After defending Caitlin Clark twice this season, Celeste Taylor will now play alongside the sport’s biggest star. The Indiana Fever selected Clark with the
No. 1 overall pick in Monday’s WNBA Draft and then took Taylor in the second round with the 15th selection.
“I mean, she’s a terrific player,” Taylor said of Clark, via ESPN’s broadcast. “Terrific. You know, it’s hard to guard her. We tried our best but to now be
teammates, and trying to get after it and work hard in training camp, I’m excited.
“It’s taken me back to when we played together at USA, but it’s gonna be amazing.”
Taylor’s selection marks the third time ever Ohio State has had two players picked in the same WNBA Draft, as point guard Jacy Sheldon got the call from the Dallas Wings at No. 5 overall earlier in the night.
The program also accomplished that feat in 2018 when both Kelsey Mitchell and Stephanie Mavunga were drafted by the Indiana Fever. Mitchell, notably, is still with the Fever.
Taylor earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors and was a finalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award in her lone season with
the Buckeyes after winning ACC Defensive Player of the Year the previous season at Duke.
“I just take a lot of pride in the journey,” an emotional Taylor said to ESPN’s Holly Rowe after getting drafted.
“It’s definitely a long road. My parents, having them as my backbone to continue to support me at every single stop … it was hard, but just knowing that they had my back, it helped me.”
Taylor led the Big Ten with 2.5 steals per game this season. She also averaged double-digit points for the fourth time in her career, posting 10.1 points per
game, not to mention her career-high 3.4 assists per contest as well as 4.1 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per outing. She shot a career-best 40.9% from the field and tied for the second-most 3-pointers on the team with 40.
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