Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist will forgo last year of eligibility and enter the WNBA draft

Siegrist led Villanova to a 30-7 record and a spot in the Sweet 16 by leading the country in scoring at 29.2 points per game.

by Mike Jensen

Published March 27, 2023, 2:09 p.m. ET

As expected, Villanova star forward Maddy Siegrist announced Monday that she will enter the 2023 WNBA draft and will not use her added COVID year of eligibility. The draft is scheduled for April 10 in New York.

The leading scorer in Villanova basketball history played four seasons for the Wildcats, the final one ending Friday at the NCAA Sweet 16. She spent five years on campus, including a medical redshirt as a freshman. Siegrist is projected as a first-round draft choice.

”I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to have been a Villanova Wildcat,” Siegrist said in her own social media posting. “I can’t thank Villanova enough for welcoming me into the greatest community on Earth. From the first day I stepped on campus, I knew this would be my forever home. My college basketball career was everything that I dreamed of and more. However, when I look back on my career it is the people at Villanova and the relationships that I made that I am going to cherish forever.”

Siegrist led Villanova to a 30-7 record and that spot in the Sweet 16 this season by leading the country in scoring at 29.2 points per game to go with a 9.2 rebound average. She shot 51% from the field (403 of 790), 36.1% from three-point range, and 85.8% from the foul line.

“The statistical numbers that she recorded are going to be there forever which is so special when you see what Maddy accomplished throughout her amazing career,” Villanova coach Denise Dillon said in a statement. “With that said, when you leave your mark on people as Maddy has there is nothing greater. I think that is by far the greatest accomplishment as a student-athlete where you can be recognized as being an authentic person as opposed to just a great athlete. Maddy will continue to impact the world in whatever she does.”

Siegrist scored 20 or more points in all 37 games this year, including 17 games of 30 points or more. The stretch of 20-point games is the longest streak by any women’s or men’s Division I player this century. Her top scoring effort of the season came against Seton Hall on Feb. 11 when she had 50 points on 20-for-26 shooting.

Siegrist became the all-time leading scorer in the history of Villanova basketball this season for both men and women and finished her illustrious career with 2,896 points. She also became the all-time leading scorer in Big East Conference history for men and women with 1,693 points for regular-season conference games only.

Siegrist was named the Big East Player of the Year for a second consecutive season and she has earned first-team All-American honors from the Associated Press and USBWA. She is also one of four finalists for both the Naismith Player of the Year and the Wade Trophy.