WNBA bound! Mikiah Herbert Harrigan leaps way up into first round of draft
“Mad Kiki” is headed to Minnesota.
South Carolina women’s basketball star Mikiah Herbert Harrigan was selected No. 6 overall in Friday’s WNBA Draft by the Minnesota Lynx, completing a massive rise up draft boards after a stellar senior season.
“I wasn’t expecting my name to get called that early, but it did, and I’m happy for that,” Herbert Harrigan told reporters on a conference call from her home in Florida, where she watched the draft unfold virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Before the start of the 2019-20 season, Herbert Harrigan wasn’t included in any first-round mock drafts after a tumultuous offseason in which she briefly entered the transfer portal before deciding to stay at USC after meeting again with coach Dawn Staley.
The 6-foot-2 forward wound up blossoming, posting a career high 13.1 points per game as a senior. She led the No. 1 team in nation in scoring while becoming just the third player in program history to record 1,000 points and 200 blocks in her career, and her fiery play and passion earned her the moniker “Mad Kiki” and endeared her to fans.
“I feel like I’ve grown a lot, off and on the court,” over the past year, Herbert Harrigan said. “The big thing was my maturity on the court and stuff like that. That really helped me improve and bring my game to the next level.”
She was named All-SEC for her season and also earned Most Outstanding Player honors in the SEC tournament. Staley said a week before the draft that she had heard from pro general managers and coaches that Herbert Harrigan’s stock was rising into the first round.
But heading into Friday’s draft, even the latest mock drafts had her going in the later stages of the first round. Instead, she became the fourth highest draft pick in program history at sixth. She’ll be the only former Gamecock currently on the Lynx. Counting fellow senior Tyasha Harris, who was taken the pick after her at No. 7, Herbert Harrigan is South Carolina’s 12th WNBA draft pick and ninth in the first round.
WNBA All-Star Skylar Diggins-Smith sang the praises of Herbert Harrigan in a Instagram Live interview with analyst LaChina Robinson before the draft.
“Kiki Herbert Harrigan though, she’s tough. I just like her demeanor. You can’t be scared. You can’t be scared, so if she can make a pick and pop shot, if she can rebound, if she can defend one through four … she can immediately come in, I think she should be All-Rookie team, for sure.”
Herbert Harrigan will be joining one of the WNBA’s most storied franchises — the Lynx have won four league championships in the past decade, more than any other team. But Minnesota has taken a step back the past two years, losing in the first round of the playoff both seasons. Under coach/GM Cheryl Reeve, however, UConn product Napheesa Collier was the league’s Rookie of the Year in 2019 after being selected at No. 6, and Herbert Harrigan expressed confidence that she could also make an instant impact.
“I’m really excited about it. I definitely think I can contribute early,” Herbert Harrigan said. “Just continue working on my game and doing whatever I need to do to help my team win.”
This story was originally published April 17, 2020 at 7:47 PM.
