How East Lansing's Aaliyah Nye made herself into a WNBA draft pick

Aaliyah Nye was never highly recruited.

A majority of her college offers came from mid-major programs during her time starring at East Lansing High School. She was ranked as a three-star recruit by ESPN HoopGurlz.

But even with the lack of hype, Nye always took pride in working hard.

And the 2020 East Lansing graduate and former Miss Basketball runner-up says that won't change as she embarks on a professional career with the Las Vegas Aces after being taken with the 13th overall pick in the WNBA draft earlier this week.

"I do pride myself on working hard and just being consistent," Nye said during a Zoom media session April 16. "I think, like they say hard work beats talent, and that's something that I live by because I haven't always been the most talented or the most highly recruited person. I think the more you work at something and the more you get better at something, your confidence rises and then you just play better as a person. I think just working hard is truly the key to success."

Nye has just continued to reach higher levels since her days starring for the Trojans. After being named the state's Associated Press Division 1 player of the year as a senior, Nye made a mark at Illinois. She was the Illini's leading scorer and earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors as a sophomore.

Nye then spent the final three seasons of her career at Alabama and showcased her 3-point shooting ability. She set the single-season program record for made 3s each of the past two seasons and ranked fourth nationally with 109 made 3-pointers this winter. Nye also set the Alabama career record for made 3s.

That had strong appeal to the Las Vegas Aces, who are led by coach Becky Hammon.

"When you look at Aaliya Nye, her sharp-shooting, her defensive tenacity is very attractive to us at the next level," Las Vegas Aces president Nikki Fargas said.

Nye knows getting drafted is just step one of the process. Now she has to make the most of her opportunity with the Aces, who are coming off a 27-13 season and a trip to the WNBA semifinals.

"I'm just ready to get in there and work and learn and do whatever it takes to help this program win," Nye said. "I'm just excited to come in and just be a new piece for this program."

Contact Brian Calloway at [email protected]. Follow him on X @brian_calloway.