Source: Radio New Zealand
Charlisse Leger-Walker of the UCLA Bruins makes a pass during the second half of their game against the Tennessee Lady Vols at UCLA Pauley Pavilion on 30 November 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Luiza Moraes / Getty Images North America / Getty Images via AFP
Charlisse Leger-Walker has become just the second New Zealand woman to earn a contract in the WNBA – the premier women’s basketball league in the world.
Leger-Walker was picked up by the Connecticut Sun with the 18th pick in the draft which was held in New York on Tuesday.
Five of her UCLA college team-mates were selected in the first round, while Leger-Walker was the third pick in the second round.
Last month, the 24-year-old guard became the first New Zealand woman to win the NCAA basketball title.
Leger-Walker attended St Peter’s School in Cambridge before starting her collegiate career in the United States.
She played for Washington State between 2020 and 2024, before transferring to the UCLA Bruins.
A serious knee injury meant she didn’t play her first season for UCLA but she had a dream final NCAA this year with the Bruins, playing 38 games, averaging 28 minutes, 8.4 points and 5.6 assists.
In the NCAA final against South Carolina, Leger-Walker scored 10 points.
Her mother, Leanne Walker, is a former Tall Fern, and her sister Krystal has also represented New Zealand.
The only other New Zealand woman to compete in the WNBA was Megan Compain who played for Utah Starzz in 1997.
University of Connecticut guard Azzi Fudd was taken by the Dallas Wings as the number one pick in the WNBA draft.
Leger-Walker’s UCLA team-mate Lauren Betts was selected by the Washington Mystics with the fourth pick.
Leger-Walker becomes the first New Zealand woman to be drafted into the WNBA.
Speaking after her selection, Leger-Walker hoped it would inspire others back home.
“I’m just really humbled that I can be that role model and hope that everybody watching from New Zealand knows that they belong here and if they set their sights high they can be limitless.”
She said she was looking forward to joining up with her new team-mates.
“Going in with an open mind, taking in a lot from the vets, learning a lot and just being the best team-mate I can be in whatever role that is.”
The 2026 WNBA season starts in early May with the Sun playing the New York Liberty.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
