Why LA Sparks coach expects Ta'Niya Latson to 'surprise people' in rookie WNBA season
The LA Sparks and coach Lynne Roberts are reaping the benefits of other WNBA teams passing on South Carolina women's basketball guard Ta'Niya Latson.
The Los Angeles Sparks and coach Lynne Roberts are reaping the benefits of other WNBA teams passing on South Carolina women's basketball guard Ta'Niya Latson . Latson was widely projected as a first-round pick , but in the 2026 WNBA Draft she fell to the second round, taken by the Sparks with their first selection of the night. "We did not anticipate her to be on the board at No.
20 so we were thrilled with that," Roberts said via Zoom on May 5. "It was not a hard decision in the draft room ... we were excited, we felt like we stole one there and so our expectations are that she's going to surprise people.
" Latson, a 5-foot-8 guard played, one season with coach Dawn Staley after playing three for Florida State. She averaged 14. 1 points per game for the Gamecocks .
She scored seven points with six assists, five rebounds and a block in her WNBA preseason debut against Nigeria on April 25. She followed it up with seven more points, two assists and one rebound against the Portland Fire on May 3. "Ta'Niya's been good," Roberts said.