Hokies center Elizabeth Kitley was selected with the 24th pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft by the Las Vegas Aces Monday.
View tweetA 6-foot-6 center from Summerfield, N.C., Kitley averaged 23 points and 11 rebounds per game in 2023-24. She was the only player in the country to finish in the top six in points and rebounds. She'll miss the 2024 season due to a knee injury (torn ACL) she suffered on March 3 at Virginia but will rehab to prepare for the 2025 campaign with Las Vegas, who won the last two WNBA titles.
"I get a year to sit behind and watch the best in the league, especially at my position with A'ja Wilson," Kitley told Holly Rowe of ESPN. "That's just incredible. ... [Aces guard] Chelsea Gray actually reached out to me, and that's just one example of someone that's given me their love and support, and it means a lot, it's brought me here today and hopefully I'll keep that hope and support for the next year."
Kitley is a three-time ACC Player of the Year and was an All-American in three consecutive seasons. She owns 12 different school records, including points (2,709), rebounds (1,506), blocks (331) and double-doubles (76). She is second on the ACC's all-time scoring list, too, and owns league records for rebounds and double-doubles. Virginia Tech announced on Saturday it's retiring her jersey at a game in the fall.
View tweetKitley's journey is unique. When she committed to Tech, the program was at the bottom of the ACC. Yet, she believed in the vision set out by coach Kenny Brooks and helped shape women's basketball in Blacksburg, inspiring so many fans along the way. Pre-Kitley, the Hokies were 236-237 (60-168 ACC). In her five seasons, they were 115-42 (60-28).
She guided the Hokies to three consecutive NCAA Tournaments in 2022, ’23 and ’24. In 2023, they were a No. 1 seed and made a run to the Final Four for the first time. She was also pivotal in Tech winning two conference championships in the last two seasons — at the ACC Tournament in Greensboro in 2023 and the regular-season title in 2024. Her presence helped sell out five regular-season games in 2023-24, too. Prior to the season, that had never occurred at Tech.
She's the fourth Hokie to be selected in the last three years, joining Aisha Sheppard (2022), Kayana Traylor and Taylor Soule (2023). Like Sheppard, she's headed to Vegas.
She was one of three ACC players taken in the 2024 draft, too, joining Syracuse's Dyaisha Fair (Aces) and Louisville's Kiki Jefferson (Minnesota Lynx).
For a full list of the 2024 WNBA Draft picks, click here.
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