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Madina Okot: The Kenyan prospect eyeing WNBA history
12th April, 2026 02:22 PM
She may have lost the NCAA final on Sunday, April 5, but Kenyan basketball star Madina Okot won hearts while appearing in a landmark women’s college basketball final for her team, the South Carolina Gamecocks, and for Kenyans at large.
The budding athlete made history as the first Kenyan player to appear in an NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship final. Her performance throughout the campaign was more than just eye-catching, despite the heartbreak in the final against the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Featuring in a star-studded team, the Kenyan completed a standout 2025/26 season with the Gamecocks. Her journey is particularly remarkable because she only started playing basketball in 2020 after previously focusing on volleyball.
From volleyball court to basketball’s
Okot’s journey began in Mumias, Kenya, where she attended school. Her path to American college basketball began after universities first expressed interest in her as early as 2022, though she faced prolonged documentation challenges. She eventually debuted in 2024 with Mississippi State University, where she spent a season before switching to South Carolina to become a history-making team member.
In American basketball, Okot has been outstanding. Featuring as a centre and leveraging her 6’6” height, she was selected to the All-SEC Second Team.
She served as the Gamecocks’ top rebounder in 29 of her 39 games played, turning in one of the best rebounding seasons in program history.
Feats with Gamecocks
Her 22 double-doubles ranked third in the nation, and she was in the top 20 for total rebounds. Okot ranks second in the program’s single-season record books for offensive rebounds (149) and third in both total rebounds (412) and defensive rebounds (263). Her 22 double-doubles are also the fifth-most in a single season in program history.
Also Read:Grace Mbugua the Kenyan teen taking US college basketball by storm
The Gamecock senior has, however, exhausted her collegiate eligibility after the NCAA (college division one basketball league) denied an extension, making her ineligible for the 2026/27 season.
New chapter
It, however, only opens a new chapter for the Kenyan who is now in line for the WNBA draft.
The draft is an annual selection procedure held by the WNBA through which WNBA teams can select new players from a talent pool of college and professional women’s basketball players.
Okot is widely projected to be a first-round selection, with teams like the Indiana Fever, Washington Mystics, and the expansion Toronto Tempo among her potential destinations.
In the highly competitive sphere of US college basketball, a successful selection serves as a career-changing move and dictates a player’s immediate career trajectory and financial security.
First-round picks in the WNBA are almost guaranteed a roster spot and are viewed as franchise ‘building blocks’ rather than temporary additions, showcasing just how crucial they are.
If selected, she will become the third Kenyan to appear in the league after Josephie Owino, who featured for the Washington Mystics, and Olivia-Nelson Ododa, a US-based player of Kenyan descent.
