Wolters, Kara

Kara Wolters grew up in a basketball family. Her father, William Wolters, is in the Boston College Hall of Fame and played professional basketball for the Seattle SuperSonics in the NBA. Her brother, Ray, played collegiate ball and her sister, Kristen, was a standout player at the University of Rhode Island.

Kara “stood” 6’3” in eighth grade. She continued to grow during her very successful career at Holliston [MA] High School where she still holds the scoring, rebounding and blocked shots record.

From 1993-97, Kara played center for the University of Connecticut. During those years, her UConn team compiled a 132-8 record (94.3%), appeared in four NCAA Tournaments, won the 1995 NCAA championship with a perfect 35-0 record, advanced to the 1996 Final Four, the 1997 and 1994 Final Eights, and won four Big East Conference Championships and four Big East Tournament titles.

Kara’s individual honors are truly impressive.
She was:
•Named by Associated Press 1997 All-America First Team and Player of the Year;
•Runner-up for the 1997 Boost/Naismith National Player of the Year; Awarded the 1996 Victor Award as the nation's top female collegiate player.
•Named 1997 All-America by Basketball America, United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) and Kodak.
•Named 1996 All-America first team by the USBWA, United Press International and the Associated Press.
•Named 1997 and 1995 District I All-America by Kodak, and 1996 All-America honorable mention by Kodak.
•Named to 1995 NCAA Tournament All-Final Four Team, averaging 20.5 ppg. in the Final Four.
•Named to 1997 and 1996 All-NCAA Midwest Regional and 1995 and 1994 All-NCAA East Regional Teams.
•Named 1997 Big East Conference Player of the Year, 1997 and 1996 All-Big East first team, 1995 All-Big East second team and 1994 Big East All-Rookie Team.
•Named 1996 and 1995 Big East Tournament Most Outstanding Player and Big East All-Tournament all four years.

After graduating from UConn, Kara played for the ABL New England Blizzard. In 1999, she was selected in the third round of the WNBA draft by the Houston Comets and was drafted by the Indiana Fever in 2000. She was traded in 2001 to the Sacramento Monarchs where she played until the end of her WNBA career. In her four-year WNBA career, Wolters averaged 50 % in field goal shooting, 75 % in free throw shooting, 3.2 rebounds per game, and 6.5 points per game.

Internationally, Kara was a member of the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic women's basketball team during the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. She ranks second among all-time USA World Championship competitors for the most blocked shots (11) and is one of only six women to receive a Gold Medal in the Olympics, an NCAA championship, and a WNBA Championship.

Wolters currently works as a color analyst for WTIC, the UCONN radio network which covers all of the University of Connecticut women's basketball games.