Leticia Romero

Leticia Romero González[1] (born 28 May 1995) is a Spanish basketball player from Agüimes who plays for Valencia Basket and the Spanish national team. She played three years in the Spanish top-tier league before spending her U.S. college career with Kansas State and Florida State. She played the 2018 WNBA season with the Dallas Wings.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Romero and the second or maternal family name is González.
Leticia Romero
No. 3 – Valencia Basket
PositionGuard
LeagueLFB
Personal information
Born (1995-05-28) 28 May 1995
Agüimes, Canary Islands, Spain
NationalitySpanish
Listed height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Career information
High schoolI.E.S. Joaquín Artiles
College
WNBA draft2017 / Round: 2 / Pick: 16th overall
Selected by the Connecticut Sun
Playing career2010–present
Career history
2010–2013CB Islas Canarias
2017–2019ZVVZ USK Praha
2018Dallas Wings
2019-presentValencia Basket
Career highlights and awards
  • Czech League champion (2018)
  • Second-team All-Big 12 (2014)
  • Second-team All-ACC (2015)
  • Big 12 All-Freshman team (2014)
Medals
Representing  Spain
Olympic Games
2016 Rio de JaneiroTeam
World Championship
2014 Turkey
EuroBasket
2017 Czech Republic
2015 Hungary/Romania

Club career

Romero started playing basketball in local clubs from the CB Agüimes, Baloncesto Telde and de CB Islas Canarias, where she made her debut in the Spanish top tier league in 2010, at only 15. She spent three seasons in the senior team, averaging 8.4 PPG. In her last season in the club (2012-13) she averaged 14.9 PPG, 3.6 RPG and 3.5 APG[2] before turning 18 years old. In the 2011 and 2012 seasons she played a total of 16 games[3][4] in Europe's second tier tournament, the EuroCup.

U.S. college career

Romero, a native of the Canary Islands, was widely sought after by major U.S. college programs going into the 2013–14 season, ultimately choosing to play at Kansas State largely because of her rapport with the coaching staff. At the time, she was not fully comfortable with English, and according to ESPN journalist Mechelle Voepel, was "seeking a place she would feel taken care of and safe".[5] While the Wildcats only finished 11–19 in her freshman season, she enjoyed considerable personal success, averaging 14.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game[6] on her way to being named unanimously to the Big 12 Conference all-freshman team and also earning second-team All-Big 12 honors.[7]

Shortly after Romero received a release, she received a call from Sue Semrau, head coach at Florida State, one of the schools she had visited during her original recruitment. The two quickly reconnected, and as Romero considered her options, she found herself drawn to the Seminoles' style of play and willing to meet the expectations Semrau was setting for the program. She then enrolled at FSU, initially planning to sit out the 2014–15 season due to NCAA transfer regulations.[5]

Given the situation surrounding Romero's transfer from Kansas State, Florida State petitioned the NCAA for a waiver to allow her to play after the end of Kansas State's 2014 fall academic term. Semrau had told Romero that the chances of a successful petition were low. Since Romero could not travel with the team as a redshirting transfer, she went to her home of Las Palmas for a short Christmas break. During that time, the NCAA granted the petition, allowing her to immediately play for the Seminoles.[5]

Despite missing the first 13 games of the 2014–15 season, she was second on the team in assists, also averaging 10.1 points and 5.3 rebounds in the regular season while being named to the all-Atlantic Coast Conference second team.[8]

College statistics

Source[9]

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
Year Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2013-14 Kansas State 30 427 41.9% 39.2% 77.3% 5.8 5.0 1.9 0.2 14.2
2014-15 Florida State 24 264 54.1% 45.0% 77.4% 5.3 5.3 1.2 0.2 11.0
2015-16 Florida State 30 348 43.9% 44.7% 83.3% 4.2 4.6 1.3 0.2 11.6
2016-17 Florida State 33 414 48.6% 50.9% 88.9% 4.0 3.7 1.4 0.4 12.5
Career 117 1453 46.2% 45.2% 81.3% 4.8 4.6 1.5 0.3 12.4

WNBA

Romero was selected as the fourth pick of the second round (16th pick overall) of the 2017 WNBA draft by the Connecticut Sun.

In June 2018 Romero was signed by the Dallas Wings.[10]

Back in Europe

After four successful formative years in the NCAA and graduating from Florida State University, Romero signed for Czech club ZVVZ USK Praha for the 2017-18 season, winning the 2018 Czech League.[11][12]

EuroLeague and EuroCup stats
Season Team GP MPP PPP RPP APP
2010-11 EuroCup CB Islas Canarias 6 13.0 2.0 1.3 1.5
2011-12 EuroCup CB Islas Canarias 10 30.7 6.0 2.7 2.5
2017-18 EuroLeague ZVVZ USK Praha 16 17.3 4.2 2.6 2.7
2018-19 EuroLeague ZVVZ USK Praha 17 13.3 2.9 1.2 1.8

National team

Romero started playing with Spain's youth teams at 15, winning a total of five medals from 2010 to 2015. She made her debut with the senior team in 2014, when she was 19 years old. Up to 2017, she had 58 caps with 2.6 PPG,[13] participating in the Rio 2016 Olympics, one World Championships and two EuroBaskets:[14]

References
  1. "#10: Leticia Romero". Florida State Seminoles. Retrieved March 8, 2015. Daughter of Domingo José Romero and Isabel González
  2. "Leticia Romero: ficha | MueveteBasket.es". www.muevetebasket.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2017-10-03.
  3. "Leticia Romero profile, EuroCup Women 2011 | FIBA.COM". FIBA.COM. Retrieved 2017-10-03.
  4. "Leticia Romero profile, EuroCup Women 2012 | FIBA.COM". FIBA.COM. Retrieved 2017-10-03.
  5. Voepel, Mechelle (March 4, 2015). "Romero finds right fit at Florida State". ESPNW. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  6. "2013–14 Kansas State Women's Basketball Season Statistics". Kansas State Athletics. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
  7. "2013-14 Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Women's Basketball Awards Announced" (Press release). Big 12 Conference. March 6, 2014. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  8. "The 2014–15 All-ACC Women's Basketball Team Announced" (Press release). Atlantic Coast Conference. March 3, 2015. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  9. "NCAA Statistics". web1.ncaa.org. Retrieved 2017-09-07.
  10. "Leticia Romero, drafteada por las Connecticut Sun de la WNBA". La Vanguardia. Retrieved 2017-04-14.
  11. "EUROBASKET NEWS". www.eurobasket.com. Retrieved 2017-10-03.
  12. JS. "ZVVZ USK Praha". ZVVZ USK Praha. Retrieved 2017-10-03.
  13. "Selección Española Absoluta Femenina de Baloncesto". seleccionfemenina.feb.es. Retrieved 2017-10-03.
  14. "archive.fiba.com: Players". archive.fiba.com. Retrieved 2017-10-03.
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