Anne O’Neil is going back to California, this time as a pro.

O’Neil became the seventh player in ISU history to be selected in the WNBA draft, joining ISU women’s basketball greats Lindsey Wilson, Angie Welle, Tracy Gahan, Megan Taylor, Stacy Frese and Desiree Francis.

“It wasn’t something where I was going to sit around and stay by the computer and see if anything pops up,” she said. “I just went out to eat and then came and watched the [spring football game] and then I saw … my phone was ringing and it said coach [Bill] Fennelly and I was like, ‘Uh oh.'”

Fennelly was the first person to give O’Neil the news, telling her the Sacramento Monarchs selected her in the third round as the 30th overall pick, the second-highest pick in Cyclone history. There were 39 players selected in the draft.

O’Neil shunned most of the draft, instead going to the spring football game. She was able to watch the first few selections before she left but said she didn’t get her hopes up.

“The only sort of inkling that I had was from one of the assistant coaches, who called me maybe like a week or two ago, and just basically asked me if I was still playing,” she said. “I just really had no clue what was going to happen.”

But the Monarchs came knocking.

“I don’t even know how to describe it,” O’Neil said. “It’s something I wasn’t expecting or planning for, and I think that made it better.”

Things will move fast for the 23-year-old, as she has to be in Chicago on Thursday for an orientation to the WNBA with all of the other draft picks. From there, team practice starts Sunday, and it is a quick turnaround to the WNBA regular season, which starts May 21. The Monarchs have two preseason games, on May 12 and 14.

“I think it will be a very competitive situation, and I’ll just go out there and see what I can do, hopefully represent well for Iowa State,” O’Neil said.

O’Neil led the Cyclones in scoring her senior year with 16.6 points per game and was second in rebounding to Katie Robinette, hauling in 6.4 boards a game. She was selected to compete in the ESPN Slam Dunk and 3-point shootout during Final Four weekend festivities, advancing to the second round of the competition. She shot 49.6 percent from behind the arc for the year.

More intense competition awaits in the WNBA. The Monarchs carry seven guards on their roster and drafted two ahead of O’Neil — Kristin Haynie of Michigan State and Chelsea Newton of Rutgers.

“She’s talented, articulate, whatever she makes that decision to do, whoever she goes to work for or with is going to benefit just like we’ve benefited here,” Fennelly said.

O’Neil is lucky enough to have some ins on the team, as she went on a college visit with Nicole Powell, a rookie last year, and knows Kara Lawson, who graduated from Tennessee in 2003.

But there is no guarantee on making the team for O’Neil, something she knows all too well. Of six ISU basketball players drafted before her, only Frese (now Frese-Huber) and Francis made opening day rosters, and they both only played in the WNBA for a year. Some players opt to go to Europe and play, though, if their WNBA dreams don’t come true.

“Anything’s possible, and with the WNBA, it depends on where you hit,” Frese-Huber said.

“There’s not that many teams out there right now, and there are a lot of good guards out there right now.”

Frese-Huber also said because of O’Neil’s “complete package” of ball-handling, defense, shooting and passing, and her commitment to the team game, she has a very good shot at making it on a roster. Frese-Huber cited O’Neil’s work ethic as a strong factor in how far she will go.

“I think we kind of had the same work ethic,” Frese-Huber said. “She’s a team player, so she can add a lot to a lot of the teams. Just having a great attitude is one of the things they look for in a player.”

And now she is in the WNBA, the highest rung of the women’s basketball ladder.

“They started up this league for little girls to have dreams and play at the highest level and get paid to do it,” she said.

“I just think it’s very prestigious, and I’m flattered by just being able to be drafted.”