MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL – The Minnesota Lynx today announced the team has signed forward Alissa Pili (PEE-lee) and guard Kiki Jefferson. Per team policy, terms of the agreements were not disclosed.
Pili, 6-2, was selected eighth overall by Minnesota in the 2024 WNBA Draft. She split her five-year college career between USC (2019-22) and Utah (2022-24), earning All-Pac-12 honors three times and being named the conference’s Player of the Year in 2022-23 and Freshman of the Year in 2019-20. The Anchorage, Alaska native averaged 21.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game this past season, shooting 55.0% from the floor, 40.4% (57-for-141) from three-point range and 82.0% from the free throw line. At the conclusion of her senior campaign, Pili garnered All-America Second Team honors by The Athletic and All-American Third Team by AP, Sporting News and USBWA and was named a finalist for the Wooden Award Top 15 and the Katrina McClain Award Top 5.
Jefferson, 6-1, played four seasons at James Madison before transferring to Louisville for the 2023-24 campaign. The Lancaster, Pa. native was named the Sun Belt Conference’s Player of the Year in 2022-23 after netting 18.3 points (42.9%), 7.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game in 34 contests, and earned All-ACC Second Team honors following a 2023-24 season that saw her lead Louisville in scoring (12.3 points per game) while adding 4.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists and shooting 46.6% from the field, 34.9% from beyond the arc and 88.4% from the line. During the final year of her collegiate career, Jefferson was recognized as a Top 10 Finalist for the Cheryl Miller Award. She was selected 31st overall in the WNBA Draft by the Lynx.
Pili will wear #35 and Jefferson will wear #30 for Minnesota.