4 days Ago
A family connection is brewing within Seattle's professional sports teams. In a strange coincidence, the Seattle Storm drafted Kansas State's Serena Sundell during Monday's WNBA Draft. Jalen Sundell, who went undrafted out of North Dakota State in 2024, is already on the Seattle Seahawks' roster.
Jalen, 25, will be competing for a starting center role this upcoming season alongside Olu Oluwatimi. He played in 12 games last season — primarily on special teams — and logged 57 offensive snaps. During his college career at NDSU, Jalen was a three-time FCS champion and played in 57 games.
Serena, 21, led the NCAA in total assists (262) and assists per game (7.3). Following an impressive four-year career at Kansas State, the Storm selected her 26th overall in Monday's draft.
She was originally projected as a first-round pick but slid to the beginning of the third round, making it an easy selection for Seattle as they try and acquire backcourt depth. The sibling duo, despite both being early in their careers, have a chance to be the best in Seattle professional sports. If Jalen can upset Oluwatimi for a starting center role and Serena can make the Storm's final roster, the pair could stick around for the long haul on both teams.
Serena was one of four draft picks by the Storm, including two other guards. She is considered the favorite to make the roster out of the three, particularly because of her skill set as a distributor. But there's a narrow space to make the final cut, which could be kept to just 11 total players because of salary cap constraints.
Serena followed up No. 2 overall pick Dominique Malonga — considered the potential future face of the Storm franchise. Jalen had an uphill battle last season after going undrafted and managed to stick around all year.
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald has spoken highly of him, considering him a prime candidate to compete for the starting role in a weak center draft class. More Seahawks on SI stories Seahawks host former Louisville journeyman QB Seattle Seahawks 3-round post-Drew Lock return 2025 NFL mock draft Ben Roethlisberger sides with Russell Wilson in feud with Steelers OC NFL mock draft has Seahawks trading for Bears offensive lineman.
