‘Built my brand’ – Angel Reese relishing emotional LSU homecoming as $2m Bayou Barbie returns to Baton Rouge
A lot has changed since Angel Reese left LSU in April 2024. The 22-year-old is returning to Baton Rouge as one of America’s biggest sports stars as she and the Chicago Sky take on the Brazil National Team in their first preseason game ahead of the 2025 WNBA season. Angel Reese and Hailey Van Lith are returning to LSUGetty Reese will step back onto the court at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center for the first time since the 2023-24 campaign, the season that followed her biggest success to date. “I haven’t been back since I graduated,” Reese said, “which is so crazy.” For Reese, LSU is a big part of her basketball legacy. She won the NCAA championship there in 2023, defeating Caitlin Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes and in the process, catapulting herself into the national spotlight. “I created my brand there,” Reese said. “I became the Bayou Barbie there. I won a national championship there. That’s home for me.” In a statement, Reese detailed just how crucial LSU was in her development as a player. “I’m very excited the Sky will play a preseason game at LSU,” Reese said. “It will be amazing to return to Baton Rouge, a community that means so much to me. LSU was instrumental in preparing me for the WNBA and I can’t wait to hit the court in front of both Tigers and Sky fans!” Things have only got better for Reese since, after being selected as the seventh pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft by the Sky, she enjoyed a stellar rookie season. Angel Reese is getting ready for the upcoming WNBA seasonGETTY Reese enjoyed a strong debut season in the WNBAGetty She averaged 13.6 points, 13.1 rebounds, and 1.9 assists and made the WNBA All-Star and All-Rookie teams before injury ended her season early. Reese also set numerous WNBA records, as she became the first player in WNBA history to record multiple games of ten or more offensive rebounds and ten or more defensive rebounds. Although, the biggest rewards have come off the court for the former LSU star. After becoming one of the most recognizable faces in the country, dozens of companies flocked to her in a bid to align themselves with her growing brand. In the past year, the former LSU star, who has an estimated net worth of $2 million that is likely to skyrocket, has signed lucrative deals with the likes of McDonald’s, Hershey, Amazon, Beats by Dre, PlayStation, and Cashapp. As well as her own podcast, one of her biggest deals came with Reebok, which announced Reese would be getting her own signature shoe that will debut in 2026. In 2025, Reese wants even more, and she’s made her ambitions clear when it comes to the WNBA. “I’m still doing my post work, but I’ve got to come with more this year,” Reese told the Chicago Tribune. “I’ve got to be able to shoot the midrange shot, 10 to 15 feet, be able to shoot the 3, the 2 consistently. I work every day on it, so I’ve got to take the shots.” The WNBA regular season begins on May 17 with Reese’s Chicago Sky taking on Clark’s Indiana Fever on the opening Saturday of the season.
A lot has changed since Angel Reese left LSU in April 2024.
The 22-year-old is returning to Baton Rouge as one of America’s biggest sports stars as she and the Chicago Sky take on the Brazil National Team in their first preseason game ahead of the 2025 WNBA season.
Reese will step back onto the court at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center for the first time since the 2023-24 campaign, the season that followed her biggest success to date.
“I haven’t been back since I graduated,” Reese said, “which is so crazy.”
For Reese, LSU is a big part of her basketball legacy.
She won the NCAA championship there in 2023, defeating Caitlin Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes and in the process, catapulting herself into the national spotlight.
“I created my brand there,” Reese said.
“I became the Bayou Barbie there. I won a national championship there. That’s home for me.”
In a statement, Reese detailed just how crucial LSU was in her development as a player.
“I’m very excited the Sky will play a preseason game at LSU,” Reese said.
“It will be amazing to return to Baton Rouge, a community that means so much to me. LSU was instrumental in preparing me for the WNBA and I can’t wait to hit the court in front of both Tigers and Sky fans!”
Things have only got better for Reese since, after being selected as the seventh pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft by the Sky, she enjoyed a stellar rookie season.
She averaged 13.6 points, 13.1 rebounds, and 1.9 assists and made the WNBA All-Star and All-Rookie teams before injury ended her season early.
Reese also set numerous WNBA records, as she became the first player in WNBA history to record multiple games of ten or more offensive rebounds and ten or more defensive rebounds.
Although, the biggest rewards have come off the court for the former LSU star.
After becoming one of the most recognizable faces in the country, dozens of companies flocked to her in a bid to align themselves with her growing brand.
In the past year, the former LSU star, who has an estimated net worth of $2 million that is likely to skyrocket, has signed lucrative deals with the likes of McDonald’s, Hershey, Amazon, Beats by Dre, PlayStation, and Cashapp.
As well as her own podcast, one of her biggest deals came with Reebok, which announced Reese would be getting her own signature shoe that will debut in 2026.
In 2025, Reese wants even more, and she’s made her ambitions clear when it comes to the WNBA.
“I’m still doing my post work, but I’ve got to come with more this year,” Reese told the Chicago Tribune.
“I’ve got to be able to shoot the midrange shot, 10 to 15 feet, be able to shoot the 3, the 2 consistently. I work every day on it, so I’ve got to take the shots.”
The WNBA regular season begins on May 17 with Reese’s Chicago Sky taking on Clark’s Indiana Fever on the opening Saturday of the season.
