Kaitlyn Chen ’24 Is Helping the WNBA’s Valkyries Defy Expectations

Kaitlyn Chen ’24 has always exuded joy on the basketball court. At Princeton, where she was the Ivy League Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player three times, she was often beaming as she steered the Tigers through stressful moments.

Now as a rookie with the expansion Golden State Valkyries, Chen doesn’t play as many minutes, but her enthusiasm still shines through. Head coach Natalie Nakase said on July 27 that Chen is “almost doing 100 jumps a game, just [on] the sidelines.” And before a game on Aug. 13, Chen borrowed a TV camera and panned to her teammates sitting on the bench. 

Golden State Valkyrie Kaitlyn Chen stole... err borrowed our Monumental Sports Network camera during pregame warm-ups. pic.twitter.com/Yl2u6J4z0L
— Tyler Byrum (@theTylerByrum) August 13, 2025
 

Chen has taken an unconventional path to make the WNBA and stick on a roster. Her first season at Princeton was canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic, so after graduation, Chen played a season at UConn. She and the Huskies won the national championship this spring, with several Tigers there cheering for her. 

Chen then attended the WNBA draft, more to support her UConn teammates than in anticipation of hearing her name called. But she was drafted 30th overall, becoming the first player of Taiwanese descent ever selected. 

Chen faced long odds to make the Valkyries’ roster, and she was waived on May 14, just before the season started. But that setback came with a silver lining. 

“Honestly, being home was sort of nice,” Chen said on July 31. “It sort of gave me time to reset and then to regroup after the crazy spring we had.” 

While Chen reset, she also stayed ready, knowing the Valkyries would lose several players temporarily for the EuroBasket tournament in the summer and might need her back. She worked on weaknesses she’d identified in training camp, got shots up, and lifted weights. She also signed to play in a 3x3 tournament in late June, in case she didn’t get another WNBA opportunity. 

But Chen’s phone eventually rang, and she re-signed with the Valkyries on June 15, after several departures for EuroBasket. 

“The transition for her was like she never left,” Valkyries center and Harvard alumna Temi Fagbenle said on July 31. “She knows how to be a great team player and … be within the system.” 

“We do a really good job of keeping [things] simple,” Chen added, explaining why it was easy to reacclimate to the Valkyries. “Everyone sort of just knows their role, and we just all play to our strengths.” 

Chen’s stint with Golden State was only expected to last a few weeks, until the roster was whole again. But Chen showed enough in her first four games — including a career-high 10 points on June 27 against the Chicago Sky — that the Valkyries decided to keep her and cut other players instead. 

Chen has played in 18 games for the Valkyries and is averaging 2.4 points and 1.2 assists in 11.4 minutes per game. She is making 38.5% of her 3-pointers, which is something she said she’s become much more confident in this summer. She’s also been an effective leader as a rookie point guard. 

“She has a high IQ. She picks things up quick,” Nakase said. “She sees so much, which is really nice because she challenges me in terms of what to call.” 

“For her to take the lead at such a young age … I’m very proud of her for that,” Fagbenle said. 

Chen has also developed a rapport with Nakase, who Chen said is elite tactically and gets the most out of players. The Valkyries rank third in the league in defensive rating, and Nakase’s emphasis on defense reminds Chen of Princeton head coach Carla Berube. 

Chen isn’t the Valkyries’ top point guard or a microwave scorer off the bench. But she makes them better, just like she did at Princeton and UConn. And as she follows her own improbable path in the WNBA, she’s helping the Valkyries defy expectations, too. They are 18-16 and in seventh place, with a real chance of becoming the first WNBA team to make the playoffs in their debut season. 

“It’s been a lot of fun so far,” Chen said of her rookie year. “[I’m] just continuing to get used to everything, adjusting every day.”