NEW YORK, N.Y. - It's official! Jalen Williams, a two-time All-WCC selection, has become Santa Clara men's basketball's 27th NBA Draft pick after being selected 12th overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft. Williams becomes the program's fourth first round selection and the first overall selection since Steve Nash was taken 15th overall by the Phoenix Suns in 1996.
Williams is the program's highest drafted prospect of the modern era and the second-highest drafted prospect in program history behind only Ken Sears, who went fourth overall in 1955. He is also the first first round draft pick from a West Coast Conference program, outside of Gonzaga, since 2001 (Pepperdine's Brandon Armstrong).
Ladies and Gentlemen
— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) June 24, 2022
Our HIGHEST draft pick of the modern era....
Congratulations @JdubPSCEO ������#StampedeAhead pic.twitter.com/T2D4UCpxNJ
Williams turned heads with his performance at the NBA Combine to shoot up teams' draft boards. This, of course, came on the heels of what would prove to be his best season of his three-year collegiate career with the Broncos. His 2021-22 campaign was one to remember with the sharpshooter establishing himself as one of the premier athletes in the WCC. He earned first team All-WCC honors after averaging 18.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. He was the only player in that nation to average those numbers while also shooting 56 percent from 2-point range and 41 percent from beyond the arc. Williams finished the season with 594 points, the eighth-most in a single season in program history.
Hey @okcthunder, you just got the steal of the draft.
— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) June 24, 2022
Here's a lil preview of what to expect ��#StampedeAhead pic.twitter.com/x8A77nZAOw
Also an all-region selection, Williams scored in double figures in all but two games in 2021-22, with the two exceptions both being 8-point outings. He tallied 12 games of 20 or more points including a career-high 30 points against Hawai'i. Williams came through in the clutch time and time again for the Broncos, including hitting the game-winning shot just before the buzzer to help Santa Clara knock off BYU for the first time since 2017. In SCU's upset victory over No. 22 Saint Mary's, their first win over a ranked opponent since 2004, Williams finished the game with a double-double of 18 points and 10 assists.
Williams joins the elite company of Ken Sears (4th in 1955), Bud Ogden (13th in 1969) and Steve Nash (15th in 1996) as first round selections to come out of Santa Clara.
