Jump to content

Charlisse Leger-Walker

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Charlisse Leger-Walker
Leger-Walker with UCLA in 2026
No. 4 – Connecticut Sun
PositionGuard
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (2001-09-15) 15 September 2001 (age 24)
Hamilton, New Zealand
Listed height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Listed weight190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High schoolSt. Peter's Cambridge
(Cambridge, New Zealand)
College
WNBA draft2026: 2nd round, 18th overall pick
Drafted byConnecticut Sun
Career highlights
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Medals
Women's basketball
Representing  New Zealand
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place2018 AustraliaTeam
FIBA Oceania Under-18 Championship
Silver medal – second place2016 FijiTeam
FIBA Oceania Under-17 Championship
Silver medal – second place2017 GuamTeam
FIBA Oceania Under-16 Championship
Silver medal – second place2015 New ZealandTeam
Women's 3x3 basketball
Representing  New Zealand
FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup
Silver medal – second place2019 Mongolia

Charlisse Trinity Leger-Walker (born 15 September 2001) is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Connecticut Sun of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was the youngest person to play on the New Zealand women's national basketball team when she debuted with the Tall Ferns at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.[1] She played college basketball in the United States for the Washington State Cougars and UCLA Bruins. With the Bruins, she won the 2026 NCAA Division I women's basketball championship game, the first Kiwi to do so.[2] She is the first New Zealander to be drafted into the WNBA [3] and the second to play in the league after Megan Compain.[4]

High school

[edit]

Leger-Walker won New Zealand junior titles with both St Peter's School, Cambridge and Waikato Basketball.[1] Her teams appeared in the Grand Final at Schick Secondary Schools Nationals in all five years in high school, winning the championship on four occasions.[1] She won a record four MVP trophies in the Nationals.[5] She was head girl at St. Peter's in her senior year.[6]

College career

[edit]

During her college career, Ledger-Walker was on the roster for four years at Washington State and two years at UCLA. She was granted two years of extra eligibility. All NCAA athletes were given an extra year of eligibility in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic impact to the 2020 season.[7] For her medical redshirt season due to injury, she also was granted an extra year of eligibility.[8]

Washington State

[edit]

As a freshman at Washington State, Leger-Walker averaged 18.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game. She was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and made the all-conference team.[9] In her sophomore season, Leger-Walker repeated as an All-Pac-12 selection, averaging 16.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.[10] On 11 December 2022, she scored a career-high 40 points in an 82–66 loss to Washington.[11] Leger-Walker led No. 7 seed Washington State to the 2023 Pac-12 tournament title, the first in program history, and was named most outstanding player.[12] She finished her junior season averaging 17.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game, and earned All-Pac-12 honors.[13]

In her fourth season, on 23 November 2023, Leger-Walker became the second Washington State player to record a triple-double, with 11 points, 15 rebounds, and 13 assists in an 87–67 win over Maryland.[14] In a January 28, 2024 game at against the number 2 ranked UCLA Bruins in Los Angeles, Leger-Walker suffered a knee injury as the Cougars won 85-82 against the highest-ranked opponent in WSU basketball history.[15] Leger-Walker missed the last 11 games of the season with a torn ACL.[16][17] As a senior, she was named All-Pac-12 for a fourth time and averaged 13.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game.[18] Leger-Walker’s 1,743 career points ranked third in school history. She ranked second in 3-point baskets (199), third in minutes played (3,794) and fourth in scoring average (16.6), total baskets (607) and assists (389).[17]

UCLA

[edit]

Leger-Walker transferred to UCLA for her fifth season of eligibility, granted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[19][20] This was the first season that UCLA competed in the Big Ten conference. On December 6, 2024, UCLA announced that Leger-Walker would redshirt the 2024–25 season to fully rehabilitate her ACL injury.[21][22]

She was a starter on the 2025-26 team that went 37-1, and won the Big Ten conference and Big Ten tournament championships. In the 2026 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, the Bruins were the number 2 seed overall and number one in the Sacramento region.[23] Reaching the final four, the Bruins won the re-match with the Texas Longhorns, the one loss they experienced all season.[24] In a dominating performance, UCLA defeated South Carolina 79-51 in the national championship game.[25]

Professional career

[edit]

WNBA

[edit]

Leger-Walker was drafted 18th overall by the Connecticut Sun in the 2026 WNBA draft. Her UCLA teammate and roommate, Gianna Kneepkens, was also drafted by the Sun.[26] UCLA set the WNBA draft record for most players from one class drafted with six players.[27]

National team career

[edit]

Leger-Walker made her debut for the New Zealand women's national basketball team at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. At age 16, she became the youngest player to play for the senior national team. She averaged 11.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, helping New Zealand win the bronze medal.[1] Leger-Walker won a silver medal at the 2019 FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup, the first medal by a New Zealand women's team at a FIBA world tournament, and was named to the all-tournament team.[28]

Personal life

[edit]

Leger-Walker is of Māori (Te Whakatōhea, Ngāti Porou), Samoan and Tongan descent.[29][30] Her mother Leanne Walker, played for the New Zealand women's national basketball team; she competed in the Summer Olympics in 2000 and 2004. Leger-Walker's older sister, Krystal, played basketball for Northern Colorado and was her teammate at Washington State before turning professional.[31]

