Oklahoma State University Athletics
Phylesha Whaley
July 20, 2005 | General
Whaley comes to OSU after spending the past two seasons at Texas-San Antonio, serving as an assistant coach under former Cowgirl assistant Rae Rippetoe-Blair.
As a player at the University of Oklahoma, Whaley was a three-time, first-team All-Big 12 pick, earning Big 12 Player of the Year and All-America honors following her senior season in 2000. She was also named as the league's player of the week seven times during her career.
A third-round draft choice (38th overall) of the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx, Whaley left OU as the school's all-time leading scorer with 2,187 points. With her selection in the draft, she became the first women's basketball player at Oklahoma to be drafted professionally.
In addition, she started every contest during her 116-game career, leading the school to its first Big 12 regular season title and its first NCAA Sweet 16 appearance in 2000.
Whaley, who earned her degree in sociology from OU in 2000, was twice named to the Academic All-Big 12 team and was selected as a Sooner Scholar on four occasions.
The Slaton, Texas native was a finalist for the NCAA 2000 National Woman of the Year award, was a member of the Oklahoma Student-Athlete Advisory Board and was selected as an OU Athletic Leader for her accomplishments away from the court.
