Abbey Hsu Becomes 1st Ever WNBA Draft Pick From Parkland

by Matt Rothman April 18, 2024

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Abbey Hsu Becomes 1st Ever WNBA Draft Pick From Parkland

Abbey Hsu of the Columbia Womens Basketball Team. {Attached Photo Credit: Columbia University Athletics / Lem Photography}

The city of Parkland has produced professional athletes in several sports, but Abbey Hsu becomes the first to go professional in the WNBA after being drafted on Monday by the Connecticut Sun 34th overall.

“Being surrounded by my teammates, coaches, girlfriend, sister and mom, it was comforting,” Hsu said. “No matter the outcome that came out of it, I was surrounded by the people that love and believe in me. I was very happy to experience the moment with them, and it was extremely special.”

Hsu began playing basketball competitively when she was seven in a rec league and went on to play in various AAU tournaments throughout Florida. Her journey, though, was never easy. In 2018, she suffered a significant injury, tearing her ACL. Less than two weeks later, she sat in building three at Marjory Stoneman Douglas during the school shooting and escaped, making it to a friend’s house.

Hsu began her high school career playing at Marjory Stoneman Douglas before graduating from St. Thomas’s Aquinas High School in 2019 and went on to play college basketball at Columbia University. However, Hsu not only had her freshman season cut short but also lost her father, Alex Hsu, to COVID-19 in March of 2020. He was the first physician in Broward County to die from COVID-19.

While using basketball to cope with the school shooting, basketball was not an option during the pandemic, and Hsu went on to take a year off from school. She returned to work at the same sushi restaurant where she delivered orders in high school. She reconnected with her girlfriend Lia Sammaritano, who was three years ahead of her at Marjory Stoneman Douglas.

On the court, Hsu became one of the best players ever to play in the Ivy Leagues, recording over 2,000 career points and helping lead Columbia to their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Still, with a few months before graduating, Hsu plans on getting her degree before going on to play in the WNBA.

“It’s pretty cool to stay on the east course,” Hsu said. “I am just so excited to be surrounded by so many amazing players. I have to soak it in, be a sponge, and learn it all from the best players in the world.”

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Matt Rothman

Matt Rothman is a 2018 graduate from Florida Gulf Coast University receiving his bachelor’s degree in journalism and then graduated from the University of Florida as a graduate student. He also works for the Mohave Valley Daily News in Bullhead City, Arizona covering high school sports.