By Cameron Lee
April 15, 2025
Photo: Pamela Smith / AP
Wilmington, North Carolina native Saniya Rivers was selected in the first round of the 2025 WNBA Draft, going No. 8 overall to the Connecticut Sun. The two-time First-Team All-ACC NC State guard — who won an NCAA championship with the South Carolina Gamecocks in 2022 before transferring — was also the 2020-21 Gatorade National Player of the Year. She is now the highest-drafted player in NC State women’s basketball history.
Saniya Rivers is heading to Connecticut as the No. 8 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft presented by @StateFarm! pic.twitter.com/uiH3Iwf9Xg
— WNBA (@WNBA) April 15, 2025
A standout at Eugene Ashley High School, Rivers averaged an astonishing 36.8 points, 11.5 rebounds, 5.3 steals, 5.1 assists, and 1.4 blocks per game as a senior per game as a senior, leading her team to a Mideastern Conference title in 2021. She played a pivotal role in the Wolfpack’s 2024 Final Four run, averaging 12.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 2.1 steals per game during her junior campaign. Rivers led NC State in assists, steals, and blocks this past season, earning ACC All-Defensive Team honors as well as an AP All-America Honorable Mention.
No. 8: Saniya Rivers
No. 12: Aziaha James @PackWomensBball has two first-round WNBA picks for the first time in program history 🔥 pic.twitter.com/LEv25nDUFM— ACC Network (@accnetwork) April 15, 2025
Rivers joins a Connecticut team that has lost several key players, including Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner, and Brionna Jones. She’ll suit up alongside fellow college standout Aneesah Morrow from LSU.
Another NC State star, Aziaha James, was also drafted in the first round, selected No. 12 overall by the Dallas Wings. A First-Team All-ACC selection in 2024 and 2025, the Virginia native led the Wolfpack in scoring during the 2024-25 season. She’ll join forces with No. 1 overall pick Paige Bueckers in Dallas. The Wings, who finished second-to-last in the WNBA standings last season, are hoping to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2023.
Saniya Rivers and Aziaha James on the WNBA draft orange carpet 👀@PackWomensBball pic.twitter.com/aiOK5NaaLn
— ACC Network (@accnetwork) April 14, 2025
This marks the first time in NC State history that two players have been selected in the first round of a WNBA or NBA draft. Last year, Elizabeth Kitley, a native of Summerfield, North Carolina, was selected 24th overall by the Las Vegas Aces out of Virginia Tech.
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