Kaila Charles is a WNBA Champion.
The former Riverdale Baptist School standout helped the Golden State Valkyries earn the franchise’s first WNBA title in just their second year of existence.
“Can you believe we just won the WNBA Championship?,” Charles said during Instagram Live on Halloween (October 31) just moments after Golden State’s 68-63 win over the Atlanta Dream in Game 7 of the WNBA Finals at Chase Center in San Francisco.
The Prince George’s County, Maryland native began her high school journey at Eleanor Roosevelt High School (Greenbelt, Maryland) where she guided the Raiders to a 72-5 record and a pair of Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA) Class 4A state championships before transferring to Riverdale Baptist School for her senior campaign.
In 2017 and 2018, PG County native Kevin Durant helped lead the Golden State Warriors to consecutive NBA Championships. Less than a decade later, another Maryland product helped guide a Northern California major professional basketball team to a league championship.
“We won it in our second year and it’s all because we love each other,” Charles added.
Glenn Ivey, a United States Congressman who represents Maryland’s Fourth District, recognized Charles in a social media post. “Prince George’s County’s Own Kaila Charles 2026 WNBA Champion Eleanor Roosevelt High School,” Ivey wrote on Instagram.
“From Eleanor Roosevelt High School to WNBA Champion! Congratulations to Prince George’s County’s own @kailacharles5 on this incredible achievement!
Your journey is an inspiration to young athletes across Maryland’s Fourth District and a reminder of the talent that comes from our community.”
Charles, who played college basketball at the University of Maryland, became just the fifth former Maryland Terrapins player to win a WNBA Championship, joining a list that includes Crystal Langhorne, Kristi Toliver, Shatori Walker-Kimbrough and Tianna Hawkins.
During the regular season, Charles appeared in 44 games for the Golden State Valkyries, averaging 6.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Charles, who played in 13 contests, averaged 5.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game during the postseason.
In addition to Charles, Riverdale Baptist’s WNBA alumni include Shakira Austin, Tianna Hawkins, Jonquel Jones, Jennie Simms and Wanisha Smith.
Charles joined Hawkins and Jones on the list of Riverdale Baptist School graduates that have won WNBA Championships. In 2019, Hawkins helped the Washington Mystics capture the franchise’s first-ever WNBA title. In 2024, Jones, who was named Finals MVP, guided the New York Liberty to the franchise’s first-ever WNBA Championship.
Charles comes from a family of talented athletes. Both her mother and sister have participated in the Olympic Games. Charles’ mother, Ruperta Charles, competed in the 100 meter dash at the 1984 Summer Olympics and her sister, Afia Charles, competed in the women’s 400 meters at the 2012 Olympic Games. Both Ruperta and Afia represented Antigua and Barbuda during the Olympics.
In high school, Charles was named a McDonald’s All-American and was a highly sought five-star recruit who received more than two dozen scholarship offers.
Charles played AAU basketball for Ron James, director and head coach of the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) Team Takeover girls’ program in the DMV (DC-Maryland-Virginia) region.
James, who also serves as the head coach of the nationally ranked girls’ basketball team at Bishop McNamara High School (Forestville, Maryland), said that Charles is his first former player to win a WNBA Championship.
In an exclusive interview with High School On SI, Sam Caldwell, who coached Charles during her senior campaign at Riverdale Baptist, said he knew in high school that she had a bright future in the sport of basketball.
“You could tell in high school that she was going to be a pro,” said Caldwell, the only girls’ high school basketball coach to win three Geico National Championships.
Caldwell, who was named head coach at Archbishop Carroll High School (Washington, DC) earlier this year, is also the only girls’ head coach to win national championships at two different high schools (Riverdale Baptist School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland and New Hope Academy in Lanham, Maryland).
Caldwell has coached a handful of student-athletes that have gone on to play in the WNBA including Chloe Jackson, Jennie Simms, Jonquel Jones and Kaila Charles.
“She was always a good defender,” Caldwell said about Charles, “but when she came to me I told her you need to learn how to play defense. She worked like a dog. That’s why I’m super proud of her.”
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