Kaitlyn Chen heading back to home state after draft night surprise

After growing up outside Los Angeles in San Marino, California, Kaitlyn Chen spent her college years in the northeast at Princeton and UConn. Now, she’ll begin her professional career back in her home state after being selected 30th overall by the Golden State Valkyries in the 2025 WNBA Draft.

But since Chen didn’t expect to hear her name called on Monday night, she’s just happy to end up anywhere in the league. The fact that she’ll be back in California benefits her parents more than anyone.

“My parents have been through so much with me and they've been there for every step of the way. I know that red-eye across the country to the East Coast is not the easiest, so I'm glad it will now be an hour flight for them instead of five,” she said. “So yeah, it means a lot to be able to go back to the West Coast.”

Given the limited number of roster spots in the WNBA, it’s usually difficult for third round picks to stick. But Chen may have landed in the perfect situation with Golden State.

As an expansion team set to begin their first season, the Valkyries don’t have many foundational pieces. That means if Chen performs well on training camp, they should have less trouble fitting her onto the roster compared to more established franchises. She’s getting in at the ground floor.

“[I’m excited] to be a part of something that's starting from scratch and be a part of that sort of build,” Chen said.

The selection came as a surprise to her, though. While Geno Auriemma said on multiple occasions that he expected Chen to be picked at some point, she wasn’t planning on it. She traveled down to New York City for the draft alongside the Huskies’ entire roster simply to support Paige Bueckers, who went No. 1 overall to the Dallas Wings.

So as the number of picks remaining dwindled, Chen didn’t feel any nerves or anxiety.

“Caroline (Ducharme) next to me kept telling me to be ready,” she relayed. “She almost didn't let us use the bathroom just in case.”

But at 9:41 p.m., WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert stepped up to the podium and announced that the Valkyries had taken her with the 30th overall pick. Chen was mobbed by screaming teammates and she walked from the crowd to the stage to pose for a photo. The humble point guard was still wide-eyed when she spoke to the media shortly afterwards.

“Honestly, still in a little bit of shock. It's still a little overwhelming. I was really just here to watch Paige get drafted and I'm so happy for her. But it's been an unreal night,” she said. “I didn't really have any expectations coming into the night.”

Now, Chen heads to the next stage of her career as UConn’s latest transfer portal success story. After a great career at Princeton, she came to Storrs and proved she could perform at the highest level by running the point for the eventual national champions.

The exposure from playing for the Huskies has helped other transfers boost their draft stock. Dorka Juhász got drafted by the Minnesota Lynx and has carved out a nice role with the team following a move from Ohio State to UConn. Lou Lopez Sénéchal was on WNBA radars as 2022 MAAC Player of the Year but ended up as the No. 5 pick in the 2023 draft after starring with the Huskies.

Chen made the most of her time at UConn and earned herself an opportunity in the WNBA — even if she didn’t see it coming.

“There's probably a lot of really, really good players —whether in the Ivy League or the MAAC — that nobody gets a chance to see. So then all of a sudden, they come to our place, people see them all the time and go, ‘Oh, that kid’s pretty good,’” Auriemma said. “We look long and hard for kids like that. We've been fortunate. Kaitlyn was another one and maybe there's another one out there somewhere.”