Career statistics

[edit]
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader

College

[edit]
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2020–21 Washington State 242437.835.332.878.65.33.12.30.72.718.8
2021–22 Washington State 303036.037.727.276.05.22.81.60.82.716.1
2022–23 Washington State 303036.840.334.983.35.54.11.30.63.217.7
2023–24 Washington State 212133.340.623.781.76.55.11.70.33.213.2
2024–25 UCLA Did not play due to injury
2025–26 UCLA 383828.045.735.564.14.05.61.60.32.28.4
Career 14314334.039.331.478.45.14.21.70.62.714.4
Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference.[32]


References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 4 "Charlisse Leger-Walker". Basketball New Zealand. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  2. ↑ NCAA basketball: UCLA’s Charlisse Leger-Walker becomes first Kiwi to win women’s national championship New Zealand Herald, April 6, 2026
  3. ↑ Soper, Alice - Charlisse Leger-Walker WNBA draft pick a milestone for Kiwi basketball. New Zealand Herald, April 15, 2026
  4. ↑ Tunnicliffe, Bridget - 'Proud moment': Megan Compain hails Charlisse Leger-Walker’s historic WNBA draft. Radio New Zealand (RNZ via msn.com), April 14, 2026.
  5. ↑ 10 takes from the Schick Championships Secondary Schools Nationals . Basketball New Zealand, October 9, 2019
  6. ↑ The rollercoaster of school and elite sport continues for Tall Fern Charlisse Leger-Walker. Basketball New Zealand, November 6, 2019
  7. ↑ Hosick, Michelle Brutlag - Division I Council extends eligibility for student-athletes impacted by COVID-19. NCAA (ncaa.org), March 30, 2020
  8. ↑ UCLA transfer guard Charlisse Leger-Walker takes medical redshirt and will return for 2025-26 season. AP News, December 26, 2024
  9. ↑ "Experienced Cougs Set for Another Big Season in 2021-22". Washington State Cougars. 8 November 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  10. ↑ Allen, Jim (24 October 2024). "Washington State guard Charlisse Leger-Walker named to All-Pac-12 preseason team". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  11. ↑ "Leger-Walker scores 40 points in a loss at Washington". Washington State Cougars. 11 December 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  12. ↑ "Charlisse Leger-Walker voted Most Outstanding Player of 2023 Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament". Washington State Cougars. 7 March 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  13. ↑ Cook, Dave (9 April 2023). "Washington State's Charlisse Leger-Walker represents her home country of New Zealand as rising collegiate basketball star". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  14. ↑ "No. 23 Washington State women beat Maryland behind Charlisse Leger-Walker's triple-double". ESPN. Associated Press. 23 November 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  15. ↑ Reedy, Joe - WSU knocks off No. 2 UCLA 85-82 despite injury to Leger-Walker. Seattle Sports (AP), January 28, 2024
  16. ↑ Charlisse Leger-Walker to Miss Remainder of 2023-24 Season. wsucougars.com, January 31, 2024
  17. 1 2 WSU star Charlisse Leger-Walker out for season with ACL injury. Seattle Sports (AP), January 31, 2024
  18. ↑ Lee, Greg (2 April 2024). "Washington State guard Charlisse Leger-Walker enters transfer portal". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  19. ↑ Sawyer, Haley (25 April 2024). "UCLA women's basketball lands Washington State transfer Charlisse Leger-Walker". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  20. ↑ Voepel, Michael - Charlisse Leger-Walker says she'll join UCLA in transfer from WSU, ESPN, April 26, 2024
  21. ↑ "Charlisse Leger-Walker Out for Season". UCLA. Retrieved 2024-12-06.
  22. ↑ UCLA transfer guard Charlisse Leger-Walker takes medical redshirt and will return for 2025-26 season. Associated Press (AP), December 6, 2024
  23. ↑ Ingemi, Marissa and Felicia Keller - 'We know what it takes to get there.'; No. 1 UCLA ready to begin NCAA title chase. Los Angeles Times, March 15, 2026
  24. ↑ Raynor, Grace - UCLA takes down Texas, advances to program’s first NCAA national championship game. New York Times, April 3, 2026
  25. ↑ Robinson, Cameron Teague - UCLA clobbers South Carolina for first NCAA national title in program history. New York Times, April 5, 2026
  26. ↑ Adams, Emily (April 20, 2026). "'Best thing ever': Former UCLA teammates reunite at Connecticut Sun training camp". MSN.com. Retrieved April 20, 2026.
  27. ↑ Ingemi, Marisa (April 13, 2026). "UCLA breaks WNBA draft records with five first-round picks and six overall". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  28. ↑ "Charlisse Leger-Walker". UCLA Bruins. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  29. ↑ Stanley, Ashley (11 May 2020). "Leger-Walker assists little sister into US college life". Newsroom. Archived from the original on 7 December 2023.
  30. ↑ "Charlisse Leger-Walker wins NCAA basketball title". Te Ao Māori News. 5 April 2026. Archived from the original on 6 April 2026.
  31. ↑ Cook, Dave (17 March 2023). "How a grieving Charlisse Leger-Walker found strength in her WSU teammates to help the Cougars make it to the NCAA". The Spokesman-Review. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  32. ↑ "Charlisse Leger-Walker College Stats". Sports-Reference. Retrieved April 12, 2026.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Charlisse_Leger-Walker&oldid=1369284239"