Rivers, James Selected in First Round of 2025 WNBA Draft
4/14/2025 9:53:00 PM | Women's Basketball
NEW YORK – Saniya Rivers and Aziaha James of NC State women's basketball heard their names called at the 2025 WNBA Draft on Monday night at The Shed at Hudson Yards in New York City. Saniya Rivers was selected in the first round, eighth overall to the Connecticut Sun and Aziaha James was also chosen in the first round, 12th overall to the Dallas Wings.
With the tandem drafted, NC State now has had 18 draft picks and six first-round selections. James and Rivers become the first NC State players to be drafted in the first round in the same draft in school history. The duo is now the 13th program in women's basketball to have multiple first rounders in the same WNBA Draft. In the Wes Moore era, he has seen seven players drafted, highlighted by four first-round selections.
Rivers leaves NC State as the only player in school history to log a career statline she did with 1,118 points, 605 rebounds, 354 assists, 189 steals and 109 blocks, doing so in just three seasons. With 1,118 points at NC State, 1,179 overall, Rivers was the 39th member of the 1,000-point club at NC State, while also finishing with the ninth most blocks, 14th most steals and 15th most assists in school history. Rivers started in 82 of 101 game appearances for the Pack, including starting in 61 straight games. She finished her senior year having averaged 11.9 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, along with a team-leading 3.8 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.3 blocks per game with nine double-doubles. She was one of three players in the country this year to total 400 points, 200 rebounds, 100 assists, 40 steals and 40 blocks this season. Rivers finished with a near triple-double against Michigan State in the NCAA Round of 32 with 17 points, eight rebounds and an NCAA Tournament program-record 11 assists.
The Wilmington, North Carolina product wrapped up her career in the NCAA Tournament with the third most assists (34) and steals (14), as well as sixth most rebounds (59) and ninth most points (108) in program history. She is a two-time All-ACC First Team selection and All-ACC Defensive Team choice. She was named ACC Sixth Player of the Year in 2023 and an AP All-America Honorable Mention choice in 2024. Rivers was a WBCA All-Region selection to earn All-America Honorable Mention honors this past season.
James played at NC State all four years, starting in 78 of 130 game appearances, with her 130 games played ranked No. 8 in school history. She also finished out her career having played in 105 straight games. The Virginia Beach, Virginia native surpassed 1,000-point and 1,500-point clips during her senior season, finishing her career with 1,589 points to leave Raleigh No. 12 on the all-time scoring list. She tallied 184 3-pointers in her career, the seventh most in NC State history, after logging a team-leading 75 as a junior and 76 as a senior. James finished her senior year having averaged a team's most 17.9 points per game and her 627 points are the ninth most in a single season in school history. She also tallied 4.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 steals per game and had a team's most 35 charges drawn.
Additionally, James left NC State as a two-time All-ACC First Team selection, and during her senior year, became a Wooden Award Top 15 Finalist, WBCA All-Region finalist and gathered All-America Honorable Mention honors from the AP, USBWA and WBCA. James finished her career with 75 double-digit scoring games, 27 20-point games and three 30-point contests, highlighted by a career-high 36 points against No. 10/10 Duke. Her 36 points marked the most points scored by a member of the Pack since 1998. In NCAA Tournament games, James finished her career scoring 184 points in tournament games, the second most in program history. She finished her career with a 103-27 record (.792) at NC State.
The 2025 WNBA season officially tips off on Friday, May 16.
Wolfpack in the WNBA
18 Draft Picks (20Â total) | 6-First Round Selections
1997 - Sharon Manning - Charlotte Sting (R2, P10)
1997 - Trena Trice - New York Liberty (R3, P22)
1997 - Umeki Webb - Phoenix Mercury (R3, P24)
1997 - Rhonda Mapp - Charlotte Sting
1997 - Andrea Strinson - Charlotte Sting
1999 - Chastity Melvin - Cleveland Rockers (R1, P11)
2000 - Summer Erb - Charlotte Sting (R1, P11)
2001 - Tynesha Lewis - Houston Comets (R2, P31)
2004 - Kaayla Chones - Washington Mystics (R2, P15)
2006 - Tiffany Stansbury - Houston Comets (R3, P29)
2007 - Gillian Goring - Washington Mystics (R3, P32)
2007 - Ashley Key - Indiana Fever (R3, P25)
2008 - Khadijah Whittington - Indiana Fever (R2, P26)
2014 - Markeisha Gatling - Chicago Sky (R1, P10)
2014 - Kody Burke - Washington Mystics (R3, P32)
2019 - Kiara Leslie - Washington Mystics (R1, P10)
2022 - Elissa Cunane - Seattle Storm (R2, P17)
2022 - Kayla Jones - Minnesota Lynx (R2, P22)
2025 - Saniya Rives - Connecticut Sun (R1, P8)
2025 - Aziaha James - Dallas Wings (R1, P12)
