Zia Cooke a first-rounder for USC women’s basketball in 2023 WNBA Draft

Zia Cooke has a WNBA home on the West Coast.

South Carolina’s starting shooting guard was drafted 10th overall by the Los Angeles Sparks in Monday’s WNBA Draft, joining forward Aliyah Boston (No. 1, Indiana Fever) and forward Laeticia Amihere (No. 8, Atlanta Dream) as first-round picks.

Cooke’s selection gave USC a record-tying three first-round selections. In a tearful post-draft interview, she told ESPN’s Holly Rowe that her selection “means the most.”

“I’ve put in a lot of work since I was 6 years old,” Cooke said. “I put my life into this. ... This is something I’ve dreamed of and now I’m finally here. It’s crazy.”

Widely considered a late first-round or early second-round pick, Cooke jumped up a few spots after winning the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award as the nation’s top shooting guard in 2022-23 and putting together a career season for USC.

The 5-foot-9 guard led USC’s 36-1 team in scoring with 15.4 points per game this season and set career highs in field goal percentage (40.5%) and free throwing shooting (79.2%).

Cooke, who had a team-high 24 points in South Carolina’s Final Four loss to Iowa earlier this month, scored in double figures in 103 of 137 career games for USC and had 23 games of 20-plus.

“You can see with her explosiveness, in particular, if she can play that combo guard position, and her scoring ability (that she) would be someone that you could see having an immediate impact,” ESPN analyst LaChina Robinson told reporters of Cooke before the draft.

Cooke credited coach Dawn Staley for uplifting her throughout her Gamecocks career. Cooke had her worst year in terms of pure statistics and percentages as a junior before rebounding for an excellent 2022-23 season.

“Once I found the beauty in my struggle and learned to embrace my struggle, things started to level out for me,” Cooke said. “Coach Staley taught me a lot. I would not be the player I am today without her, my teammates. ... I’m just so excited to get to work.”

Cooke joins a Sparks team that went 13-23 in 2022 and missed a second-straight postseason after 12 appearances in 14 years (and a 2017 championship) from 2008 to 2020.

“This is definitely a dream come true,” she said. “This is something that I’ve prepared myself for since I was 6 years old. I would tell my younger self, I would actually congratulate her.”

“I would tell her how proud I am of her for listening to her parents, No. 1, for not being a follower, being a leader and being very hardworking. I never quit on myself. I’m definitely very proud of myself.”