Kelsey Plum will retire her No. 10 jersey next season by the University of Washington, the school announced Friday. She will be the first women’s basketball player in school history to have her number retired.
Washington will begin its “Forever 10” celebration in honor of Plum’s impact on the Huskies’ track and field program and women’s basketball during Saturday’s homecoming football game against USC between the first and second quarters. Plum’s jersey will be retired when the Huskies host Purdue on Nov. 18.
“I am forever proud to be a Husky and UW is a special place that has fundamentally shaped me both as a basketball player and as a person,” Plum said in the school’s official announcement.
“It means a lot to me to receive this honor and celebrate it with my family, friends and alumni. It will be an amazing feeling to look up at the rafters and see my jersey next to the jerseys I have admired for so long. “
Plum, who played for the Huskies from 2013 to 2017, won Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, led the conference in scoring average for three straight seasons and led the nation as a senior. Her 57 points against Utah in 2017 set a school record. She was the leading scorer in Division I women’s basketball with 3,527 points until Caitlin Clark surpassed her this year, finishing with 3,951 points.
As a junior, Plum led the Huskies to their first Final Four appearance in program history and was named a third-team AP All-American. During her senior season, she won numerous honors during her senior year, including Pac-12 Player of the Year, the John R. Wooden Award, the Dawn Staley Award, and Naismith College Player of the Year, and she was named AP of the first team. Completely American.
Following her college career, Plum was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 WNBA Draft by the then-San Antonio Stars. The team became the Las Vegas Aces in its second season and won back-to-back WNBA championships in 2022-2023. Last summer, Plum won a gold medal with the U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team.
Plum will be the sixth athlete in school history to have his jersey retired. He joins Bob Houbregs, Brandon Roy and Isaiah Thomas in men’s basketball, along with Courtney Thompson and Krista Vansant in volleyball.
