From the Underdog to Changemaker: A WNBA Athlete’s New Mission at Darden

Blake Dietrick-Seifert (Class of 2027) has played basketball at the highest levels: the Ivy League, the WNBA, even Team USA. But her most influential work might just be starting.

After a decade-long professional career that took her around the world, Dietrick-Seifert now can be found in the classrooms of the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. Her next goal is clear: to help shape the future of sports not from the court, but from the decision-making table behind the scenes of the business.

Today, Dietrick-Seifert is focused on building a career in consulting or team operations where she can help create memorable and meaningful experiences for fans and players alike.  Her eventual goal is to work in a WNBA front office. She even hopes to one day own a team.

“I loved being an athlete, but I started to realize how much influence general managers, front office staff and owners have,” she said. “I want to be in a position where I can make decisions that truly improve the lives of female athletes and grow the game.”

Dietrick-Seifert played professionally around the world before turning her focus to business.

The WNBA and women’s basketball more broadly have seen a major surge in popularity, with record-breaking viewership, attendance and media coverage in recent seasons. For Dietrick-Seifert, that attention isn’t surprising, it’s long overdue.

“The product has always been there, people are finally starting to listen and take notice,” she said. “Social media has allowed female athletes to show who they are beyond the court, and NIL has helped fans build connections with players earlier.”

With her experience as a former player, she’s thinking critically about how the league scales.

“I’d love to analyze roster expansion versus franchise expansion,” she said. “Expanding rosters would help teams stay competitive when injuries happen, while rapid franchise growth can dilute the talent pool. I want to help balance the league’s growth in a way that benefits players, fans and franchises alike.”

A Love for the Game

Dietrick-Seifert’s connection to basketball started early in the stands at Wellesley College where her mother worked.

“I would run to the girls on the team, go in the locker room with them and sit on their laps,” Dietrick-Seifert remembers. “They had the little mini hoop that they would wheel out after the game so I could shoot. That was the first time I knew the sport was special.”

While she excelled in multiple sports growing up, basketball became Dietrick-Seifert’s calling. The 5’10” point guard committed to Princeton University, where her leadership and versatile playmaking on offense helped carry the Tigers to an undefeated season her senior year in 2015.

That season, Dietrick-Seifert led the Ivy League with 4.9 assists per game, setting a still-standing Princeton single-season record with 157 assists. She ranks No. 13 in Ivy League history for career three-pointers made (210) and No. 15 in three-point percentage (39.5%), underscoring her offensive impact. Her standout play earned her Ivy League Player of the Year and All-America honorable mention honors.

Despite her collegiate success, Dietrick-Seifert wasn’t selected in the WNBA draft, and took a less conventional path to professional basketball.

Persistence Beyond the Draft

Undeterred, Dietrick-Seifert grinded through training camp circuits, eventually opting to play overseas in her first year of pro basketball in Italy. Her performance earned her another shot at the WNBA and this time, she landed a spot with the Seattle Storm where she shared the court with legends like Sue Bird and Jewell Lloyd.

Blake’s career continued with stops in Australia, Greece, Spain and France, alternating between WNBA summers and international spring seasons. It wasn’t easy, but it was rewarding.

“I always felt like I was the underdog in the WNBA, but I was scrappy,” Dietrick-Seifert recalled. “I didn’t just want to be on a roster. I wanted to find a place to where I felt valued and was adding value both on and off the court.”

She found that with the Atlanta Dream, signing her first full-season WNBA contract after years of growing, adapting and proving herself across teams and continents. During her time with the Dream, Dietrick-Seifert steadily carved out a role as a reliable reserve guard. In the 2020 season, she played in all 22 games, averaging 5.9 points and 3.4 assists while shooting a franchise-best 44.8% from three-point range.

However, as life outside of basketball began to take shape, her priorities started to shift.

“I was in a long-term relationship with my partner, now my husband, and didn’t want to keep dropping everything to leave,” Dietrick-Seifert said. “Luckily around that same time, USA Basketball was looking to build their 3×3 program.”

A New Game, A New Perspective

3×3 basketball, a condensed, fast-paced version of the sport, offered a new challenge and new way to compete.

Dietrick-Seifert is focused on shaping the future of women’s sports.

With just three players per team and a 12-second shot clock, the half-court game rewards quick thinking, agility and grit.

As a point guard, Dietrick-Seifert fit naturally into the format. She represented Team USA in international tournaments and eventually became an alternate for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Around this time she began to see where she could make a broader impact on the game. Living in Virginia Beach, Dietrick-Seifert got involved with 3XBA, a startup league working to create more professional opportunities for women basketball players in the U.S. That experience opened her eyes to the influence of business in shaping the sport’s future.

Darden would soon appear on her radar.

From the Court to the Classroom

What drew Dietrick-Seifert to Darden was the School’s dynamic, discussion-based case method, a learning environment that felt surprisingly familiar to the former point guard used to thinking on her feet.

“Being brave enough to participate in conversation when you’re not 100% sure is the best way to learn,” Dietrick-Seifert said. “You’re surrounded by such brilliant people that hearing every single one of their perspectives is so valuable. I knew this was the place I was going to learn the most and the best.”

Reflecting on her own experience, Dietrick-Seifert encourages other female athletes to consider a similar leap to business school.

“Lack of corporate experience will not hold you back,” she shared. “If you’ve played a sport, you’ve done hard things. This is just another challenge you’re ready for. Balance humility with confidence and surround yourself with people who remind you that you belong.”

At Darden, Dietrick-Seifert leans on the same leadership style that helped her thrive in basketball: collaborative, intentional and determined to lift others up. She carries that mentality through classroom participation, recruiting and even in Darden Cup competitions where she represents Section E with pride.

Looking Ahead

As Dietrick-Seifert carves a new path at Darden, it’s clear that her story is one of resilience, reinvention and unwavering purpose. But success, she learned, looks similar to her days on the court.

“In sports there’s a black and white to it where you win or you lose,” she said. “It’s really easy to get lost in the numbers. That can happen in business school too, so I’m trying to take the small victories where they come and enjoy the process.”