With college career complete, Texas guard Shaylee Gonzales prepares for 2024 WNBA draft

After playing two years in Austin, Shaylee Gonzales is hoping to move on to a city like Las Vegas, Dallas or Seattle. Anywhere that's the home to a WNBA franchise, really.

On Tuesday, the veteran guard bid farewell to the Texas women's basketball program on social media. Gonzales has exhausted her eligibility, so Tuesday was merely a formality. But in her post, she did announce that she has declared for the WNBA draft, which will be held on April 15.

"First, I'd like to thank God for blessing me with ability to play basketball, I wouldn't be anywhere without Him. I'd like to thank my family and friends for the endless love and support," she wrote in her farewell post.

"To my teammates, what a ride it's been," she continued. "I'm so lucky and blessed to have been able to go to war with y'all, through our ups and downs, I will never forget all the memories we made. To Coach (Vic) Schaefer, thank you for giving me the opportunity to finish my last two years of eligibility at Texas. I have learned so much from you, not just about basketball but also about life. It has been an experience I will never forget and will always miss. To the coaching staff, thank you for putting your hearts into this team, for teaching, guiding, and supporting us.

"And to that little girl with a crazy, big dream, all your hard work and sacrifice was worth it. You've been living out your dreams.

"I am excited to announce that I am declaring for the 2024 WNBA draft. Can't wait to see where this next chapter takes me. Thank you all for your support."

Gonzales spent her first four years at BYU, although she was sidelined during the 2019-20 season by a knee injury. She transferred to Texas in 2022.

Over the course of her career, she scored 2,369 career points. Had all of those points been scored at Texas, she would rank second on the school's career scoring list. Had all of those points been scored at BYU, she would rank third there.

Gonzales started each of UT's 74 games over the past two seasons and was the team's top 3-point shooter both years. Her scoring average dipped to 9.4 points per game this season, but she still averaged 31.8 minutes of playing time as Texas asked her to focus more on her defensive assignments and being a secondary ball handler.

Texas went 33-5 and won the Big 12 Tournament championship. The Longhorns' season ended in Sunday's loss to North Carolina State in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas basketball player Shaylee Gonzales declares for WNBA draft