SEATTLE — Anybody who makes it as a professional athlete has done something that almost every other person will never get to experience. It’s incredibly difficult and rare.
So, as any family would be, the Sundell family was thrilled when the oldest child, Jalen, was picked up by the Seahawks in 2024 and saw meaningful action on the Hawks’ offensive line.
A special thing Jalen won’t forget, especially as he figures to be in the rotation for the line again in 2025.
But you know what’s even more unique?
Two siblings from the same family going to the pros, in different sports, no less.
The Sundells knew this incredible feat was likely for their family as Spring rolled around and the WNBA Draft was on the horizon. The youngest of two siblings, Serena Sundell, just finished a storied career at Kansas State and was poised to be picked.
What happened next? Felt like a dream straight out of a movie script.
“Come third round, and see Seattle pop up it was one of those things where everything was happening so fast but it was an oh my gosh moment that everything worked out and I was going to Seattle to be with my family and it was exciting and I’m so happy everything worked out” Serena told us this week.
“Seattle didn’t have a lot of high picks, so we were not expecting Serena to come to Seattle, and then as it got later and Seattle was on the board, we were just praying,” Jalen said of watching the WNBA Draft last month.
“We saw it announced and we were just screaming, me and my wife at home, and the first thing is, “when are you coming out here?!” Jalen added.
That’s right, the WNBA Draft fell perfectly, and the Seattle Storm selected Serena with their third-round pick, 26th overall.
She was going to be a pro athlete at the highest of levels in the same city where her big brother had achieved the same dream.
Meaning, of all 32 NFL teams and all 13 WNBA teams, somehow and someway written in the stars, the Sundell siblings became pro athletes in the same city.
Meant to be.
“Just knowing our journeys, our path, and how we ended up in the same city is pretty special,l” Serena said of landing in Seattle with her brother.
“It’s really surreal to think we’re in the same city, and playing at the highest level is pretty crazy,” Jalen said.
Serena is a 6’2″ guard that the Storm could really use in the backcourt this year. She can distribute and shoot threes at will.
It’s a basketball journey that was forged well before the Storm selected her in the draft, even before her college playing days.
As the Sundells told me, there were some highly competitive basketball games growing up. Jalen, who has grown into a 6’5″ 315-pound force up from for the Seahawks, would team up with mom Korena. Serena would be paired with their father, Bob.
There were high stakes. The kind of thing that takes someone who may be physically gifted and turns them into an elite players and teammates.
“Everything in our family was competitive,” Serena said.
The siblings reflect with a smile and in jest of some of the competitiveness, like running hill sprints as a sort of “timeout” when they did something wrong or Serena getting shots up on Christmas Eve one year. They say those things absolutely and unequivocally prepared them for the rigors of college and pro sports. They make it clear that the family had amazing activities together and vacations, too.
Now the Sundell family vacations will be in Seattle, where they already got to know Seattle’s food scene in Jalen’s rookie season last year.
And they’ll be able to watch both of their kids.
Two pro athletes.
Two sports.
One Family.
One city.
One of the most unique and impressive things you’ll see at any level.
“Our Mom is over the moon right now, our dad isn’t a super emotional person, but you can tell, he’s super happy… Now to have both their children out here I know they are just the happiest people alive right now,” Serena said.
Making it to the pinnacle of their respective sports and getting reunited while doing so? It’s heartwarming just to think about. Serena talks about the opportunity of spending those rare off days at her brother’s new house. A sense of home in a city far from where they grew up in Maryville, Missouri.
The hope is to play the dream out as long as it’s meant to be, but no matter what happens down the line, their time in our city will never be forgotten.
“It’s a really cool story when we look back at it in 20-30 years, when our kids are asking about the time we were in Seattle together. Obviously, that story’s still being written right now, and being professional athletes, you take it all day by day like you said and give it your best, and I think it’ll be a cool story to tell to our kids,” Jalen said.
Serena and the Storm tip off their regular season on May 17 at Phoenix, a game you can watch on KOMO and CW ARC Seattle. Jalen will continue his offseason workouts with the Seahawks in preparation for the 2025 season.
