ESPN Reports Abuse Allegations Influenced WNBA Teams’ Decision on Top Prospect

For 38 players from across the globe, their WNBA dreams came true Monday night.

The WNBA draft took place in New York as some of the best players from college or overseas waited for their names to be called. It started with UConn’s Paige Bueckers going No. 1 overall to the Dallas Wings, and ended with Adja Kane of France going to the New York Liberty.

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One player who many expected to go sometime during the draft and was frequently shown by ESPN as the “best available” but didn’t hear her name called, was TCU’s Sedona Prince. As explained on the broadcast by Ryan Ruocco, her prior assault allegations were a massive deterrent for some franchises.

“Sedona Prince, who has not been drafted yet, was projected in the second round or better,” Ruocco said. “All-conference center, was a huge contributor in TCU’s best season ever. Off the court has faced assault accusations from four women since 2019. Has denied those allegations. Has not been charged with a crime, our reporting confirms though that this is something that teams were looking at along with her age and her injury history.”

According to a report by ESPN from before the draft, TCU students filed a petition for her dismissal from the program after “accusations of sexual assault and intimate partner violence were made public.” The petition received over 200,000 signatures, eventually leading to Prince denying the allegations on TikTok.

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“I’ve never abused anybody emotionally, physically, mentally, verbally,” Prince said via ESPN. That’s not me, and that’s not what I’ve done. That’s not who I am.”

Throughout her career, which included stops at Texas, Oregon and TCU, Prince averaged 14.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 2.3 blocks per game.

At 6-foot-7, she may get a chance from a WNBA team eventually, but she is on the outside looking in for now.

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