For the first time in program history, two Mississippi alumni landed on the WNBA All-Defensive Team in the same season — and they did it in the same year they each earned the honor for the first time in their careers.
Washington Mystics center Shakira Austin claimed a spot on the All-Defensive First Team, while guard Sonia Citron was named to the All-Defensive Second Team. The double recognition puts Ole Miss in rare company and signals that the program's defensive identity is translating at the highest level of the professional game.
Austin anchors the First Team
Austin's selection is backed by a dominant statistical case. The Mystics center posted 408 total rebounds and 51 blocked shots, commanding the low post with a presence that earned her recognition alongside a First Team that includes Atlanta Dream stars Rhyne Howard and Angel Reese, and Golden State Valkyries forward Gabby Williams. That's elite company, and Austin earned her place in it.
For a Mystics franchise that has been rebuilding, Austin's emergence as one of the WNBA's premier defensive anchors is a significant milestone — both for Washington and for the Ole Miss alumni community watching her career arc.
Citron joins her on the Second Team
Sonia Citron's Second Team nod rounds out what is a landmark week for the Rebel faithful. Like Austin, this is the first All-Defensive recognition of Citron's career, making it a breakthrough moment rather than a validation of previous honors. The guard's selection reflects a league-wide acknowledgment that her defensive impact has reached an elite tier.
The Ole Miss angle
It's worth pausing on what this moment represents for Mississippi basketball. Two alumni, honored simultaneously, for defense — traditionally one of the harder skills to translate from college to the pros. Head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin has built a program with a reputation for toughness, and Austin and Citron are now its most visible proof points at the professional level.
No other Ole Miss alumni in the WNBA — Marquesha Davis (Chicago Sky) or Cotie McMahon (Washington Mystics) — made the All-Defensive teams this cycle, but the Austin-Citron pairing alone is enough to make this a week Oxford, Mississippi will remember.
The WNBA Finals are underway between the Golden State Valkyries and the Atlanta Dream, and while neither Austin nor Citron's teams are in the championship round, their names are very much part of the league's end-of-season conversation — exactly where Ole Miss alumni belong.
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