Kristina Santiago, Cal Poly basketball star, to work out for pro scouts
Cal Poly’s Kristina Santiago, the two-time Big West Conference women’s basketball player of the year, will get a chance to show her skills to pro scouts this weekend.
The Mustangs’ record-setting senior has been invited to the Pro Hoops Free Agent Camp held in conjunction with the Women’s Final Four on March 31 in Denver.
Santiago, a 6-foot-1 forward who owns the school record for career scoring (1,953 points) and rebounds (850), is the first Cal Poly player invited to the event.
Santiago said attending the camp is the first step toward fulfilling her dream of playing professionally.“I would love to play in the WNBA, but I would not be too heartbroken if it did not work out and I had to go to Italy,” she said, referring to women’s leagues in Europe.
Santiago will leave San Luis Obispo on Thursday and arrive at the free agent camp on Friday to socialize with agents and WNBA team general managers. On Saturday she will dress out and expects to play in five-on-five games so the scouts can see what she can do.
“I am looking forward to being able to show my talent,” she said. “A lot of people have heard about me, but not a lot have seen me. A lot of people are curious to see me perform with lots of other elite athletes. I want to have fun, play my game and show what I can do.”
The reigning conference player of the year, Santiago led the Big West with 23.1 points per game, 10.1 rebounds per game, and a field-goal percentage of .558. She was ranked in the top 25 nationally in all three categories.
“She has been an incredible ambassador for Cal Poly and women’s basketball on the Central Coast,” Cal Poly head coach Faith Mimnaugh said in a statement released by the school. “Her work ethic and abilities on the court and her unique ability to connect with people in our community have been a blessing for our program.
“She has worked so hard for this opportunity, and I’m personally thrilled to see her efforts recognized and rewarded in this way.”
The event gives WNBA and foreign pro team coaches a chance to evaluate the top college seniors in women’s college basketball. A player must be invited to attend the camp.
Old Dominion’s Tia Lewis, a 6-3 forward/center who averaged 16.3 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, is among the players invited to this year’s camp.
Players who have attended the camp in the past and gone on to the WNBA include former Duke player Alison Bales, who plays for the Atlanta Dream, and former Vermont player May Kotsopoulos, who was drafted by the Connecticut Sun.
This story was originally published March 26, 2012 at 5:14 PM with the headline "Kristina Santiago, Cal Poly basketball star, to work out for pro scouts."