HARTFORD, Conn. _ As she embarks on her professional basketball career, Megan Walker tied a bow on her time in Storrs by picking up one of the most prestigious honors that can be given to a college basketball player: First-Team All-American.
Walker was named to the Associated Press' All-American First Team Thursday afternoon, alongside Oregon's Sabrina Ionescu and Ruthy Hebard, Baylor's Lauren Cox and Kentucky's Rhyne Howard. Walker, a junior, and Howard, a sophomore, are the only non-seniors in the group.
Walker received 14 First-Team votes out of a possible 30. Ionescu, a unanimous choice this year, earned her third First-Team All-American nod, joining the ranks of UConn greats Breanna Stewart and Maya Moore, Brittney Griner (Baylor), Chamique Holdsclaw (Tennessee), Alana Beard (Duke) and Courtney Paris (Oklahoma) as players to receive that honor at least three times.
Walker's selection marks the 26th time a Husky has earned AP First Team honors. UConn has had at least one first teamer each of the last seven years.
Fellow Huskies Crystal Dangerfield and Olivia Nelson-Ododa were among the AP's 22 honorable mentions. Florida State's Kiah Gillespie, who was a two-time Gatorade player of the year for Connecticut at Hartford's Capital Prep, was also an honorable mention.
Walker, this season's AAC player of the year and the most outstanding player of the conference tournament, led the Huskies with 19.7 points per game this season while also averaging 8.4 rebounds. She compiled 1,251 points and 615 rebounds in her three years in Storrs before declaring for the WNBA Draft on Saturday.
A recent mock draft from ESPN's Mechelle Voepel projected Walker would be drafted to the Dallas Wings with the fifth overall pick and that the Washington Mystics would take Dangerfield with the 12th and final pick of the first round.
