After a standout career at Tennessee, Jordan Horston was selected with the ninth overall pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft.

Horston was chosen by the Seattle Storm with the first-round pick with the hopes she could make an immediate impact. After the retirement of Sue Bird and the departure of Breanna Stewart, the team entered a rebuild and prioritized young talent.

With Horston the premier rookie for the Storm, she has been given the opportunity to prove herself at the professional level. Early in the season, she has lived up to the high expectations placed on her.

However, this didn't come immediately. To open the season, Horston suffered through a learning curve. As she adjusted to the speed of the WNBA, she was inefficient from the field and struggled to consistently score.

During the Storm's most recent four games, Horston has found her stride, though.

Over the course of the contests spanning an eight-day stretch, the guard has reached double-digit scoring in each outing. She is averaging 11.8 points through the four games while shooting 38.3% from the field.

Horston hasn't just been a great scorer, though. She also has averaged 8.8 rebounds, one assist, 1.8 steals and 1.3 blocks over the four-game period.

Most recently, she posted her first career double-double while scoring 13 points and grabbing 14 boards in a 14-point win over the Mercury on Tuesday. This came in the second start of her career as she has been pushed into the role for the previous pair of games.

The improved play from Horston has led to team success, as well. Along with Tuesday's win, the team took down the Sparks behind her career-high 14 points on June 6. These are the only two wins of the season through eight games for Seattle.

However, as Horston's WNBA career takes off, the Lady Vols have a massive hole to fill in her absence. In her senior season, she averaged 15.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.1 blocks per game as the team's vocal leader.

Now, Tennessee coach Kellie Harper will look to a group of veterans to replace her at the head of the squad.

"I think that we've seen a lot of players step up and have great communication through our first three practices," said Harper. "We need players like Sara Puckett, Karoline Striplin, Kaiya Wynn, Tess Darby, we need that crew to step up their communication and their leadership because I think it's needed. You know, having Tamari (Key) back out on the court has been great for us. Rickea (Jackson) has stepped up. I think there's a lot of people who are going to do a great job in that area. I think some of our newcomers will come in and provide leadership for us, as well."

On the court, the area that the Lady Vols will be forced to make up for the most is on the glass.

Horston was a premier rebounder at the guard position while being a threat to record a double-double on any given night.

Now, Tennessee will ask the remaining pieces of the team to step up.

"The biggest hole that we saw in the first three practices was the rebounding that we're definitely going to miss from Jordan (Horston)," said Harper. "As well as so many other things, but pretty quickly, we're going to have to start thinking about what our rebounding is going to look like as a team this year."

Although Harper is focused on preparing her team to make another postseason run in the 2023-24 season, she has still found time to watch her former star.

Despite the Storm's games taking place late at night, Harper has made sure to reach out to Horston to show her support.

"I'll tell you, the hardest thing about Jordan (Horston) being in Seattle is the time difference," said Harper. "It's effecting my sleep at night. Staying up late and watching them get their first win and her really playing her best game against the (Sparks)... So excited for her and how she's doing and how she's growing. I've tried to be complimentary of her to let her know we love and are watching her and supporting her. Really proud of her."

Seattle's next game is set for 10 p.m. ET on Thursday against Candace Parker's Aces. Horston will likely make her third start of her career.

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