Two Latinas left their mark on this year’s WNBA Draft. The draft, which occurred on April 10th, selected Brazilian-born Stephanie Soares and Mexican-born Lou Lopez Sénéchal in the top five picks.
Soares was born in Sao Paulo and comes from a family of Basketball players. She began her college basketball career in 2018, playing for Iowa State, where she was ranked as one of the NCAA’s top players. During her freshman and sophomore years she the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
In the case of Lopez Sénéchal, she was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, and played college basketball at UConn. She became the first Mexican to be selected in a WNBA draft. “I’ve had a great journey to get here,” she said, per ESPN. “My coach told me that he had a lot of confidence in me, in my work and in my performance.”
Lopez Sénéchal had a great performance over the course of March Madness, taking her team to the Sweet 16 round. She is of Mexican and French citizenship, having lived in France since she was 5 years old.