Rae Burrell

American basketball player
Rae Burrell
No. 12 – Los Angeles Sparks
PositionGuard / forward
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (2000-06-21) June 21, 2000 (age 23)
Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight168 lb (76 kg)
Career information
High schoolLiberty High School
(Henderson, Nevada)
CollegeTennessee (2018–2022)
WNBA draft2022: 1st round, 9th overall pick
Selected by the Los Angeles Sparks
Career history
2022-PresentLos Angeles Sparks
Career highlights and awards
  • SEC All-Second Team (2021)
  • SEC Academic Honor Roll (2020)

Rae Burrell (born June 6, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for the Tennessee Volunteers after attending Liberty High School in Henderson, Nevada, where she was named the Las Vegas Review-Journal Best of Nevada Preps Female Athlete of the Year in 2018.[1]

College career

Burrell was ranked the 43rd overall recruit by ESPN's HoopGurlz and committed to play for the Tennessee Volunteers.[2][3] In her freshman season, she played in every game - averaging 12.7 minutes. She scored a season high of 14 points, twice, against Presbyterian and Florida A&M.[4]

During her sophomore campaign, Burrell became the team's top reserve. She finished the year averaging 10.5 points and 5.5 rebounds. She also recorded the first double-double of her career against Mississippi State with 20 points, 10 rebounds, three steals, and one block.[5]

As a junior, Burrell averaged 16.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. She also was the only Volunteer to start all the games. She played well in the NCAA Tournament, scoring 22 points against Middle Tennessee in their opening game.[6]

Before her senior season, Burrell was ranked the 24th best women's college basketball player entering the 2021–2022 season.[7] In an early game against Southern Illinois, she went down with a knee injury that caused her to miss several weeks.[8] After returning from injury, Burrell played in 22 games, averaging 12.3 points and 3.9 rebounds. She turned up her play late in the year after fellow guard Jordan Horston went down with an injury. She led the Volunteers back to the Sweet Sixteen - before falling to the Louisville Cardinals. She scored 22 points to end her Tennessee career.[9]

On March 29, Burrell announced on Instagram that she would not be taking her COVID-Extra Year and would be putting her name in the 2022 WNBA draft.[10]

Professional career

Los Angeles Sparks (2022–present)

Burrell was selected 9th overall in the 2022 WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks.[11]

Burrell did not make the Sparks roster following the 2023 training camp, but was signed to a hardship contract in May.[12][13] Burrell was released from the hardship after 2 days. Burrell returned for a second hardship contract on June 17, 2023.[14] On February 1, 2024, Burrell signed a multi-year contract with the Sparks.

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader

College

Source[15]

Year Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2018–19 Tennessee 32 116 .317 .219 .568 2.8 0.4 0.9 0.3 3.6
2019–20 Tennessee 31 326 .410 .328 .600 5.5 1.4 0.9 0.5 10.5
2020-21 Tennessee 25 419 .458 .402 .825 4.6 1.8 0.9 0.4 16.8
2021-22 Tennessee 22 270 .364 .325 .794 3.9 1.6 0.6 0.3 12.3
Career 110 .402 .341 .703 4.2 1.3 0.6 0.4 10.3

WNBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2022 Los Angeles 3 1 14.7 .111 .167 1.000 1.0 0.3 0.7 0.0 0.3 1.7
2023 Los Angeles 29 3 11.1 .387 .390 .810 1.2 0.6 0.4 0.1 0.5 3.6
Career 2 years, 1 team 32 4 11.4 .363 .362 .826 1.2 0.6 0.5 0.1 0.5 3.4

References

  1. ^ "Here is the Review-Journal's Female Athlete of the Year". reviewjournal.com. Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  2. ^ "2018 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings - espnW 100". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  3. ^ Fleser, Dan. "Lady Vols get commitment from Rae Burrell, a 6-foot-1 wing". knoxnews.com. Knox News. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  4. ^ Megargee, Steve. "No. 11 Lady Vols trounce Presbyterian 97-49 without Davis". dailyherald.com. Daily Herald. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  5. ^ Cornelius, Maria. "Rae Burrell tallies double-double in first career start". 247sports.com. Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  6. ^ "No. 13/15 UT Defeats MT In NCAA First Round, 87-62". utsports.com. UT Athletics. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  7. ^ Creme, Charlie. "Women's college basketball: Top 25 players for 2021-22". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  8. ^ Hall, Cora. "Lady Vols basketball's Rae Burrell is out indefinitely, but it's not an ACL injury". knoxnews.com. Knox News. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  9. ^ Cornelius, Maria. "Rae Burrell pours in 22 points; Lady Vols come up short in Sweet 16". 247sports.com. Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  10. ^ Haren, Jarvis. "Tennessee Lady Vol Rae Burrell declares for WNBA Draft". wcyb.com. WCYB. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  11. ^ "LA Sparks Draft Rae Burrell Ninth Overall in the 2022 WNBA Draft". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  12. ^ "Sparks Waive Karlie Samuelson and Rae Burrell". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  13. ^ "Sparks Sign Forward Rae Burrell to Hardship Contract". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  14. ^ "Los Angeles Sparks Sign Forward Rae Burrell to Hardship Contract". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  15. ^ "Rae Burrell Stats". utsports.com. UT Athletics. Retrieved May 6, 2022.

External links

  • Career statistics and player information from WNBA.com Edit this at Wikidata and Basketball-Reference.com Edit this at Wikidata
  • Tennessee Volunteers bio