The Minnesota Lynx selected Diamond Miller, Maïa Hirsch, Dorka Juhász, Brea Beal and Taylor Soule in the 2023 WNBA Draft as the team’s 2nd, 12th, 16th, 24th and 28th overall picks, respectively, in the 2023 WNBA Draft.
Miller, a 6-3 guard from the University of Maryland, played in 34 games (34 starts) for the Terps while averaging 19.7 points, 2.9 assists and 2.1 steals her senior year, earning a WBCA All-American selection as well as AP, The Athletic, and USBWA All-American Second-Team. Miller helped lead Maryland to an appearance in the Elite Eight where she amassed 79 points, 24 rebounds, 12 assists and eight steals. At the conclusion of the 2022-23 season, she ranked third overall in the Big Ten in points per game (19.7) and fifth overall in steals per game (2.1) to end the season.
Diamond excelled in her senior year campaign and was named a finalist for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award which is given to the nation’s best shooting guard and was also on the list of potential recipients for the John R. Wooden Award given to the National Player of the Year for this past season. She earned a spot on the All-Big First Team for the second time in her career. A native of Somerset, N.J., Miller finished her four-year career with the Terrapins with 1,706 points, 578 rebounds and 301 assists across 117 games (84 starts) and was named to the Big Ten Player of the Week Honor Roll five times and was Big Ten of the Week twice.
Hirsch, a 6-5 power forward hailing from Saint-Quentin, France, is currently with Villeneuve d’Ascq for 2022-23 season in France’s LFB League. She’s averaging 4.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game, while shooting 49.6%. Throughout the 2021-22 season, Hirsch played for Charnay, another LFB League team, where she averaged 7.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 20 games. She was a member of the FIBA U18 Women’s European Challengers in 2021 prior to joining Charnay.
Juhász, a 6-5 forward from Pécs, Hungary, finished her graduate campaign averaging 14.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game. She was named a semi-finalist for the Lisa Leslie award for the nation’s best center and proved to be a strong defensive force for the Connecticut Huskies in the 2022-23 season, leading the team and second in the Big East with 9.9 rebounds per a game and finished the season first in the Big East Conference with a 77.3 defensive rating. Her graduate year performance earned her second team All-Big East and All-Big East Tournament honors. The Huskies finished the season as Big East Season Champions and Big East Tournament Championship before finishing in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
Beal, a 6-1 guard out of the University of South Carolina, is best-known for her defensive performances. She was a finalist for the 2022-23 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year and earned nods to the SEC All-Defense Team and an AP All-American honorable mention. She was a four-year starter for the Gamecocks where she was a part of three SEC titles, three SEC Tournament Championships, and most notably, was a key player in winning the NCAA National Championship in 2022. Beal started all but one game throughout her four-year career with South Carolina. In her 2022-23 season, the Rock Island, Ill. native averaged 6.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game throughout 37 games.
Soule, a 5-11 forward from Virginia Tech, averaged 10.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game in the 2022-23 season that ended with a run in the NCAA Final Four. In her graduate season, she earned several honors, including the Cheryl Miller Award Watch List, the Wooden Allen Watch List and selection to the ACC Second Team and ACC All-Tournament Second Team. Prior to Virginia Tech, the West Lebanon, New Hampshire native played four seasons at Boston College where she amassed 1,500 points and earned All-ACC honors throughout the last three years for the Eagles.
Minnesota has a two-game preseason schedule which opens at home vs. Washington on Friday, May 5, followed by the WNBA’s first exhibition game in Toronto, Canada on Saturday, May 13 featuring Minnesota vs. the Chicago Sky. The Lynx return home to Target Center for their home opener on Friday, May 19 at 7:00 p.m. to take on the Chicago Sky.
(info courtesy of Lynx)
