‘First of many’: WNBA draft pick Yvonne Ejim inspiring next generation of Calgary basketball players

A Calgary woman's history-making draft to the WNBA has the city's basketball communities celebrating her incredible journey to the top.

Calgary’s Yvonne Ejim was drafted to the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) on Monday night, becoming the first-ever player from the city to be selected.

Ejim was picked up by the WNBA’s Indiana Fever in the third round, 33rd overall.

“It’s so amazing to be able to represent my hometown in this way, to (be) a landmark and the first of many players to come,” Ejim said.

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The 23-year-old product of Gonzaga University is capping off an incredible collegiate career with the Bulldogs, becoming the program’s all-time leading scorer this season.

She says her achievements on the court wouldn’t have been possible without the support of her family, friends and coaches from all walks of life.

“To be able to share that moment with them, it’s like a full circle, being able to come here to Gonzaga, this coaching staff trusting me for the past five years, my teammates that have been with me before, my teammates who are with me now – I’m so glad they could all be a part of this,” she said.

“To be an inspiration for the younger youth and those athletes growing up playing basketball or any other sport has always been my goal too, to show them something else is possible when they grow up. I just hope that I can continue to be able to be that person for them and that role model.”

Ejim began her basketball journey playing extensively for the Alberta provincial team.

She competed in the Canada Summer Games and Canada Basketball championships, where she helped Team Alberta capture the silver medal at the 17U Women’s National Championships in 2019.

Dave Drabiuk, executive director of the Alberta Basketball Association (ABA), sent his congratulations to Ejim, noting it’s only the beginning of what’s expected to be an incredible career.

“The biggest message that Yvonne sends right now is you can get ‘there’ from ‘here’ and we’re truly at a great time in Alberta right now with the most ever men and women invited to national team camps,” he said.

“We’re just in the golden era right now of what’s happening with player development in Alberta, and I think Yvonne becomes both the inspiration and North Star for a lot of those athletes, but also proof of concept for development programs.”

Before heading to Gonzaga University, Ejim’s monumental journey began with humble beginnings in Calgary as a player with the Genesis Basketball League.

Eddie Richardson III, director of the Genesis League, was brought to tears Monday when he heard Ejim’s name called at the WNBA draft.

“She is the most prepared young woman I’ve ever met in my life. She was always the hardest-working, most energetic person on the floor, and when your best player is that person, it makes it easy, because everybody else has to fall in line with her,” Richardson III said.

“She’s opened those doors, she’s created that pathway, and I think that’s what’s the most important thing, the most exciting thing for all those young girls out there.”

In her Grade 12 year, Ejim also joined Calgary’s Edge School, where she thrived as a student athlete.

Speaking with CTV News, current Edge School women’s basketball players say they were so excited to hear Yvonne Ejim’s name called in Monday night’s WNBA draft.

“It was just unbelievable since we did a camp together recently and it’s just shocking that I met a person who’s in the WNBA,” said Grade 10 women’s basketball player Avery Zulak.

“It’s just so inspiring that she’s accomplished so much in her journey after having this as her goal. This motivates me to work harder and harder every day, get into the gym, ask my coaches questions, and do everything I can to push myself to make it.”

Jordan Jensen-Whyte, the coach of Edge School’s men’s basketball team, adds that “Calgary is on the map” thanks to the incredible achievements of Ejim.

“She’s taken full advantage of the environment she’s had, she’s a great person and a role model in a lot of ways for a lot of younger women,” he said.

“This really qualifies all the stuff we do day-to-day in here with these kids, they work really hard, and to show them that this is where the sport can take them is super important.”

During her time at Gonzaga, Ejim received back-to-back WCC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards (2024 and 2025), was a three-time First-Team All-WCC selection (2023, 2024, 2025) and won the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year award in 2024.

The ABA likewise noted she “represented her country in women’s basketball at the Paris Olympic Games” and was “a member of Canada’s bronze-medal-winning team at the 2023 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup.”

She now joins an Indiana Fever team headlined by Caitlin Clark, who congratulated her team’s 2025 draft class on Monday night.

Fever general manager Amber Cox was extremely pleased with Ejim’s presence on the court.

“She’s a really versatile post player, great face-up game, really good at sort of the 4-3-4, spot, and brings just a different look in that post when you’re thinking about somebody who can play back to the basket, really high motor, defends really, really well,” Cox said.