The Golden State Valkyries made another signing on Wednesday when they brought in center Elizabeth Kitley, who had been a free agent since being waived by the Las Vegas Aces, on a 7-day contract. The unfortunate part of the news is that the signing was only possible due to continued injury absences. Tiffany Hayes could miss the rest of the regular season with her knee continuing to bother her. Kitley is not expected to play much given that the Valkyries have four other true post players right now, but given that the team qualifies for a hardship exception, it makes sense to bring someone in for future evaluation.
Kitley’s College Career
Growing up in North Carolina as a highly-regarded recruit, Kitley opted to head to Virginia Tech for college even though the program had not had recent success. She made an immediate impact as the conference’s Freshman of the Year, but the season was cut short before they could play in the NCAA tournament due to the pandemic. She had an even better season the next year and they were finally able to make the tournament. Her career continues with two conference Player of the Year awards, helping the team make the Final Four in her senior year. She could have entered the WNBA draft at that point in 2023, but she opted to use her final year of eligibility, having her best season yet only to see it cut short by an injury.
Kitley’s WNBA Journey
The injury that ended Kitley’s college career would also keep her out for the entire WNBA season, but she was automatically entered into the 2024 draft with her college eligibility expiring. That meant that she was going to fall relative to her talent level and it was Las Vegas that took the chance at the end of the second round. They made sure that she felt valued as a future part of the team during her injury recovery, which also gave her time with Natalie Nakase while she was coaching there. She could have opted to enter the 2025 draft in the hopes of being picked higher, but she decided to sign her contract when free agency opened.
Kitley was able to make her professional debut in the season opener for Las Vegas and score her first points. While she was able to score eleven points in one game and got one start, those were the only other times in twelve games that she was able to score and she did not play too many minutes. With the team looking to change their fortunes around in midseason, they made a trade to bring in NaLyssa Smith to be their other starting post player at the end of June. To make space for the transaction, they waived Kitley and Tiffany Mitchell and she has not had any other WNBA opportunities since.
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