On Friday, the Washington Huskies announced they will retire Kelsey Plum’s number 10 and make her the first women’s basketball player to have her jersey hang from the rafters. The “Forever 10” celebration will kick off homecoming weekend at Husky Stadium on Saturday, with the jersey retirement set for Jan 18, 2025, at Alaska Airlines Arena.
“I’m forever proud to be a Husky, and UW is a special place that fundamentally shaped me both as a basketball player and as a person,” Plum said in a press release. “It means the world to me to receive this honor and to celebrate it with my family, friends, and alumni. It will be a great feeling to look up at the rafters and see my jersey alongside those that I’ve admired for so long.”
Plum was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 WNBA Draft, making her the first overall pick in Washington basketball history. She ranks as the No. 2 scorer in women’s college basketball history, only behind Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, and won back-to-back WNBA championships with the Las Vegas Aces in 2022 and 2023.
She also played with Team USA in 2020, winning a gold medal in the 3-on-3 tournament and then winning gold again with the 5-on-5 team at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“Kelsey is one of the great basketball players of all time, and she’s a UW legend,” Washington athletic director Pat Chun said. “An Olympic gold medalist and WNBA champion, Kelsey has inspired fans worldwide and countless young basketball players and student-athletes. We’re so fortunate to have Kelsey in the Husky family and honored to celebrate her as one of the greatest to wear the Purple and Gold. We look forward to January and raising that banner with her name on it to the rafters where it belongs.”