With a storied Stanford career behind her, senior guard Lexie Hull announced on Monday morning that she is entering her name into the 2022 WNBA Draft.
From early on, Hull was a highly accomplished athlete in Spokane, Washington. In high school, she was named the Washington Gatorade Player of the Year during both her junior and senior years, in addition to being named the Seattle Times Co-State Player of the Year and the USA TODAY High School Sports Washington State Player of the Year. She helped lead her high school team to two state championships and joined the Cardinal as a five-star recruit, rated the 14th-overall player in the country by ESPN HoopGurlz.
At Stanford, Hull is an NCAA champion, a two-time Pac-12 regular-season champion and a three-time Pac-12 Tournament champion. During these title runs, the guard was recognized for her shooting skills and tenacity on defense with several awards. After Stanford’s national title run in 2021, she was named to the NCAA Tournament Final Four All-Tournament Team. She has earned two NCAA Tournament Regional All-Tournament Team awards in 2021 and 2022. Hull is also a three-time All-Pac-12 awardee, a feat only 14 others in program history have accomplished. This year, she was named the Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year, an award that recognized her abilities both on and off the court.
Hull leaves the Farm with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Management Science & Engineering, earning both in just four years. Her exceptional work in the classroom has been recognized accordingly: she earned first-team CoSIDA Academic All-America honors twice, and she made the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll twice. This year she received the Elite 90 Award, given to the student-athlete at the NCAA women’s basketball championship with the highest overall GPA, and the Senior CLASS Award, which recognizes the athlete who is voted as the “most outstanding student-athlete in Division I women’s basketball” by coaches, national basketball media and fans.
Hull’s two-way play makes her an attractive prospect for WNBA teams, particularly contenders who are looking for an instant contributor on both ends. Many mock drafts currently project the senior as an early second-round pick. If drafted, Hull would be the second Cardinal to be drafted to the WNBA in as many years, as Kiana Williams ’21 was taken 18th overall by the Seattle Storm in last year’s draft.
With Hull’s departure, the Cardinal have a large void to fill. The do-it-all guard started every game she played since her sophomore year, leading the team in scoring 24 times and putting up 65 double-digit scoring performances. Hull had a unique ability to catch fire any given night, something that she demonstrated with a 33-point performance versus Oregon earlier this year, and again with a career-high 36 points against Kansas in the second round of this year’s NCAA Tournament. Without her production, junior guard Hannah Jump, a player who has showcased a similar ability to have big games, will be one who is expected to produce more scoring for the team next year.
While Lexie will presumably play professionally next year, her twin, 2021 Pac-12 Sixth Player of the Year Lacie Hull — who confirmed she would not be returning to Stanford next year — has not announced her post-grad plans yet.