Ruto, Rachel cheer Kenyan star Madina Okot courtside at WNBA game in Brooklyn, New York

President William Ruto and First Lady Rachel Ruto took a courtside seat in Brooklyn to watch a Kenyan star in action in the WNBA.

The First Couple attended the WNBA clash between the New York Liberty and Atlanta Dream, turning out to support Kenyan-born player Madina Okot.

Ruto later posed for a selfie with the towering baller, the two sharing a light moment on the sidelines before he posted the photos to his social media pages.

Sharing the update, Ruto wrote that he "attended the WNBA match between New York Liberty and Atlanta Dream in Brooklyn to support Kenyan-born star Madina Okot."

Ruto and a Kenyan delegation are in New York for the United Nations General Assembly.

Okot's journey from Mumias to the United States has made her one of East Africa's most successful basketball exports. In the 2026 WNBA Draft, the Atlanta Dream picked her 13th overall, making her the first Kenyan woman to reach and play at that level.

She follows Josephine Owino, drafted in 2009 by the Washington Mystics but who never made the final roster.

Born August 23, 2004, in Mumias, Okot is the fifth of eight children to Jacquiline Sikuku and Musa Mulah Masai.

She's only been playing basketball since 2020, a short runway for someone now on America's biggest stage.

Her game was first shaped at Kaya Tiwi Secondary School under coach Philip Onyango, though she started out as a volleyball player at Bishop Sulumeti High School.

In January 2023, she joined Zetech University, completing a diploma by August 2024, before moving to Mississippi State University the same month for a Business Administration degree she's set to finish this August.

Okot's 2024–25 season at Mississippi State was electric. She started all 34 games, averaging 11.3 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 0.7 assists in 22.6 minutes a game, with a 64.9% field goal percentage that ranked first in the SEC and fourth in all of NCAA Division I.

She scored in double figures 22 times, topped 20 points twice, and posted a season-high 26 against UMES on December 20.

On the boards, she grabbed 5+ rebounds in 31 games and 10+ in 17, finishing as her team's leading rebounder and one of its top shot-blockers.

Her signature moment: 21 points and 23 rebounds against Vanderbilt, her first career 20–20 game, and one of 12 double-doubles on the season.

After that breakout run, Okot transferred to the South Carolina Gamecocks under legendary coach Dawn Staley, anchoring the paint on defence as the team made a deep NCAA Tournament run to the Final Four.