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Rae Burrell

Rae Burrell
Burrell with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2023
No. 12 – Los Angeles Sparks
PositionShooting guard / small forward
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (2000-06-21) June 21, 2000 (age 24)
Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight168 lb (76 kg)
Career information
High schoolLiberty (Henderson, Nevada)
CollegeTennessee (2018–2022)
WNBA draft2022: 1st round, 9th overall pick
Selected by the Los Angeles Sparks
Career history
2022–presentLos Angeles Sparks
2022–2023UC Capitals
2023Kangoeroes Basket Mechelen
2025–presentVinyl BC
Career highlights and awards
  • SEC All-Second Team (2021)
  • SEC Academic Honor Roll (2020)
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Rae Burrell (born June 21, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for the Tennessee Volunteers after attending Liberty High School in Henderson, Nevada, where she was named the Las Vegas Review-Journal Best of Nevada Preps Female Athlete of the Year in 2018.[1]

College career

Burrell was ranked the 43rd overall recruit by ESPN's HoopGurlz and committed to play for the Tennessee Volunteers.[2][3] In her freshman season, she played in every game - averaging 12.7 minutes. She scored a season high of 14 points, twice, against Presbyterian and Florida A&M.[4]

During her sophomore campaign, Burrell became the team's top reserve. She finished the year averaging 10.5 points and 5.5 rebounds. She also recorded the first double-double of her career against Mississippi State with 20 points, 10 rebounds, three steals, and one block.[5]

As a junior, Burrell averaged 16.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. She also was the only Volunteer to start all the games. She played well in the NCAA Tournament, scoring 22 points against Middle Tennessee in their opening game.[6]

Before her senior season, Burrell was ranked the 24th best women's college basketball player entering the 2021–2022 season.[7] In an early game against Southern Illinois, she went down with a knee injury that caused her to miss several weeks.[8] After returning from injury, Burrell played in 22 games, averaging 12.3 points and 3.9 rebounds. She turned up her play late in the year after fellow guard Jordan Horston went down with an injury. She led the Volunteers back to the Sweet Sixteen - before falling to the Louisville Cardinals. She scored 22 points to end her Tennessee career.[9]

On March 29, Burrell announced on Instagram that she would not be using her extra year of eligibility (due to the COVID-19 pandemic) and would be declaring for the 2022 WNBA draft.[10]

Professional career

WNBA

Los Angeles Sparks (2022–present)

Burrell was selected 9th overall in the 2022 WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks.[11] She missed all but three games of her rookie season due to a foot injury.[12]

Burrell did not make the Sparks roster following the 2023 training camp, but was signed to a hardship contract in May.[13][14] Burrell was released from the hardship after 2 days. Burrell returned for a second hardship contract on June 17, 2023.[15] She eventually stayed with the team for the rest of the season and played in 29 games, averaging 11.1 minutes per game.[16]

On February 1, 2024, Burrell signed a multi-year contract with the Sparks. She played sporadically at the beginning of the season, but gradually carved out more and more playing time. She ended up playing in 37 games, starting the last 7 games of the season, averaging 15.6 minutes per game.[17]

Overseas

Burrell played with the UC Capitals in the 2022–23 WNBL season.[18]

She joined the Belgian side Kangoeroes Basket Mechelen for winter 2023.[19]

Athletes Unlimited

Burrell played in the 2024 edition of Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball.[20]

Unrivaled

On November 18, 2024, it was announced that Burrell would appear and play in the inaugural 2025 season of Unrivaled, the women’s 3x3 basketball league founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart.[21]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader

WNBA

Regular season

Stats current through end of 2024 season

WNBA regular season statistics[22]
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2022 Los Angeles 3 1 14.7 .111 .167 1.000 1.0 0.3 0.7 0.0 0.3 1.7
2023 Los Angeles 29 3 11.1 .387 .390 .810 1.2 0.6 0.4 0.1 0.5 3.6
2024 Los Angeles 37 7 15.6 .362 .333 .780 1.8 1.1 0.8 0.3 1.0 5.9
Career 3 years, 1 team 69 11 13.7 .362 .345 .789 1.6 0.9 0.6 0.2 0.8 4.8

