Zia Cooke (born January 9, 2001) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference. The team was founded by Gi ...

of the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The WNBA w ...

(WNBA). She played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for

South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fight ...

of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC). At Rogers High School in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

, she was rated a five-star

recruit Recruit may refer to: Military * Military recruitment * Recruit training, in the military * '' Rekrut'' (English: Recruit), a military recruit or low rank in German-speaking countries * Seaman recruit Ships * HMS ''Recruit'', several ships of ...

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

and earned

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American multinational fast food chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese chain Mixue Ice Cream & Tea. Brothers ...

honors. A two-time All-SEC selection in college, Cooke helped South Carolina reach the Final Four of the NCAA tournaments in

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, and

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

. She was selected tenth overall by the Los Angeles Sparks in the

2023 WNBA draft The 2023 WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) Draft, the WNBA's draft for the 2023 WNBA season and 28th draft in WNBA history, was held following the 2022–23 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The 2023 draft took place at Spr ...

Early life

Cooke grew up playing for a boys youth

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team in defiance of her mother, Michelle, who wanted her to join a

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense Physical exercise, physical activity. It can be performed to motivate s ...

team instead. In seventh grade, she shifted her focus to basketball. Cooke played basketball for Rogers High School in her hometown of

. She averaged 21.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, five assists and 3.1 steals per game as a junior. She led her team to the Division II state title, recording 33 points and 14 rebounds in the title game, and was named '' The Blade'' Player of the Year. In her senior season, her highlight video drew national attention. As a senior, Cooke averaged 21.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game, winning a second straight state title. She earned Division II Player of the Year honors and repeated as ''The Blade'' Player of the Year. Cooke was selected to play in the

McDonald's All-American Game The McDonald's All-American Game is an American all-star basketball game played each year for boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the conclusion of the hi ...

. In high school, she also played

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

and

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

, and ran track and cross country. Cooke was rated a five-star recruit and among the top players in the 2019 class by

. On November 5, 2018, she committed to playing college basketball for

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

over offers from more than 60 college programs, including

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

and

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. It is classified among "R ...

College career

On November 13, 2019, Cooke scored a freshman season-high 27 points with seven rebounds for South Carolina in a 75–49 win against

Dayton Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

. She averaged 12.1 points and 2.9 rebounds per game as a freshman, helping her team achieve a 32–1 record and a No. 1 national ranking. Cooke set a program record for games started by a freshman (33), and was selected to the

(SEC) All-Freshman Team. On December 31, 2020, she recorded a sophomore season-high 26 points in a 75–59 victory over

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. On April 2, 2021, at the Final Four of the NCAA tournament, Cooke scored a team-high 25 points in a 66–65 loss to

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

. As a sophomore, she averaged 15.9 points, three rebounds and two assists per game, receiving First Team All-SEC honors. In her junior season, Cooke was named to the Second Team All-SEC.

Professional career

WNBA

Cooke was selected tenth overall by the

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at Crypto.co ...

in the

. In her rookie season, she played 39 games, started 4, and averaged 4.8 points in 14.1 minutes per game. Cooke's role diminished in her second season with the Sparks. She played in 29 games and averaged 3.6 points in 8.9 minutes per game. The

announced on February 12, 2025 that they had signed Cooke for the 2025 season.

Overseas

Cooke signed with the

Townsville Fire The Townsville Fire are an Australian professional basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). The Fire are based in Townsville, Queensland, and play their home games at Townsville Entertainment and Convention Ce ...

of the

Women's National Basketball League The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is a professional women's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Australia composed of eight teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the Women's sports, women's counterpart to the Na ...

(WNBL) for the 2024–2025 season. She parted ways with the team in December. In January 2025, she signed with Danilo's Pizza SK of the

Turkish Super League Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The ...

National team career

Cooke represented the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

at the

2017 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship The 2017 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship was the men's international basketball competition that was held in Formosa, Argentina from 14–18 June 2017. The successfully defended their title against , 111–60, in the rematch of the Finals ...

in Argentina. She led her team to the gold medal, averaging 10.8 points per game. She recorded 15 points and four rebounds against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in the final. Cooke won her second gold medal at the 2018 FIBA Under-17 World Cup in Belarus, after averaging 7.9 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.

Career statistics

WNBA

Regular season

''Stats current through end of 2024 season'' , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, 39 , , 4 , , 14.1 , , .289 , , .261 , , .813 , , 0.9 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 0.7 , , 4.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 29, , 0, , 8.9, , .321, , .297, , .690, , 0.6, , 0.6, , 0.3, , 0.1, , 0.7, , 3.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 2 years, 1 team , 68 , , 4 , , 11.9 , , .300 , , .274 , , .766 , , 0.8 , , 0.7 , , 0.3 , , 0.2 , , 0.7 , , 4.3

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

, 33, , 33, , 26.5, , 38.6, , 35.4, , 71.2, , 2.9, , 1.8, , 1.1, , 0.2, , 1.8, , 12.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 31, , 31, , 32.1, , 39.0, , 39.3, , 77.2, , 3.0, , 2.0, , 0.9, , 0.0, , 2.5, , 15.9 , - , style="background:#ffcc00; text-align:left;", 2021–22* , style="text-align:left;",

, 36, , 36, , 27.1, , 34.2, , 28.7, , 70.5, , 2.1, , 1.7, , 0.6, , 0.1, , 2.1, , 10.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 37, , 37, , 26.7, , 40.5, , 34.6, , 79.2, , 2.1, , 1.9, , 0.8, , 0.1, , 1.8, , 15.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 137, , 137, , 28.0, , 38.2, , 34.1, , 75.1, , 2.5, , 1.9, , 0.9, , 0.1, , 2.0, , 13.5

Off the court

As a junior in college, Cooke, along with

Caitlin Clark Caitlin Elizabeth Clark (born January 22, 2002) is an American professional basketball player for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Regarded as one of the greatest female collegiate players, Clark was tw ...

, signed a sponsorship deal with

H&R Block H&R Block, Inc., or H&R Block, is an American tax preparation company operating in Canada, the United States, and Australia. The company was founded in 1955 in Kansas City, Missouri, by brothers Henry W. Bloch and Richard Bloch. As of 2018, H&R ...

as the first two participants in the company's "A Fair Shot" campaign to provide $1 million in support for female college athletes. She has also signed name, image and likeness deals with

Dick's Sporting Goods Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. (stylized in all caps as DICK'S Sporting Goods) is an American chain of sporting goods stores founded in 1948 by Richard "Dick" Stack. It is the largest sporting goods retailer in the United States and is listed ...

and Bojangles.

References

External links

*
South Carolina Gamecocks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooke, Zia 2001 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American women's basketball players Basketball players from Toledo, Ohio Los Angeles Sparks draft picks Los Angeles Sparks players McDonald's High School All-Americans Point guards Seattle Storm players South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball players 21st-century American sportswomen