For just the second time under Adia Barnes, two Arizona Wildcats heard their names called by Cathy Engelbert. On Monday evening, Esmery Martinez and Helena Pueyo were selected in the 2024 WNBA Draft.
Esmery Martinez was selected in the second round with the 17th pick by the New York Liberty. Helena Pueyo was also a second round pick, drafted 22nd by the Connecticut Sun.
As if getting drafted and competing for a roster spot wasn’t exciting enough, both Martinez and Pueyo got drafted by teams with recent success in the league. The Liberty are fresh off a 2023 WNBA Finals appearance. The Sun made a championship appearance two years ago, before falling to the Las Vegas Aces in 2022.
Martinez, a two-time All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention (2023, 2024), joins several fellow Pac-12 players, including Sabrina Ionescu (Oregon), Kennedy Burke (UCLA), and Nyara Sabally (Oregon). USC’s Kaitlyn Davis was also selected by the New York Liberty in the third round with the 35th-overall pick.
Pueyo, the Arizona program record holder in career steals (312) and two-time All-Pac-12 Defensive Team selection, is set to join former Oregon State standout and Phoenix, AZ native Sydney Wiese, who was drafted with the 11th-overall pick in the 2017 WNBA Draft. Pueyo will also join fellow Spaniard Astou Ndour-Fall in Uncasville, CT.
Monday marks the first time two Wildcats were selected in the same draft since 2021. Aari McDonald was drafted third by the Atlanta Dream, while Trinity Baptiste was selected 24th by the Indiana Fever. Esmery Martinez and Helena Pueyo are also the 12th and 13th Arizona players selected in the WNBA Draft.
WNBA training camp begins on April 28, and preseason games begin soon after that on May 3. Final roster cuts are on May 13, with the season starting on May 14.