WNBA DRAFT

April 11, 2022

Kierstan Bell

Las Vegas Aces

Q. Is it surreal that you've won the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Award the last two years and now you get to play for her?

KIERSTAN BELL: I know, that's so crazy. I didn't expect it, but it's an honor to be under a coach like that. She's a great coach and I'm excited to work with her and play for the Las Vegas Aces.

Q. When you look at the Aces' roster, what do you think you'll be able to bring to the team?

KIERSTAN BELL: Just my confidence. I'm versatile, so I can play many positions, and then just giving me an opportunity to learn from the best of the best. A'ja Wilson is on this team, so that's an opportunity for me to learn from her. They have great players on that team, and that's just an honor to be playing for them.

Q. You’ve become the highest selected player out of FGCU; what does that mean to you in terms of the legacy you leave down here in Fort Myers?

KIERSTAN BELL: It's a blessing being one of the first to be drafted in the first round. I think it's an honor, and I'm grateful to have this opportunity, and I'm going to take this with me and hold it in my back pocket and get to work.

Q. The message to the folks here in southwest Florida, knowing that this is basically making history for our university here.

KIERSTAN BELL: I just wanted to thank them. They put me in a better position when I moved down there for my first year, and they have been great ever since, and I want to thank them, everybody that's been a part of my journey from the beginning all the way to the end.

Q. Were you getting nervous at all as the round kept going? Also, was Las Vegas one of the teams you had talked to? You said some teams had interviewed you.

KIERSTAN BELL: I did get a little nervous, I'm not going to lie. But I'm here for a reason. God blessed me with this opportunity. No, I did not talk to Las Vegas during the process, so it was a surprise to me.

Q. Can you just talk about going into training camp and playing with A'ja Wilson, Dearica Hamby, people who are big time faces in the league and what you can learn from them in training camp and as the season progresses?

KIERSTAN BELL: I'm going to go in there with an open mind. I'm going to be willing to learn. It's going to be a different pace of the game, different things going on with the W, and that's just an opportunity for me to learn from the great players that's playing on that team.

I think that's going to help me even become a better player.

Q. The Aces have been one of the top teams in the West for a couple years now. They even made the Finals in 2020. How is your game going to complement and take this team to the next level, to get that elusive first championship?

KIERSTAN BELL: Like I said before, I'm versatile, so I'm not going to play in one position. She can move me around and play me in different positions, and just being open-minded, like I said before. It's going to be difficult at first, of course, because you're going to go into the next level, but when you have great players on the team that you can learn from, that's just an opportunity to grow.

Q. Have you ever been to Las Vegas before?

KIERSTAN BELL: Yes, I did. I went there for the Jordan Brand Classic after my senior year.

Q. You're obviously a little surprised. Are you prepared at all for what life in Vegas will look like? Are you excited to go back?

KIERSTAN BELL: It's going to be new. I know it's a bigger city. I'm from Ohio, so it's going to be different, but I'm ready. I'm ready to go out there and work.

Q. What are you looking forward to the most during your first year in the league?

KIERSTAN BELL: Just getting in better shape, just learning new things about the W because I know it's going to be a lot of new things that I have to adjust to, but I'm willing to be open-minded and be comfortable with being in uncomfortable positions, and that's why I think that sets me apart from a lot of people because I'm never comfortable being satisfied.

Q. You talked a little bit about having to get used to being uncomfortable, and there's a lot of conversation about how many spots are in this league, what it takes to make this league, and it's a really -- it's a sprint from now until training camp and the season tips off. In that uncomfortability, in that discomfort, what are some things you use to ground you and that you'll rely on for the next few weeks?

KIERSTAN BELL: My confidence. Honestly that's something that took me a long way, just being myself, not trying to be something that I'm not. I know I'm a great player, I can play many positions, I have a lot of tools in my duffel bag, but honestly just you've got to be willing to be open-minded, like I said before, and I'm just excited and I'm ready to get this journey started.

Q. My question to you is coming from Canton, how much it really means to you that you are the first player from Stark County to be drafted in the first round? I know that probably means a lot to you, making that transition to a different level.

KIERSTAN BELL: I think it's an honor to be the first, but I definitely won't be the last because Ohio has a lot of talent that will definitely be coming to the WNBA in a few years or later on in life. But I know definitely this isn't going to be the last time.