Sam Thomas waited patiently for her chance at the pros.
If you’ve watched her on the court reaching for a block, a deflection or a steal, this wouldn’t surprise you. Thomas often waits until the timing is just right to strike.
When she went unselected in Monday’s WNBA Draft, Thomas — a five-year Wildcat who helped lead the team to the 2021 national championship game — chose her next step carefully.
Late that night, she signed a tryout contract with the Phoenix Mercury. Thomas will travel to Phoenix on Wednesday for a pre-camp physical and other activities. Starting next week, Thomas will begin competing for a spot on a team that made it to the finals last season.
Thomas could not be immediately reached for comment. She retweeted the UA women’s basketball team’s announcement of her signing with the words: “Couldn’t leave AZ, super excited for this opportunity.”
Making the Mercury won’t be easy: Phoenix’s roster includes seasoned vets like Diana Taurasi and Tina Charles. However, Phoenix may have room for a player with Thomas’ versatility and high basketball IQ. During her time at Arizona, Thomas started all 154 games she played in, and often defended her opponents’ best player. As a fifth-year senior, she shot 39% from the 3-point line. Thomas finished her career with 1,135 points, 220 steals and 169 blocks.
Thomas is one of two former Wildcats who will participate in WNBA training camps next week. Aari McDonald, who plays for the Atlanta Dream, is the other.
Pac still at the top
The Pac-12 had three first-round picks in the WNBA draft Monday night: Oregon’s Nyara Sabally went fifth overall to the New York Liberty, while Stanford’s Lexie Hull went sixth to the Indiana Fever and Colorado’s Mya Hollingshed went eighth to the Las Vegas Aces.
The league has had multiple first-rounders in six consecutive drafts, the most of any conference in the country. The Pac-12 has had three players go in the first round four times: 1997, 2000, 2020 and 2022.
More Wildcat nods
Kailyn Gilbert, who is in the Class of 2022 and Montaya Dew, who is the first player to verbally commit to the Class of 2023, will try out for the USA Basketball team that will compete for the 2022 FIBA Americas U18 Championship.
The trials will be held in Colorado Springs from May 31-June 4. They join McDonald and Lauren Ware as the only Wildcats who have tried out for a roster spot on USA Basketball during Adia Barnes’ coaching tenure.
Ware played on the U19 team last summer, winning gold in the FIBA World Cup.
Dew plays for Las Vegas Centennial — the same high school that Thomas attended. She is a 6-foot-2-inch forward who is ranked No. 19 overall in her class by ESPN.
Gilbert, who played for IMG Academy this year, has been named a Baden Hoops First Team All American. Fellow UA commit Maya Nnaji also earned the honor.
Another future Wildcat, Lemyah Hylton, made the BioSteel All Canadian Girls Basketball game and won the Nike 2-ball skills challenge.
