UM’s Mompremier cut before WNBA first-round pick practiced, but she landed with a new team
Only two rookies drafted lower than selection No. 17 are on a current WNBA roster — University of Miami’s Beatrice Mompremier and Maryland’s Kaila Charles, both with the Connecticut Sun.
Mompremier, a 6-4 post player who starred for Miami High and also the Hurricanes, was the 20th pick in this year’s draft, going much lower than expected. She was picked by the Los Angeles Sparks.
But when the coronavirus pandemic hit, the WNBA did away with training camps, and the league’s dozen teams were all forced to make cuts down to 12 players without the benefit of seeing the athletes compete against each other in practice.
With that as a backdrop, Mompremier was released by the Sparks. However, when Sun center Jonquel Jones decided to skip the 2020 season, Connecticut quickly signed Mompremier.
“I believe the Sparks had an interest in Bea, but they had a full roster,” said Sam Baumgarten, who coached Mompremier at Miami High.
“Connecticut picking her up will be great for Bea. She can get more playing time.”
Mompremier is now the fifth woman with South Florida playing ties to make a 2020 WNBA roster, a list that includes ex-Hurricanes guard Riquna Williams (Sparks).
The other three players are all on the Minnesota Lynx: center Sylvia Fowles (Miami Gulliver/Edison); guard Shenise Johnson (Hurricanes) and rookie forward Mikiah Herbert Harrigan (Pembroke Pines Flanagan High).
In addition, 6-5 Kalani Brown, the daughter of ex-Heat center P.J. Brown, plays for the Atlanta Dream.
THIS AND THAT
▪ Nova Southeastern University’s women’s soccer program, which has made it to five consecutive NCAA tournaments, has hired James Moore as its new coach.
Moore spent the past four years as the lead assistant for the NSU men’s team. Moore replaces John Constable, who was hired by Jacksonville University in March.
▪ Alysia Dyer, 37, is Miami-Dade College’s new athletic director. She’s believed to be the school’s first Black AD and just its second woman. She worked her way up MDC athletics since being hired as sports information director in 2007.
A Miami native, Dyer was a second-team All-Dade basketball player at Miami Killian High and has a master’s degree in sports administration. She has also been a part of the Miami Heat stat crew since 2007.
▪ NSU women’s basketball coach LeAnn Freeland-Curry has signed an astonishingly high number of recruits for next season — eight — including five freshmen.
The influx of talent was needed because five of the six NSU players with double-figure starts last season have departed. The only one back is Hailey Conley, a 5-9 guard who started all 28 games and was second on the team in scoring (13.0). The rising senior is one of just seven returners on the squad.
Gone are five players who combined to make 86 starts, including leading scorer/6-2 forward Jordan Tully (18.1). Maria Bardeeva, another 6-2 forward, also graduated after averaging 9.8 points.
▪ St. Thomas University has had 12 players sign pro baseball contracts in the past nine years, including three with the Boston Red Sox.
▪ Three Broward high schools — Fort Lauderdale Westminster Academy, Oakland Park Northeast and Pompano Beach Ely — are to compete in this year’s City of Palms Classic, set for Dec. 18-23 in Fort Myers.