Micaela Kelly to forgo final season of eligibility, enter WNBA Draft
Detroit senior guard Micaela Kelly is introduced in the starting lineups of a First Round game of the NCAA Tournament between Central Michigan and Iowa at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
Micaela Kelly is taking her shot at the pros.
In a Twitter post on March 30, the Detroit senior guard announced she is going to forgo her final season of eligibility with the Chippewas to enter the 2021 WNBA Draft.
"First, and foremost, I would like to thank God for all he has done, and continues to do in my life," Kelly tweeted. "Thank you to every last one of my coaches that believed in me, pushed me, and saw things in me that I wasn't able to do.
"Thank you to my family and friends, who have been my rock and inspiration. Thank you to my teammates, who have now become my sisters.
"Thank you to the fans, who have now become my family."
Kelly ends her Chippewa career with 2,173 points. She is just the third Chippewa to reach the 2,000-career-point plateau and finished second to Presley Hudson by 136 points.
During Kelly's time with CMU, the team won three Mid-American Conference regular-season championships and two MAC Tournament titles. Kelly was a member of three NCAA Tournament teams -- including the 2018 team, which made a run to the Sweet 16.
Kelly was also named MAC Player of the Year in 2020 after being in the top five of scoring in the country.
Throughout her career, Kelly played in 125 games and averaged 17.3 points per game. Kelly also totaled 618 rebounds, 513 assists and 206 steals in a Chippewa uniform.
Kelly initially started her career at DePaul but did not appear in any games for the Blue Demons before transferring to Central Michigan.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA waived a year of eligibility for all athletes this season — meaning athletes did not lose a year of eligibility.
"I want to thank you all for your support throughout this journey, which has not been an easy one," Kelly tweeted. "I'm just a kid from the Eastside of Detroit who met a guy named William Winfield that changed my life and gave me hope with the game of basketball.
"With that being said, I have officially decided to enter the 2021 WNBA Draft."
