Sparks excited to land versatile Ta’Niya Latson

The Sparks may need gotten the steal of the WNBA draft.

The crew didn’t have a choose until the No. 21 total slot in the second spherical, but the Sparks still ended up with South Carolina guard Ta’Niya Latson.

“She can shoot it, she can get to the basket, she’s great in transition,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. “That’s something we really needed. We’re excited about her defense. She’s really good on ball, but you know, she’s a winner and we’re just excited. It’s hard as a rookie, especially at that point guard spot, to adapt. But I’m expecting her to be a great addition to our squad.”

Latson led the nation in scoring with 25.4 factors per sport for Florida State during the 2024-25 season before transferring to South Carolina, where she scored 14.1 factors and shot a career-high 48.6% from the ground this season for the national championship sport runner-up Gamecocks.

After averaging 21 or more factors per sport during the last three seasons at Florida State, Latson went to South Carolina coach Dawn Staley’s crew to be taught to share the ball and play strong protection.

Latson took a career-low 10.3 pictures per sport but shot a profession best field-goal share.

“She took on a different role in terms of, that team had two other first-round draft picks from that roster playing with that South Carolina team,” Roberts said. “And so we watched her closely. Our draft model and everything had her a lot higher than 20. And so we were excited that she was still there.”

Latson fills a direct need for the Sparks, who even after signing veteran Erica Wheeler this week still lacked some guard depth off the bench.

“Having vets like Kelsey Plum and Erica Wheeler around a young guard like that is a tremendous opportunity for her,” Sparks common supervisor Raegan Pebley said. “She’ll soak up everything that they have to teach her. …. This is a great offense for her to excel in and to be great in and shine. So I think the table is set for Latson, I think, to have some success in her rookie year.”

The Sparks later chosen Chance Gray from Ohio State with the No. 24 choose. That choose was acquired from Seattle in the Plum commerce last yr. Gray averaged 14.7 factors in 35 video games for the Buckeyes while capturing 45.3% from the sector and 40.5% from three-point vary.

In the third spherical, the Sparks took Amelia Hassett at No. 35 total from Kentucky. Hassett is a stretch heart who shot 36.1% from three on 7.6 makes an attempt per sport. She averaged 10.5 factors and 5.3 rebounds per sport with the Wildcats.

The Sparks are pushing to contend for a playoff spot this season after bringing back veteran ahead Nneka Ogwumike and guards Ariel Atkins and Wheeler to construct one of their deepest rosters in years.

Latson has a likelihood to get some taking part in time, while Gray might problem for an end-of-the-bench spot and Hassett has a area of interest that might get her minutes in the league.

“We want to have sustained success,” Roberts said. “We want to win championships, and this isn’t a slow roll, like we want to do it. And so you have to have that balance of youth and experience, and I think our roster has nailed that.”