Champion at Baylor, Champion in the WNBA

Baylor women’s basketball legend NaLyssa Smith has added a third championship ring to her collection, capping off a season of change with a 2025 WNBA title.

Smith, who had already won an NCAA Championship at Baylor, as well as a 2023 Athletes Unlimited champion, became a key piece for the Las Vegas Aces this season on the way to the title. The Aces acquired Smith in a midseason trade with the Dallas Wings in July, and she went on to start all but one of the team’s remaining games, averaging 8.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Along the way, the Aces authored a franchise-record 14-game winning streak in the regular season before defeating Seattle and Indiana in the first round and semifinals of the WNBA playoffs, respectively, before defeating Phoenix in the WNBA Finals.

At Baylor, Smith was a key performer on the 2019 NCAA Championship team and blossomed into one of the nation’s top players. Named Big 12 Player of the Year in both the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons, Smith became one of only five players to earn the Big 12’s top award multiple times. In addition to lofty individual honors, Smith’s teams won big — Baylor earned a Big 12 title each year she was on the squad, and she was an important bridge in the program’s transition to Head Coach Nicki Collen in 2021. After that stellar senior season, Smith was selected No. 2 overall in the WNBA Draft by Indiana.

“It’s a blessing to be in the position I’m in today, and I appreciate everything that Baylor Nation has given me,” Smith said after her senior season. “I gave my all and stayed loyal to the program, so I hope that I made the Baylor Family proud.”