Virginia Tech Sports Information

BROOKLYN — Center Elizabeth Kitley, one of the all-time players in the ACC, was selected 24th in the WNBA Draft Monday night. She was picked by the Las Vegas Aces in the second round.

Kitley’s father, Ralph, is a North Rowan High graduate and played in the ACC at Wake Forest. He’s a member of the Salisbury-Rowan Hall of Fame.

With Kitley’s selection, the Virginia Tech women’s basketball program has had at least one athlete selected in each of the last three WNBA drafts for the first time.

Kitley, who played for five seasons, is the program’s all-time leader in games started, minutes played, points scored and scoring average. She posted the most double figure scoring games in program history as well as field goals made, FG percentage, 30-point games and blocks. She holds the ACC record for rebounds (1,506) and double-doubles (76).

She suffered a torn ACL late in her final season that knocked her out of the ACC  and NCAA tournaments.

This past season, she led the Hokies to their first ACC regular-season title in program history, leading the league in scoring and rebounding en route to collecting her third consecutive ACC Player of the Year trophy. In addition, she earned first team All-ACC honors for the fourth time, All-Defensive Team accolades for the third time and was the Kay Yow Scholar Athlete of the Year for a third time.

The 6-foot-6 center assisted in ushering in a new era of women’s basketball in Blacksburg, elevating the Hokies from a challenger program to a championship program. She helped the Hokies win 115 games and she went 66-11 (.857) at home in Cassell Coliseum, suffering just two losses in her last two seasons.

In each of the past three seasons, she has garnered AP All-America attention, culminating with her second team selection in 2024, the first time that a Hokie has earned that distinction twice. She was also a finalist for the Lisa Leslie Award, Wade Trophy and was a Wooden Award All-American.

Director of Athletics Whit Babcock announced this past Saturday, that her iconic number 33 jersey will be retired in the fall of 2024.

The Hokies are one of six programs in the country to have had at least one pick in each of the last three drafts alongside Stanford, Tennessee, LSU, UConn and South Carolina. In that span, Tech has had the most draftees in the Atlantic Coast Conference.