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Toronto Tempo select UCLA guard Kiki Rice with first-ever WNBA draft pick

Toronto Tempo select UCLA guard Kiki Rice with first-ever WNBA draft pick | iNFOnews.ca
Toronto Tempo general manager Monica Wright Rogers, right, and assistant general manager Eli Horowitz pose for a photo after speaking to media following the WNBA Expansion Draft, in Toronto, on Friday, April 3, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sammy Kogan

NEW YORK — Kiki Rice is the Toronto Tempo’s first-ever WNBA draft pick.

The Tempo chose the UCLA guard sixth overall in the first round Monday, then made three other selections to further shape their roster 10 days after the expansion draft.

“Tonight was about continuing to build with intention,” general manager Monica Wright Rogers said in a statement. “We are focused on identifying players who fit the style of play we want to establish, who bring competitiveness and versatility, and who are excited by the opportunity to help build something new.

“Each of these players earned their moment, and we’re thrilled to welcome them as part of the Tempo.”

The five-foot-11 Rice averaged 14.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 38 games for the Bruins this season en route to an NCAA championship. The 22-year-old American was one of a record five UCLA players taken in the first round.

The Tempo chose to have the higher pick — sixth instead of seventh — in the draft after winning a coin toss, giving the Portland Fire the top choice in the expansion draft earlier this month.

Toronto added two players in the second round, selecting Kentucky forward Teonni Key at No. 22 and Australian forward Saffron Shiels at No. 26 — a pick acquired from the Chicago Sky in exchange for not taking any of their players in the expansion draft.

The Tempo finished the draft by choosing Davidson guard Charlise Dunn, another Australian, in the third round (36th overall).

UConn star Azzi Fudd went first overall to the Dallas Wings.

In a busy off-season after the league and the players association’s late deal on a new collective bargaining agreement, the Tempo have also signed 2025 all-star Brittney Sykes and veteran forward Isabelle Harrison in free agency.

Canada’s first WNBA franchise tips off its first season May 8 at Toronto’s Coca-Cola Coliseum against visiting Washington.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 13, 2026.

Toronto Tempo select UCLA guard Kiki Rice with first-ever WNBA draft pick | iNFOnews.ca
UCLA guard Kiki Rice (1) celebrates after a play against South Carolina during the second half of the women’s National Championship Final Four NCAA college basketball tournament game, Sunday, April 5, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Toronto Tempo select UCLA guard Kiki Rice with first-ever WNBA draft pick | iNFOnews.ca
UCLA guard Kiki Rice poses before the WNBA basketball draft Monday, April 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
Toronto Tempo select UCLA guard Kiki Rice with first-ever WNBA draft pick | iNFOnews.ca
UCLA guard Kiki Rice poses with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected sixth overall by the Toronto Tempo in the first round of the WNBA basketball draft Monday, April 13, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

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The Canadian Press

The Canadian Press is Canada's trusted news source and leader in providing real-time, bilingual multimedia stories across print, broadcast and digital platforms.

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