What to know
- The Toronto Tempo picked UCLA alum Kiki Rice as its first draft pick during the college draft Monday night.
- Toronto’s WNBA team also picked Teonni Key, Saffron Shiels, and Charlise Dunn.
- On Tuesday morning, the team signed its first Canadian player, Kia Nurse, who played for Team Canada during the 2016 and 2020 Olympics.
National basketball champion Kiki Rice is heading to Toronto.
On Monday night, the Toronto Tempo chose the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) star player sixth in the first round as their inaugural draft pick.
Toronto’s newest Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) team also picked three more college draftees during the second and third rounds.
During the 2026 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) season, Rice averaged 14.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. The five-foot-eleven guard helped bring UCLA to its first-ever NCAA women’s basketball championship earlier this month.
The Toronto Tempo also drafted University of Kentucky forward Teonni Key and Australian forward Saffron Shiels during the second round of the draft. The team ended draft night by picking Davidson College’s Charlise Dunn.
On Tuesday morning, Toronto Tempo signed its first Canadian player, nabbing Hamilton-born Kia Nurse, a point guard who played for the Chicago Sky during the 2025 season. She also played for Team Canada during the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games.
