San José, Calif. - San José State senior Tyra Whitehead is headed to Washington D.C. to join the Washington Mystics in training camp ahead of the 2021 WNBA season.
A 2019-20 All-Mountain West honoree, Whitehead exits San José State as one of the most accomplished Spartans in program history.
"Tyra was a great Spartan and we are thrilled she is getting the chance to prove herself at the next level," says head coach Jamie Craighead. "This is a proud and historic day for San José State basketball. Most importantly, this is about Ty and all of the hard work she has put in since she first touched a basketball."
Whitehead finished her Spartan career averaging a double-double of 14.1 points and 10.1 rebounds game. One of the most all-around, dominant players in the Mountain West throughout her time at SJSU, she proved her strength on the defensive end of the floor as well to the tune of 2.2 steals and 1.2 blocks per game.
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— San José State Basketball (@SanJoseStateWBB) April 18, 2021
congratulations to @tmarie1533 on her invitation to join the @WashMystics for training camp! #SpartanUp pic.twitter.com/xizLytgybN
Prior to the 2020-21 season, Whitehead was named to the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year preseason watch list. The forward earned All-Mountain West recognition following her junior season and has received three Mountain West Player of the Week awards in her two seasons at San Jose State. In addition, Whitehead was named the SJSU Student-Athlete of the Month in both November and December of 2020.
Whitehead finished the 2019-20 campaign ranked first in the Mountain West in defensive rebounds, second in overall rebounding, second in steals, third in offensive rebounds, fourth in field goal percentage, sixth in blocked shots and 11th in scoring. She grabbed a total of 314 total rebounds to rank No. 4 on SJSU's all-time single season list. Whitehead was one of two Mountain West performers to finish the season averaging a double-double and was just the fifth Spartan in school history to average a season double-double.
don't sleep on the Mountain West ??@tmarie1533 ready for the next level! pic.twitter.com/DknKBd6a9T
— San José State Basketball (@SanJoseStateWBB) April 14, 2021
The WNBA regular season will tip-off on May 14, with the Mystics beginning play on May 15 against the Chicago Sky.