Maria Gakdeng
Gakdeng with North Carolina in 2024 | |
| Free agent | |
|---|---|
| Position | Center |
| Personal information | |
| Born | June 9, 2003 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Career information | |
| High school | |
| College |
|
| WNBA draft | 2025: undrafted |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
Maria Gakdeng (born June 9, 2003) is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. She played college basketball for Boston College Eagles and the North Carolina Tar Heels.
Early life and high school career
Gakdeng was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to South Sudanese parents who fled the civil war in 1999. Her family moved to Lanham, Maryland, in 2011.[1][2] She attended Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington, D.C., and New Hope Academy in Hyattsville, Maryland, where she was named second-team All-WCAC in her senior season.[3]
College career
Boston College Eagles
Gakdeng debuted for the Boston College Eagles on November 9, 2021, starting in an 86–60 win against Harvard. On January 6, 2022, she scored a season-high 21 points in a 95–71 win against Syracuse. She scored 16 points and made a season-high 6 blocks in a 67–51 win against Duke on February 24. She appeared in all 33 games (32 starts) in her freshman season, finishing with a 8.9 points per game, grabbing a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game, and setting a program single-season record with 73 blocks.[1][3]
Gakdeng set a new career high with 22 points in a 73–63 win against Wake Forest on February 26, 2023. She finished her sophomore season with team bests in cumulative scoring, rebounding, and blocking as she averaged 11.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assist per game to go with 58 total blocks.[3] After her sophomore season, she entered the NCAA transfer portal to join a team with championship potential, choosing North Carolina over other ACC options in Louisville and Notre Dame.[2]
North Carolina Tar Heels
Gakdeng made her North Carolina debut on November 8, 2023, scoring 13 points in a 102–49 season-opening win against Gardner–Webb. She recorded her first double-double for North Carolina with 14 points and 13 rebounds in a 76–64 loss to UConn on December 10. She scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a 59–56 win against Michigan State in the first round of the NCAA tournament, before falling to eventual champions South Carolina in the second round. She averaged 9.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game in her junior season.[4][5]
On March 2, 2025, Gakdeng set a new career high with 25 points in a 78–75 loss to Virginia.[4] She helped North Carolina earn a three seed in the NCAA tournament, hosting tournament games at home for the first time in ten years, and they reached the third round.[6] Gakdeng finished her senior season averaging 10.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game, earning second-team All-ACC honors.[4]
Professional career
On April 15, 2025, the day after going unselected in the 2025 WNBA draft, Gakdeng received an invitation to training camp with the Atlanta Dream.[7] On May 8, she was waived by the Dream.[8]
Career statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| Bold | Career best | ° | League leader |
College
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021–22 | Boston College | 33 | 32 | 25.5 | 58.3 | 0.0 | 57.6 | 6.3 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 8.9 |
| 2022–23 | Boston College | 33 | 33 | 29.6 | 57.8 | 0.0 | 53.8 | 6.5 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 11.3 |
| 2023–24 | UNC | 33 | 32 | 23.9 | 62.6 | 0.0 | 62.0 | 5.9 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 9.2 |
| 2024–25 | UNC | 33 | 33 | 25.4 | 58.7 | 0.0 | 65.2 | 7.6 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.7 | 10.8 |
| Career | 132 | 130 | 26.1 | 59.2 | 0.0 | 59.6 | 6.6 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 10.1 | |
| Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference.[9] | |||||||||||||
References
- ^ a b Biajo, Nabeel (December 17, 2022). "South Sudanese-American Dreams of WNBA Stardom". VOA Africa. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
- ^ a b Bynum, R.L. (October 4, 2023). "Banghart happily succeeded in second recruitment of tenacious center Gakdeng". Tar Heel Tribune. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
- ^ a b c "Maria Gakdeng". Boston College Eagles. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
- ^ a b c "Maria Gakdeng". North Carolina Tar Heels. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
- ^ Delahanty, Nick (October 27, 2024). "Maria Gakdeng set to protect the rim once again for the UNC women's basketball team". Keeping It Heel. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
- ^ Holloway, Jeremiah (May 16, 2025). "UNC WBB Earns No. 3 Seed, Hosting For First Time In 10 Years". 247Sports. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
- ^ The Fam [@thefamsports]; (April 15, 2025). "Congratulations to @mariiaa.teresa on inking a training camp deal with @atlantadream for the 2025 WNBA season 🏀🔥". Retrieved April 15, 2025 – via Instagram.
- ^ Atlanta Dream (May 8, 2025). "The Atlanta Dream have waived forward Maria Gakdeng and guard Emani Jefferson". Twitter. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
- ^ "Maria Gakdeng College Stats". Sports-Reference. Retrieved April 2, 2025.