Three weeks ago, Haley Van Sris I was still in Fort Worth, Texas, earning my graduate degree and playing horned frog basketball at Texas Christian University. The 23-year-old from Wenatchee, Washington, was busy leading the team to the Elite 8, the fourth round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. TCU ended up dropping to the University of Texas for that game, but it wasn’t all bad, at least for Van Liss. What accompanies that last college game was the reality that now she could move to the next stage of her basketball career. At that point, she was three weeks away from going to the pro and took part in the WNBA for the rest of her New York City draft class.
She marked the beginning of her rookie season at Chicago Sky before she heard her name called out by W’s commissioner Kathy Engelbert in the 2025 WNBA Draft. The orange carpet, made to match the W colour scheme, is an iconic part of the modern WNBA draft, an opportunity for the draft tee to peek into style with fans ahead of the season, and the tunnel becomes an important part of the pre-game routine.
This year, the orange carpet was sponsored by the Coach, the official WNBA handbag sponsor. The brand announced its partnership on the morning of the draft and has decorated some of its biggest stars to celebrate the opportunity. One such star was Vanlis. Follow Van Liss below as Van Liss prepares with his coach on the biggest day of his career so far.
(Image credit: Courtesy of Ben Rosser/Coach)
This is the biggest day of my basketball career so far. How do you feel you’re in the draft?
