WNBA draft: Michigan State star Nia Clouden drafted to Connecticut Sun in Round 1

Michigan State women's basketball star Nia Clouden broke records during her time in East Lansing.

Now, she'll she what she can do at the highest level of the sport. Clouden, a four-year star for the Spartans, was drafted No. 12 overall in Monday night's WNBA draft to the Connecticut Sun.

Clouden was one of just 12 athletes invited to New York City to attend the draft in person as her stock continued to rise from under-the-radar as a freshman, to a tantalizing next-level prospect.

She finished her Michigan State career No. 2 all-time in career points (1,882) and etched her name into the record books when she scored a program-record 50 points against Florida Gulf Coast in December.

Clouden, a 5-foot-8 guard from Owings Mills, Maryland, started and played in all 117 games during her four years with MSU.

The guard led her team in scoring each of the past three years and put up a career-high 20.0 points this season, to go with 4.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.2 steals and shot a career-best 39.6% from long range.

The senior finished the season fifth in scoring in the league and seventh in made free throws, as she was named to the All-Big Ten team for the fourth consecutive year and was named to two All-American lists (Associated Press and WBCA) as an honorable mention.

Clouden is now the fifth Michigan State women's basketball player to be drafted to the WNBA in the league's 26 years. The last was Tori Jankoska, who was drafted No. 9 overall by the Chicago Sky in 2017. The only Spartan currently in the league is Aerial Powers, taken No. 5 overall by the Dallas Wings in 2016 and now plays for the Minnesota Lynx.

Kristin Hayne, one of Clouden's assistant coaches during her time at MSU, was the first Spartan to be drafted, going No. 9 in 2005. Her teammate Liz Shimek followed suit and was drafted by the Phoenix Mercury in the second round the following year.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: WNBA draft: Michigan State's Nia Clouden goes to Connecticut Sun in round 1