | Kayla McBride | San Antonio Stars |
| 2014 | 1 | 9 | Natalie Achonwa | Indiana Fever |
| 2013 | 1 | 3 | Skylar Diggins | Tulsa Shock |
| 2012 | 1 | 3 | Devereaux Peters | Minnesota Lynx |
| 2012 | 1 | 8 | Natalie Novosel | Washington Mystics |
| 2008 | 3 | 43 | Charel Allen | Sacramento Monarchs |
| 2006 | 3 | 31 | Megan Duffy | Minnesota Lynx |
| 2005 | 2 | 17 | Jacqueline Batteast | Minnesota Lynx |
| 2002 | 1 | 5 | Ruth Riley | Miami Sol |
| 2001 | 1 | 5 | Ruth Riley | Miami Sol |
| 2001 | 2 | 19 | Niele Ivey | Indiana Fever |
| 2001 | 3 | 48 | Kelley Siemon | Los Angeles Sparks |
Bill Laimbeer, a Notre Dame grad, has coached five former Notre Dame players in his WNBA career—Lindsay Allen (2018 Las Vegas Aces), Kayla McBride (2018 Las Vegas Aces), Jacqueline Batteast (2006), Ruth Riley (2003-06, Detroit Shock), Niele Ivey (2005, Detroit Shock). Jackie Young will be the sixth. That is a record. Or at least I am claiming it is.