BREAKING NEWS: Why Huskies to retire Plum’s jersey, a first for women’s program…read more

The University of Washington announced Friday that former Huskies guard Kelsey Plum will have her No. 10 jersey retired when the team hosts Purdue on Jan. 18.

Plum, who played at Washington from 2013 to 2017, will become the first Huskies women’s basketball player to have her jersey retired.

She was the consensus national player of the year as a senior, when she passed Jackie Stiles to become the leading scorer in Division I women’s basketball history with a school-record 57 points on senior day against Utah. Caitlin Clark passed Plum for that record earlier this year. Plum also led Washington to the first Final Four appearance in program history in 2016, when she was chosen for the AP All-America third team.

After being drafted with the No. 1 pick in 2017 by the WNBA’s San Antonio Stars, Plum moved with the team to Las Vegas, and she has been a key starter on Aces teams that won back-to-back championships in 2022 and 2023. A three-time WNBA All-Star, Plum won a gold medal with the U.S. during this summer’s Olympics.

The addition of Plum will give Washington six retired jerseys at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. She joins men’s basketball stars Bob Houbregs, Brandon Roy and Isaiah Thomas as well as Huskies volleyball’s Courtney Thompson and Krista Vansant.

The Huskies enter 2024-25, their first season in the Big Ten, still looking for their first NCAA tournament appearance since reaching the Sweet Sixteen in 2017, Plum’s senior year.