NEW YORK (April 11, 2022) - The 2022 Big West Player of the Year and Tournament Most Valuable Player Amy Atwell was tapped by the Los Angeles Sparks in the third round of the 2022 WNBA Draft at Spring Studios on Monday evening, going 27th overall in tonight’s impressive draft class.

An alumna of Hawai’i, Atwell becomes the second ever Rainbow Wahine women’s basketball player to be selected in the draft, joining the late Judy Mosley. The 1990 Big West Player of the Year, Mosley was part of 1997’s inaugural draft class when she was picked sixth overall by the Sacramento Monarchs in the Elite Draft first round.

Atwell is the ninth Big West woman to be selected in the WNBA draft, and the highest pick since UC Santa Barbara’s Kristen Mann was chosen 11th overall by the Minnesota Lynx in 2005. She is the fourth woman to be drafted by a California team, and the second by Los Angeles.

The Sparks receive one of the, if not the most prolific shooters in UH women's basketball history. Atwell leaves the island of O'ahu as the record holder for most career three-pointers (205) and single-season three-pointers (76). In early March, Atwell was named The Big West Player of the Year, becoming the first-ever Wahine to claim the honor in the conference after averaging 17.8 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.

In her sixth year with the program, fifth as an active player, Atwell capitalized on her opportunity of being granted an extra season by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The South Perth, Australia, native dropped 534 points over 30 games, including 13 games of 20 points or more and two 30-point contests, totaling 1,270 points over the course of her career with the Rainbow Wahine.

Along with Atwell, Los Angeles also added Rae Burrell of Tennessee, Louisville’s Kianna Smith, and Olivia Nelson-Ododa of NCAA runner-up Connecticut in the 2022 draft. Smith, a Moreno Valley product and 2017 McDonald's All-American, is the daughter of Cal Poly men's basketball head coach John Smith.

Founded in 1996, the Sparks are one of the three original organizations in the league. The Sparks have won three WNBA Championships (2001, 2002, 2016), have qualified for the playoffs in 20 of their 25 seasons and remain the only active team in the league to win back-to-back titles. The team is currently coached by former Los Angeles Laker Derek Fisher. Hawai’i head coach Laura Beeman spent time as an assistant coach with the Sparks in 2008 and 2009.