College

NCAA statistics[23]
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2018–19 Tennessee 32 0 12.6 .317 .219 .568 2.8 0.4 0.2 0.3 0.9 3.6
2019–20 Tennessee 31 9 22.6 .410 .328 .600 5.5 1.4 0.7 0.5 2.4 10.5
2020–21 Tennessee 25 25 32.0 .458 .402 .825 4.6 1.8 1.0 0.4 2.8 16.8
2021–22 Tennessee 22 13 26.5 .364 .325 .794 3.9 1.6 0.6 0.3 2.0 12.3
Career 110 47 22.6 .402 .341 .703 4.2 1.3 0.6 0.4 2.0 10.3

References

  1. ^ "Here is the Review-Journal's Female Athlete of the Year". reviewjournal.com. Las Vegas Review-Journal. 22 June 2018. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  2. ^ "2018 HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings - espnW 100". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  3. ^ Fleser, Dan. "Lady Vols get commitment from Rae Burrell, a 6-foot-1 wing". knoxnews.com. Knox News. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  4. ^ Megargee, Steve. "No. 11 Lady Vols trounce Presbyterian 97-49 without Davis". dailyherald.com. Daily Herald. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  5. ^ Cornelius, Maria. "Rae Burrell tallies double-double in first career start". 247sports.com. Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  6. ^ "No. 13/15 UT Defeats MT In NCAA First Round, 87-62". utsports.com. UT Athletics. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  7. ^ Creme, Charlie (29 April 2021). "Women's college basketball: Top 25 players for 2021-22". ESPN.com. ESPN. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  8. ^ Hall, Cora. "Lady Vols basketball's Rae Burrell is out indefinitely, but it's not an ACL injury". knoxnews.com. Knox News. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  9. ^ Cornelius, Maria. "Rae Burrell pours in 22 points; Lady Vols come up short in Sweet 16". 247sports.com. Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  10. ^ Haren, Jarvis (29 March 2022). "Tennessee Lady Vol Rae Burrell declares for WNBA Draft". wcyb.com. WCYB. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  11. ^ "LA Sparks Draft Rae Burrell Ninth Overall in the 2022 WNBA Draft". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  12. ^ Yapkowitz, David (2024-09-01). "Why Rae Burrell is key to the Sparks' success [Exclusive]". ClutchPoints | Los Angeles Sparks News. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  13. ^ "Sparks Waive Karlie Samuelson and Rae Burrell". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  14. ^ "Sparks Sign Forward Rae Burrell to Hardship Contract". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  15. ^ "Los Angeles Sparks Sign Forward Rae Burrell to Hardship Contract". sparks.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  16. ^ Mendez-Yapkowitz, David (2023-08-24). "Rae Burrell making the most of her opportunities this season". The Next. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  17. ^ Ruby, Cameron (2024-09-04). "Rae Burrell is finding her stride amid Sparks' season-long struggles". The Next. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  18. ^ uccapitals (2022-08-29). "UC Capitals sign WNBA Rookie Rae Burrell - UC Capitals". UC Capitals. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  19. ^ "Rae Burrell joins Kangoeroes". www.eurobasket.com. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  20. ^ Unlimited, Athletes (2024-02-26). "Rae Burrell strives for success in AU Pro Basketball Season 3". Athletes Unlimited. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  21. ^ @Unrivaledwbb (November 18, 2024). "RAE BURRELL IS UNRIVALED 👑 PLAYER 33✅" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  22. ^ "Rae Burrell WNBA Stats". Basketball Reference.
  23. ^ "Rae Burrell Stats". utsports.com. UT Athletics. Retrieved May 6, 2022.