# Sarah Ashlee Barker
**Sarah Ashlee Barker** (born 2001) is an American professional basketball player, a 6-foot-0 guard for the [Portland Fire](https://www.edgepedia.org/portland-fire) of the WNBA who was drafted ninth overall by the [Los Angeles Sparks](https://www.edgepedia.org/los-angeles-sparks) in 2025 and traded to Portland in the 2026 WNBA Expansion Draft.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 2001, Birmingham, Alabama[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/players/b/barkesa01w.html) |
| Position, size | Guard, 6-0 (183 cm), 173 lbs[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/players/b/barkesa01w.html) |
| Draft | Los Angeles Sparks, 1st round, 9th overall, 2025; Portland Fire, 18th overall, 2026 Expansion Draft[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/players/b/barkesa01w.html) |
| College | Georgia (2020-22) and Alabama (2022-25); 147 games, 11.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists per game[2](https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/sarah-ashlee-barker-1.html) |
| College honors | 2x First Team All-SEC (2024, 2025); SEC All-Freshman Team (2021)[3](https://www.wnba.com/player/1642782/sarah-ashlee-barker/bio) |
| Alabama record | 45 points against Maryland in the NCAA Tournament second round, March 24, 2025[3](https://www.wnba.com/player/1642782/sarah-ashlee-barker/bio) |
| 2026 season | 26 games with Portland, 10.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists per game[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/players/b/barkesa01w.html) |
## High school and college career
Barker prepped at Spain Park High School in Hoover, Alabama, where she averaged 23.2 points and 9.9 rebounds per game as a senior and led her team to the Alabama Class 7A state championship. She was named the 2019-20 Alabama Sports Writers Association Miss Basketball and the Gatorade Alabama Girls Basketball Player of the Year, the first player from Spain Park to win the Miss Basketball award.[4](https://rolltide.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/barker-sarah-ashlee/12040)
She began her college career at the [University of Georgia](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-georgia), playing the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons there. As a freshman she made the SEC All-Freshman Team and averaged 5.1 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.[4](https://rolltide.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/barker-sarah-ashlee/12040) She transferred to the [University of Alabama](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-alabama) for the 2022-23 season, where her scoring rose steadily, from 6.9 points per game in 2022-23 to 16.8 in 2023-24 and a team-leading 18.2 in 2024-25.[4](https://rolltide.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/barker-sarah-ashlee/12040)
**Record-setting finish.** In her graduate season Barker became the fifth player in Alabama history to surpass 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, and 250 assists, and she finished with 1,642 career points.[4](https://rolltide.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/barker-sarah-ashlee/12040) In the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament on March 24, she scored an Alabama record 45 points against Maryland in a double-overtime loss.[3](https://www.wnba.com/player/1642782/sarah-ashlee-barker/bio) She was named First Team All-SEC in both 2024 and 2025 and was a Top-10 finalist for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award.[4](https://rolltide.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/barker-sarah-ashlee/12040)
## WNBA career
The Los Angeles Sparks selected Barker with the ninth overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft.[5](https://apnews.com/article/a28fac1f8159d889ce385339717ab987) As a rookie she appeared in 34 games with 8 starts, averaging 3.1 points and 1.9 rebounds in 14.1 minutes per game, and passed 100 career points on September 11 against Las Vegas.[3](https://www.wnba.com/player/1642782/sarah-ashlee-barker/bio)
In the 2026 WNBA Expansion Draft the Portland Fire selected her from Los Angeles.[3](https://www.wnba.com/player/1642782/sarah-ashlee-barker/bio) Her role expanded sharply in Portland's inaugural season: through 26 games she averaged 10.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.4 assists while shooting 50.2 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from three-point range.[1](https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/players/b/barkesa01w.html) She scored a season-high 21 points on July 18, 2026 at Minnesota.[6](https://www.wnba.com/webview/player/1642782)
**Injury.** On July 22, 2026, Barker injured her left leg in a fall early in the first quarter of Portland's 101-97 loss to the [Dallas Wings](https://www.edgepedia.org/dallas-wings) and was helped off the floor.[7](https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/49429191/fire-guard-barker-helped-floor-leg-injury-vs-wings) An MRI revealed a torn left anterior cruciate ligament, and the Fire announced she would miss the rest of the 2026 season.[7](https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/49429191/fire-guard-barker-helped-floor-leg-injury-vs-wings)
## Personal life
Barker is the daughter of [Jay Barker](https://www.edgepedia.org/jay-barker) and Amy Barker Rozell and has three brothers, Andrew, Braxton, and Harrison; Harrison played quarterback at UAB.[4](https://rolltide.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/barker-sarah-ashlee/12040)
## References
1. [Sarah Ashlee Barker WNBA Stats, Basketball-Reference](https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/players/b/barkesa01w.html)
2. [Sarah Ashlee Barker College Stats, Sports-Reference](https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/sarah-ashlee-barker-1.html)
3. [Sarah Ashlee Barker bio, WNBA.com](https://www.wnba.com/player/1642782/sarah-ashlee-barker/bio)
4. [Sarah Ashlee Barker roster page, Alabama Athletics](https://rolltide.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/barker-sarah-ashlee/12040)
5. [Paige Bueckers is No. 1 pick in WNBA draft, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/a28fac1f8159d889ce385339717ab987)
6. [Sarah Ashlee Barker player page, WNBA.com](https://www.wnba.com/webview/player/1642782)
7. [Fire guard Barker helped off floor with leg injury vs. Wings, ESPN](https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/49429191/fire-guard-barker-helped-floor-leg-injury-vs-wings)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Basketball and court team sports › Basketball players and coaches (biographies) › WNBA players*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license