Four Former Longhorns Tip Off WNBA Season This Weekend

Ariel Atkins, Charli Collier among former Texas players ready to play their first games of the 2022 season

Ariel Atkins will be the first former Texas Longhorns player to start the WNBA season when she and the Washington Mystics tip-off on Friday evening against the Indiana Fever.

Atkins is one of four former Texas players that will play this weekend, with the rest playing in openers set for Saturday.

Atkins is returning to the Mystics to start her fourth WNBA season after being taken as the No. 7 overall pick in 2018. She helped the Mystics to a WNBA crown in 2019 and is coming off an All-Star game appearance last season. Atkins was named to the 2018 WNBA All-Rookie Team and has been All-WNBA Defensive Second Team twice.

Atkins was a two-time All-Big 12 First Team and Defensive Team selection while at Texas.

On Saturday, Charli Collier will take the floor with the Dallas Wings when they host the Atlanta Dream.

Collier, who was the Big 12 Player of the Year for the 2020-21 season, was the No. 1 overall selection in the WNBA Draft last April.

She’s hoping to build on a rookie season in which she averaged 3.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. Last season in her WNBA debut she had a double-double — 11 points and 10 rebounds.

When Connecticut faces New York, two former Texas players will be playing for the Connecticut Sun, and both are looking to make an impact.

Yvonne Anderson is entering her rookie season. The guard played for Texas from 2008-12 and has played for a host of foreign teams and the Serbian national team. Back with Texas she 11.4 points in her final two seasons in Austin.

Forward Joyner Holmes was a second-round pick for Seattle in 2020, but she failed to stick in Seattle but ended up with New York and averaged 2.9 points and 2.7 rebounds that season, which included a 13-point, 13-rebound performance. She played five games with the Liberty last season.

Joyner was the Big 12 Freshman of the Year in 2017 and totaled 1,270 points, 856 rebounds and 202 assists as a Longhorn.

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.

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