Sometime after 7 tonight, Shereesha Richards will become the first University at Albany basketball player ever to be drafted by a top-tier North American league.
She will also be the first female Great Dane athlete ever to be drafted, per the university.
The three-time America East Player of the Year is expected to go somewhere in the second round of the WNBA Draft, to be held at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut. (There are 12 picks in each of the three rounds.) The Rae Town, Jamaica, native who got a late start in basketball goes down as one of the premier athletes in Capital Region sports history. The senior leaves UAlbany as its all-time leading scorer, man or woman, with 2,440 points. She also hauled in 1,053 rebounds while leading the Danes to four straight America East crowns and its first-ever Division I NCAA Tournament win, a 61-59 upset over No. 5 Florida.
Richards will not be the first-ever Great Dane to be drafted. That honor goes to Terry Kenny, who was selected in 9th round of the Major League Baseball Draft back in 1974.
And UAlbany has been a pipeline for professional lacrosse players: In 2015, Lyle Thompson — considered one of if not the best college lacrosse player of all time — was the No. 1 overall pick of both Major League Lacrosse and the National Lacrosse League.
According to the University of Albany, here are Great Danes to have been drafted by North American professional sports franchises:
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE DRAFT
Kurt Campbell: 7th round (245th overall), Green Bay Packers, 2005.
Rashad Barksdale: 6th round (201st overall), Philadelphia Eagles, 2007.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL FIRST-YEAR PLAYER DRAFT
Terry Kenny: 9th round (211th overall), San Francisco Giants, 1974.
Steve Checksfield: 26th round (776th overall), Houston Astros, 2001.
Mike Grasso: 11th round (335th overall), Atlanta Braves, 2002.
Adam Kroft: 30th round (882nd overall), San Diego Padres, 2004.
Tom Hill: 34th round (1,023rd overall), Kansas City Royals, 2007.
Mike Konstanty: 39th round (1,169th overall), Cincinnati Reds, 2008.
Dave Kubiak: 36th round (1,110th overall), Tampa Bay Rays, 2001.
Sean Lucas: 25th round (772nd overall), Cincinnati Reds, 2012.
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER SUPERDRAFT
Steward Ceus: 3rd round (37th overall), Colorado Rapids, 2009.
MAJOR LEAGUE LACROSSE (FIRST-YEAR PLAYER) DRAFT
Frank Resetarits: 3rd round (22nd overall), Washington Bayhawks, 2007.
Jordan Levine: 1st round (10th overall), New Jersey Pride, 2008.
Brett Queener: 5th round (48th overall), Rochester Rattlers, 2008.
Corey Small: 3rd round (22nd overall), Toronto Nationals, 2009.
Chris Schongar: 4th round (43rd overall), Toronto Nationals, 2009.
Dave Brock: 6th round (36th overall), Toronto Nationals, 2010.
Brian Caufield: 6th round (32nd overall), Rochester Rattlers, 2011.
Joe Resetarits: 5th round (39th overall), Hamilton Nationals, 2012.
Miles Thompson: 3rd round (20th overall), Rochester Rattlers, 2014.
Ty Thompson: 4th round (28th overall), Rochester Rattlers, 2014.
Lyle Thompson: 1st round (1st overall), Florida Launch, 2015.
John Maloney: 3rd round (22nd overall), Chesapeake Bayhawks, 2016.
Blaze Riorden: 6th round (51st overall), Rochester Rattlers, 2016.
NATIONAL LACROSSE LEAGUE ENTRY DRAFT
Merrick Thomson: 1st round (2nd overall), Philadelphia Wings, 2007.
Frank Resetarits: 1st round (5th), San Jose Stealth, 2007.
Steve Ammann: 3rd round (33rd overall), New York Titans, 2008.
Jordan Levine: 4th round (47th overall), Philadelphia Wings, 2008.
Mike Ammann: 5th round (59th overall), New York Titans, 2008.
Corey Small: 1st round (9th overall), Edmonton Rush, 2009.
Frank Resetarits: 3rd round (24th overall), Washington Stealth, 2009.
Dave Brock: 1st round (7th overall), Boston Blazers, 2010.
Joe Resetarits: 1st round (6th overall), Calgary Roughnecks, 2012.
Mike Woods: 2nd round (16th overall), Toronto Rock, 2013.
Miles Thompson: 1st round (3rd overall), Minnesota Swarm, 2014.
Ty Thompson: 3rd round (26th overall), New England Black Wolves, 2014.
Lyle Thompson: 1st round (1st overall), Georgia Swarm, 2015.
Categories: -Sports-, College Sports
