Madina Okot’s road to the WNBA didn’t start with a basketball. It started with a volleyball.
Born in Mumias, in Kenya’s Kakamega County, Okot spent her early teenage years on the volleyball court at Bishop Sulumeti Secondary School. Basketball wasn’t even on her radar.
A late, reluctant start
Everything changed when she moved to Kaya Tiwi Secondary School, a coastal institution known for producing Kenyan basketball talent. A coach spotted her height and potential and came calling.
Okot wasn’t sold straight away. It took her parents’ encouragement to push her onto the court. She didn’t pick up a basketball seriously until 2020, aged 16.
Five years, first-round pick
What followed was rapid. Within five years of first playing organized basketball, Okot was a first-round WNBA draft pick — a rise her South Carolina coach, Dawn Staley, called remarkable given how “incredibly young in her basketball career” she still was.
Kenya’s colors came first
Standing at 6-foot-6, Okot developed into a dominant centre and represented Kenya in international 3×3 basketball before ever setting foot on a US college court. She also played domestically for Kenya Ports Authority.
Her coach at South Carolina, Dawn Staley, later reflected on that journey, saying Okot was “incredibly young in her basketball career” but showed “maturity and desire to improve” well beyond her years.
Mississippi State before the Gamecocks
Her American journey began at Mississippi State, not South Carolina. During the 2024–25 season, Okot averaged 11.3 points and 9.6 rebounds a game, shooting an SEC-best 64.9 per cent from the field.
Her standout outing came against Vanderbilt, where she posted 21 points and 23 rebounds in a single game.
A leap forward at South Carolina
The transfer to South Carolina took her game to another level. During the 2025–26 season, Okot averaged 12.8 points and an SEC-best 10.6 rebounds per game, recording 22 double-doubles along the way.
Her performances helped South Carolina reach the national championship game, cementing her status as one of the most productive frontcourt players in women’s college basketball.
Reflecting on her rise, Okot said simply that being drafted felt like “a dream come true”.
From a volleyball court in Kakamega to the first round of the WNBA draft, Okot’s path proves that talent doesn’t always follow a straight line — and that a late start can still lead somewhere extraordinary.
