Kamilla Cardoso is headed to the league.
The South Carolina star announced on social media that she was declaring for the WNBA Draft on Monday night, just days before the Gamecocks are set to compete in their fourth straight Final Four. Cardoso is widely expected to be a lottery pick in the draft later this month.
Cardoso has been a huge part of the Gamecocks’ dominance during her time in South Carolina.
The 6-foot-7 center out of Brazil averaged 14.1 points and 9.4 rebounds per game this season while shooting just shy of 59% from the field, all of which were career highs for her. She’s averaged 15.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game in the NCAA tournament so far this spring, and she had 12 points and nine rebounds in their 70-58 win over Oregon State to reach the Final Four on Sunday. She was named the Most Outstanding Player of her region in Albany, too.
South Carolina has been to the Final Four now in all four of Cardoso’s seasons with the program. The Gamecocks entered the NCAA tournament with an undefeated record for a second straight year, and they’ve gone a combined 72-1 over the past two seasons. Their lone loss during that stretch came in last year's Final Four to Iowa. The Gamecocks will take on NC State in the Final Four first on Friday in Cleveland.
Though Hawkeyes star Caitlin Clark is widely expected to go No. 1 overall to the Indiana Fever in the WNBA Draft later this month, Cardoso shouldn't be far behind her. ESPN's Michael Voepel had Cardoso going No. 4 overall in his latest mock draft, behind only Clark, Stanford star Cameron Brink and Tennessee forward Rickea Jackson.
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