Gianna Kneepkens is an offensive maestro.
This year, she led the Utes to their fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance, averaging a team-high 19.2 points per game.
Kneepkens also finished the 2024-25 regular season with historic efficiency. She is one of 19 all-time players to shoot better than 50% from the field, 40% from 3-point range, and 90% from the charity stripe in at least 20 games or more. (Utah senior sharpshooter Kennady McQueen is also a part of that list.)
Ahead of No. 8 Utah’s matchup against No. 9 Indiana in the first round of March Madness on Friday, Kneepkens will be the key to whether or not the Utes can make a deep run in the postseason in 2025.
But, once the season comes to an end, she’ll have a decision to make on her future. The junior guard could opt to return for another ride with the Utes or choose to enter the WNBA draft.
“I’m definitely just trying to focus on the moment,” Kneepkens told The Salt Lake Tribune. “If you don’t focus on now, nothing in the future really matters. So just focusing on that, and then just talking to people that are close to me and that know me best, I think, is just the approach I’ve been taking.”
If Kneepkens were to enter the WNBA draft this offseason, there’s no question she’d be draftable, according to ESPN college basketball analyst Debbie Antonelli. The only question would be where she would be picked and if she’d be able to stick on a roster for one of the 13 franchises.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes guard Gianna Kneepkens (5) as Utah hosts Arizona State, NCAA basketball in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024.
“There are limited roster spots right now,” Antonelli said. “The trend is, if you’re a second- or third-round pick, it’s really hard to make a roster. Realistically, would she be willing to roll the dice on that and think that going overseas, for sure, is going to benefit her more than staying at Utah and playing another year?
“I think that’s realistic to weigh. Would she get drafted? Yes. Would she make a roster is another conversation. We need expansion, we need more teams, and this is why we need it.”
Another factor in Kneepkens' decision could be based on pay. In 2024, the supermaximum salary in the league was $241,984 per season and the minimum was $64,154, according to ESPN.
Kneepkens could potentially make more money with NIL deals.
She also sees the benefits of staying for another season of college basketball.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes forward Maye Toure (21) and Utah Utes guard Gianna Kneepkens (5) as Utah hosts the Kansas Jayhawks in NCAA basketball in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025.
“I think another year of college basketball could, you know, just give me an opportunity to kind of just become more physical, just learn about myself a little bit more,” Kneepkens said. “Because I think every year that I play college basketball, I learn something new about myself each year. So getting that experience [would be a positive]. There’s great college basketball teams that prepare you for the WNBA or pro basketball.”
According to Tankathon’s 2025 WNBA draft Big Board, Kneepkens is listed as the 21st-best player in this season’s draft, which would put her in second-round territory. In its latest mock draft, they have Utah’s guard being drafted by the Chicago Sky with the 22nd pick, pairing her with former LSU star forward Angel Reese.
Antonelli envisions Kneepkens starring in a role similar to the Indiana Fever’s Lexie Hull, who averaged 5.5 points per game last season.
“I’m not one to believe everything I read about where some people project on draft picks and draft stock and all that. So I think there’s some inflated stock on some players,” Antonelli said. “In the beginning part of her professional career, she’s not going to be a starter. She’s going to have to be somebody that can play a role in nine, 10, 11 minutes a night. She seems like she’d be good in that kind of role.
“Her minutes are going to be on a learning curve, she would be somebody that I think could be a specialist off the bench, because she shoots it so well with size. So I do think she has a bright future.”
With Kneepkens' future still up in the air, she’s focused on the Utes first-round matchup against the Hoosiers. If Utah wins, it’d likely be in line for a second-round bout against defending champion South Carolina.
That’s where her focus is now. Then she’ll ultimately make a decision on her future.
“I’m just not taking anything for granted,” Kneepkens said. “There’ve been a lot of good moments this year, and I’m excited to continue to have some more.”
How to watch Utah in the NCAA tournament
Utah vs. Indiana
When: Friday, March 21
Tipoff: 11:30 a.m. MT
TV and streaming: ESPN
![(Photo courtesy of Valerie Hamaker via Religion News Service) Nathan and Valerie Hamaker, co-hosts of the popular “Latter Day Struggles” podcast, have resigned their membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In a livestream Wednesday, Valerie explained that "as paradoxical as it may seem, it's because we care about this [faith] tradition that we are opening our mouths.”](https://www.sltrib.com/resizer/v2/7O7343CT2BDQDHODE2UJCSGVYI.jpg?auth=f79527b0639685af42e3f3ba6105184c4784821d8f85033e9be34ea500cbd3b9&width=111&quality=88)
