DiJonai Carrington is a player that will add defense, tenacity, and passion to the Unrivaled League. She comes from an athletic background, as her father, Darren Carrington, played in the NFL. DiJonai attended Horizon Christian Academy in San Diego, where she broke out as a top prospect in her class and earned McDonald’s All-American honors.
Carrington would decide to stay on the west coast to begin her college career at Stanford University, where she played from 2016 to 2020. As a Cardinal, she made a name for herself by showing off her lockdown defensive prowess and insanely quick blow-by ability. Despite a knee injury that cut her junior season short, she bounced back her senior year, averaging 14 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. However, she decided to transfer to Baylor University for her final collegiate season in 2020-2021 as a graduate transfer. At Baylor her impact was felt dramatically as she helped catapult the Bears to an Elite Eight appearance. Her standout graduate season earned her All-Big 12 First Team honors and the Big 12 Sixth Player of the Year award. Carrington was also recognized for her effect on defense by also receiving All-Defensive Team honors.
In the 2021 WNBA Draft, Carrington was selected 20th overall by the Connecticut Sun. As a rookie she carved out a role by displaying her energy and intensity off the bench as well as her ability to play multiple positions. Though playing limited minutes in her debut season, her physicality and defense were proven to be essential in the Sun’s rotation. After Carrington finished her rookie season averaging 2.8 points and 1.2 rebounds per game, her game started to expand as her role gradually increased over the next couple of seasons.
Now, let’s fast forward to the current 2024 season, where she won Most Improved Player in the WNBA thanks to her career year in points, rebounds, and assists. She’s playing extremely well right now and I expect that to easily carry over into Unrivaled. Carrington has a nose for the ball and can shutdown multiple positions on the perimeter. Even though her percentage from behind the arc floats around 30%, she’s still a dangerous offensive threat that can fish around and through contact. In this 3v3 format it’ll be hard to keep this quick guard in front not only because of her quickness, but her relentless motor that’s incomparable.
