Kaila Charles

Kaila Charles (born March 23, 1998) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Seattle Storm of the WNBA. She played college basketball for the University of Maryland, College Park. After a successful college career there, Charles was drafted by the Connecticut Sun with the 23rd overall pick in the 2020 WNBA draft.

Kaila Charles

Charles in 2020
Personal information
Born	(1998-03-23) March 23, 1998
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight	168 lb (76 kg)
Career information
High school	Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, Maryland)
College	Maryland (2016–2020)
WNBA draft	2020: 2nd round, 23rd overall pick
Selected by the Connecticut Sun
Playing career	2020–present
Position	Shooting guard / small forward
Career history
2020–2021	Connecticut Sun
2022	Atlanta Dream
2023	Seattle Storm
2023-present	DVTK HUN-Therm
Career highlights and awards
Third-team All-American – AP, USBWA (2020) 3x First-team All-Big Ten (2018–2020) Big Ten All-Freshman Team (2017) McDonald's All-American (2016)
Stats at Basketball Reference

Early life

High school

Charles hails from Glenn Dale, Maryland. For her first three years of high school, she attended Eleanor Roosevelt High School in nearby Greenbelt, where her teams had a combined 72 and 5 record. While at Eleanor Roosevelt, Charles' teams won two Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association Class AAAA state championships (2014 and 2015). Charles also earned Washington Post All-Metro honors as a sophomore and junior. She transferred her senior year to Riverdale Baptist School in Upper Marlboro, and helped the team to a national championship game. She was a McDonalds and Women's Basketball Coaches Association All-American selection as a senior, and also received All-Metro Player of The Year honors from the Post.

Recruiting

Charles was ranked as the 25th best player in her national class by ESPN and the Collegiate Girls Report, though the All Star Girls Report had her ranked as high as 21st. She was a highly-sought player as a five-star recruit, and received over 30 scholarship offers, eventually signing with Brenda Frese and the nearby Maryland Terrapins over Tennessee and South Carolina.

College career

Freshman season (2016-17)

Charles earned a double-double in her first game and saw a large amount of playing time. She was eventually named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.

Sophomore season (2017-18)

As a sophomore, Charles was named a Preseason All-Big Ten team member, as well as a preseason Ann Meyers Drysdale Award watch list member. Charles became the third player in program history to score 600 points as a second year player, and her 17.9 points per game remain the highest-ever for a Maryland sophomore. Charles earned her first Big Ten Player of the Week honors as a sophomore, and finished the season as a First Team All-Big Ten selection.

Junior season (2018-19)

Charles received Player of the Week in February of this season, and finished the season receiving Associated Press and WBCA Honorable Mention All-American honors, and becoming a Cheryl Miller Award finalist. She was also a unanimous First Team All-Big Ten selection, and appeared on the watchlist for the Wade Trophy.

Senior season (2019-2020)

Prior to the 2019-20 season, she was named an AP Preseason All-American, as well as the preseason Big Ten Player of the Year. Charles was Big Ten, United States Basketball Writers Association, and ESPNW player of the week for December 30, and would receive Big Ten Player of the Week Honors once again in February. Charles finished her Maryland career by winning the 2020 Big Ten women's basketball tournament, the first time the team had done so since her freshman year, after losing to Ohio State and Iowa in the championship game the two previous years.

Charles became one of six players in program history to be in the program's top ten scorers and rebounders, holding sixth place for both. She also tied Sun teammate Alyssa Thomas' record of career starts (135), as she started every game of her career.

Maryland statistics

Source

Ratios

YEAR	Team	GP	FG%	3P%	FT%	RBG	APG	BPG	SPG	PPG
2016-17	Maryland	35	51.1%	-	68.5%	5.57	1.23	0.51	1.26	9.69
2017-18	Maryland	34	50.3%	33.3%	73.2%	8.09	2.12	1.06	1.56	17.94
2018-19	Maryland	33	48.6%	7.1%	80.5%	6.91	2.33	0.70	1.30	17.55
2019-20	Maryland	32	50.0%	30.0%	69.5%	7.25	2.22	0.63	1.59	14.25
Career		134	49.9%	22.2%	74.0%	6.94	1.96	0.72	1.43	14.81

Totals

YEAR	Team	GP	FG	FGA	3P	3PA	FT	FTA	REB	A	BK	ST	PTS
2016-17	Maryland	35	139	272	0	3	61	89	195	43	18	44	339
2017-18	Maryland	34	246	489	6	18	112	153	275	72	36	53	610
2018-19	Maryland	33	221	455	1	14	136	169	228	77	23	43	579
2019-20	Maryland	32	190	380	3	10	73	105	232	71	20	51	456
Career		134	796	1596	10	45	382	516	930	263	97	191	1984

WNBA

Connecticut Sun

Charles was drafted by the Connecticut Sun with the 23rd pick in the second round of the 2020 WNBA draft. She appeared in 21 games for the Sun in her rookie year, starting seven. She averaged 5.4 points and 2.6 rebounds over 17.9 minutes per game. Despite being the seventh seed (of eight) in the 2020 WNBA Playoffs, the Sun made it to the semifinals before losing to the Las Vegas Aces in five games. Charles was waived by the Sun on May 5, 2022.

New York Liberty

On May 6, 2022, Charles joined the New York Liberty on a hardship contract. Two days later, she was released from the hardship and did not appear in any games.

Atlanta Dream

On August 12, 2022, Charles signed with the Dream on a hardship contract.

WNBA career statistics

Legend

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

Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PPG
2020	Connecticut	21	7	17.9	.412	.367	.710	2.6	0.9	0.8	0.3	0.9	5.4
2021	Connecticut	30	4	16.3	.368	.303	.875	2.8	1.1	0.5	0.4	0.9	4.3
2022	Atlanta	1	0	2.0	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
2023	Seattle	4	0	10.3	.250	.000	—	1.3	0.3	0.3	0.0	0.0	1.5
Career	4 years, 3 teams	56	11	16.2	.380	.323	.782	2.6	0.9	0.6	0.3	0.8	4.4

Postseason

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PPG
2020	Connecticut	7	0	11.7	.375	.182	1.000	1.7	0.4	0.1	0.1	1.3	4.0
2021	Connecticut	4	1	13.3	.313	.000	.000	3.0	0.8	0.3	0.3	0.3	2.5
Career	2 years, 1 team	11	1	12.3	.350	.167	1.000	2.2	0.5	0.2	0.2	0.9	3.5

International career

DVTK HUN-Therm

On July 4, 2023, Charles signed with Hungarian team DVTK HUN-Therm in the EuroLeague to play in 2023 after the completion of the WNBA season.

International career statistics

EuroLeague

Year	Team	GP	MPG	PPG	PTS	RPG	APG	FGM-FGA	FG%	3PM-3PA	3P%	FTM-FTA	FT%
2023-24	DVTK HUN-Therm	19	32.9	11.5	219	8.3	2.8	4.3-12.5	34.6	0.8-2.7	31.4	2.1-2.9	69.6

Personal life

Charles' mother, Ruperta Charles, competed in the 100 meter dash at the 1984 Summer Olympics on behalf of Antigua and Barbuda after attending Howard University. She has three older siblings. Her sister, Afia, was a track athlete at the University of Central Florida and represented Antigua and Barbuda in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Her brother Akil plays basketball at St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia, Canada.