It took longer than expected, but Brea Beal chosen in second round of WNBA Draft

After a bit of a wait, Brea Beal is off to the WNBA.

The Minnesota Lynx selected Beal 24th overall in the second round of Monday’s WNBA Draft, making her USC’s fourth pick of the night alongside forward Aliyah Boston (No. 1 to the Indiana Fever), forward Laeticia Amihere (No. 8 to the Atlanta Dream) and guard Zia Cooke (No. 10 to the Los Angeles Sparks).

That set a new single-draft record for South Carolina, which previously had three players picked in the 2017 draft and already tied its 2017 record with three first-round picks Monday.

Beal, a 6-foot-1 guard, was a Naismith Defensive Player of the Year finalist and AP Honorable Mention All-American for South Carolina in 2022-23 as the Gamecocks went 36-1 and reached the Final Four.

As a senior, Beal started and played in all 37 games and shot a career-high 38.0% on 3-pointers. She also averaged 6.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game and had the second most total assists, third most rebounds and fourth most blocks among USC players this season.

Beal finished second in South Carolina history in total games started (137) and second in total SEC games started (63). She had a fifth “COVID year” of eligibility available to use at South Carolina before formally declaring for the WNBA Draft after the team’s Final Four loss to Iowa.

Beal was widely expected to be a first-round pick before slipping to the last pick of the second round; four major mock drafts were unanimous in projecting her to be selected No. 7 overall by the Indiana Fever pre-draft.

Beal is the 17th all-time South Carolina player drafted into the WNBA and 13th under coach Dawn Staley.