L.A. Sparks draft pick Sarah Ashlee Barker poses for a picture with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
Sarah Ashlee Barker did everything she could to leave a lasting impression on WNBA talent evaluators in her final college game. The Alabama guard scored 45 points on just 25 shots and went 4-of-6 from 3-point range in a double-overtime loss to Maryland in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
She scored the Crimson Tide’s final seven points in regulation — including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 37 seconds left — to get the game to overtime. With no time remaining on the clock in the first overtime, Barker calmly nailed three free throws to keep Alabama alive. She accounted for her team’s last four points in the second overtime period too.
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The L.A. Sparks were impressed enough to take Barker with the ninth overall pick in Monday’s WNBA Draft.
“There’s so many great players in the W,” Barker said in her press conference. “I’m so excited for the competition, for the athleticism, and just a new chapter in my life. I’ve been in college for five years, and so I’m just ready to start that next chapter.”
Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, Barker spent her first two seasons at Georgia before returning home to play for the Crimson Tide — the school her father, Jay Barker, quarterbacked to a national championship in 1992. She was a first-team All-SEC selection her final two years at Alabama, posting career highs in points (18.2), assists (3.9) and field goal percentage (51.4%) as a fifth-year senior.
Throughout her time speaking with the media Monday night, Barker repeatedly mentioned her gratefulness. That largely stems from a time at 13 years old when she had to undergo two knee surgeries, which put her future in the game in doubt.
“When I was in eighth grade I had a knee injury that could have taken me away from the game of basketball,” she said. “So for me at 13 years old, I couldn’t run for nine months and I was out for a whole year or over a year. So for me to even be able to step on the floor, it means the world to me. I’m just so grateful that I just have the opportunity to continue playing.”
Guiding Barker along her journey to the WNBA has also been a strong faith in God. She often references her faith on social media and publicly shares about the important role it plays in her life.
In another press conference, after her 45-point performance in the NCAA Tournament, she was asked how she prepared to take those free throws with Alabama’s season on the line. Barker said she found peace knowing it was all in God’s hands.
“The Lord is who I look to for my strength, my peace,” she said. “He upholds me. … That’s exactly what I went to, was who my strength is. And that’s my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
Even though Barker could have declared for the draft last year, she always planned on using all of her college eligibility.
“I think college athletics is huge, and it’s a lot of fun,” she told The Crimson White in 2023. “And so, I want to be able to stay in college as long as I can. There’s really no thought process other than ‘I have another year, I’m going to take it,’ and whatever happens, happens. God has a plan, and I always trust His plan. I really put no thought into it because I trust in Him.”
After her college career came to an end, Barker posted a letter on Instagram reflecting on her journey and thanking everyone who has supported her along the way. She then officially declared for the WNBA Draft and once again pointed to her trust in God’s plan.
“I cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for me!!” Barker wrote. “Roll tide forever.”
She ended the post with the same Bible verse she writes on her wrist before games, Isaiah 41:10: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
As she prepares to enter the next chapter of her story, Barker knows that God is ultimately in control and will be guiding her every step of the way.
“I just know that whatever God has for my life, that’s how my story is going to be written and I’m not writing it. God is,” Barker told the Shelby County Reporter last month. “The only thing that I can control is how hard I work and how much effort I put into the game, but I can’t control the wins and the losses. Because it’s not my story to write, it’s His, and it’s already been written.”
Barker and the Sparks will play a preseason game May 6 against the WNBA’s expansion franchise, the Golden State Valkyries, the team L.A. will also face for its regular-season opener May 16.
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