​ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Maddy Siegrist would rather see her WNBA journey blossom into something more than merely good luck. Yet the chance for fortune to smile on her again is aligning with her best position to win, as the fourth-year guard finds herself in a pivotal place with the Dallas Wings. That convergence could even serve as a springboard for Siegrist, who claimed the NCAA Division I scoring title the year Caitlin Clark captured the honors.
“I think it’s about recognizing that sometimes you feel like you’ve been here a long time, but you’re 26 years old and the best basketball is still ahead of you,” Siegrist said, acknowledging her status as the No. 3 overall pick out of Villanova in 2023. “So you rely on your preparation, and when the opportunity presents itself, you step onto the floor with confidence in whatever my team needs me to do.”
In the past two seasons, the Wings depended on Siegrist to represent the team at the draft lottery. After earning the top pick and selecting Paige Bueckers last year, Dallas asked Siegrist to go again, following a 10-win season that tied for the WNBA’s worst. The plan paid off again, as the Wings drafted another UConn star and former Bueckers teammate, Azzi Fudd.
“I don’t know why they keep picking me, but I told them this was it,” Siegrist said with a hint of a smile. “I was one of the younger players on the team, so that’s why I got picked for it. Then we were told again that I’d have to go through it again. I’m like, ‘All you do is stand there.’ I didn’t really do anything.”
The real reason she hopes not to do it again is simple: she doesn’t want her team to endure another season marked by one of the league’s worst records. The Wings are making tangible progress this year, currently in the playoff picture at 14-8 and riding a three-game winning streak on a four-game road trip—the longest stretch of the season away from home. The trip concludes Friday night in Toronto.
Siegrist was a rookie when Dallas won a playoff series for the first time in eight seasons since relocating from Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was also the only full season of her pro career during which she remained healthy from start to finish. Her second season suggested a much bigger leap, but a broken index finger sidelined her for two months. She also sat out two months last season with a fractured shin bone.
Caitlin Clark’s rise as the reigning NCAA scoring champion paralleled Siegrist’s injury-plagued seasons, and then Fudd arrived after Siegrist’s best stretch following her return from the shin fracture. With additional frontcourt roster changes and Jose Fernandez guiding the squad through a third coaching transition in three seasons, Siegrist has seen her role in the rotation fluctuate. Through 21 games, she is averaging 6.2 points and 2.9 rebounds, with six starts.
Her coaches acknowledge the adjustment in her role. It’s clear that Siegrist has the talent and the temperament to contribute in multiple ways, whether that means providing scoring when needed, contributing on defense, or offering veteran leadership as she nears the peak years of her professional career. For now, she remains focused on the present: building on a season that has her positioned to contribute meaningfully as the Wings chase playoff success and, potentially, a new career chapter that could mirror the lofty heights she once reached in college.