Former Cal Stars Kristine Anigwe, Reshanda Gray Make WNBA Rosters

Anigwe is on the opening-day roster of the Phoenix Mercury, while Gray is with the Seattle Storm

Former Cal stars Reshanda Gray and Kristine Anigwe will be on WNBA rosters when regular-season play begins on Friday.

Gray made the 11-player roster of the Seattle Storm, which, for financial reasons, has elected to have 11 players rather than the league maximum of 12. This will be the sixth WNBA season for Gray, a guard who will turn 29 on June 1.

The 6-foot-2 Gray was a two-time all-Pac-12 selection while at Cal before being a second-round pick of Minnesota in the 2015 WNBA draft. Her best seasons were 2019 and 2021, while with the New York Liberty. She started 10 games for New York in 2019 and averaged 5.2 points and 5.2 rebounds. Last season, she averaged 5.9 points and shot 53.1% in 15 games for the Liberty.

Her Seattle team includes Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart.

Anigwe made the opening-day roster of the Phoenix Mercury. She is now teammates with Diana Taurasi Tina Charles and Skylar Diggins-Smith. The Mercury is leaving a roster spot open for center Brittney Griner, who is still being detained in Russia after authorities found vape cartridges that allegedly contained oil derived from cannabis.

Anigwe may see some playing time early in the season because of the absence of Griner and because two other players on the roster – Diamond DeShields and Brianna Turner – are temporarily “suspended” because they still have commitments to overseas teams.

The 6-foot-4 Anigwe was a second-team All-America selection as a Cal senior in 2018-19, when she led the nation in rebounding at 16.2 per game. She was the ninth overall pick in the 2019 WNBA draft, and she has played for three WNBA teams (Connecticut, Dallas and Los Angeles) in her three years in the WNBA. Last season, while playing in 10 games (seven for Los Angeles and three for Dallas), Anigwe averaged 13.6 minutes, 3.4 points and 3.4 rebounds.

One other former Cal player, Layshia Clarendon, was released by Minnesota.

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Cover photo of Kristine Anigwe by Reinhold Matay, USA TODAY Sports

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