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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.

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