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UCLA Women's Basketball: Charisma Osborne Pens Touching Message After Being Drafted

The shooting guard standout pays tribute to fans and family ahead of her new WNBA journey.

Eva Geitheim

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

It's been a huge week for former UCLA women's basketball standout Charisma Osborne. The 5'9" shooting guard was one of 15 stars invited to the 2024 WNBA Draft, where she was drafted first in the third round by the Phoenix Mercury.

Since getting drafted, Osborne has already expressed her excitement to join the Mercury, especially since she'll get the chance to play with some of the WNBA's best in future Hall of Famers Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner. She also shared her excitement for the next steps in her career in a recent social media post.

"I’m excited and grateful for this moment!" Osborne said. "It’s been a journey and I’ll been blessed to have such amazing people around me to support me and love me through every part of it. Insanely grateful for this opportunity! Let’s get to work."

Osborne will get to work right away, as training camp already begins on April 28. Then, WNBA preseason games begin May 3 with the Mercury's regular season starting on May 14.

Training camp will begin the tough process for Osborne and her fellow draftees, as only a maximum of 12 players can make each WNBA roster. Osborne will have to show out during training camp to secure a spot on the Mercury's opening-day roster. If she's unable to, it won't be uncommon. Each season, many rookies don't make the roster right away, and instead have to be ready if they are needed.

There will be improvements in the future as the WNBA expands, but for now, it's competitive as ever from the get-go to make the roster.

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Eva Geitheim
EVA GEITHEIM

Eva graduated from UCLA in 2023 with a bachelor's degree in Communication. She has been covering college and professional sports since 2022.