There are plenty of things Alissa Pili knows will be an adjustment when it comes to starting her WNBA career.

One thing the 6-foot-2, multi-time All-American forward from Utah isn’t concerned about is the Minnesota weather.

Pili, who was selected by the Minnesota Lynx with the eighth overall pick in Monday night’s WNBA draft, grew up in Anchorage, Alaska. So, there’s nothing she might encounter in Minnesota that will phase her, meteorologically speaking.

“Growing up in Alaska was great,” said Pili, who averaged 21.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game this past season. “I loved my childhood. It was so much fun — camping, fishing, doing a bunch of outdoors stuff. It was a beautiful state. The only problem, I think, was just the isolation it had from the rest of the world, and how much it lacked exposure in sports and things like that. But I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I love my state and carry that with a lot of pride.

“I know going to Minnesota, the cold probably won’t bother me because I’m used to that. I’m just excited to be in a new environment and place.”

The Lynx are excited to have her as well. After spending the first three seasons of her collegiate career at Southern California, where she earned Pac-12 freshman of the year honors in 2019-20, Pili — whose older brother Brandon is a defensive tackle with the Miami Dolphins and who played football herself growing up — transferred to Utah prior to the 2022-23 season.

She earned conference player of the year honors as a junior, and was again named to the all-conference first-team this past season.

“She’s not somebody who rides highs and lows,” Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve said. “She’s a very consistent, steady player.

“You don’t see the blips of ups and downs. She’s just really steady. You can directly communicate with her. She’s engaged. She understands what needs to happen.”

Pili’s pick came as part of a historic draft, highlighted by the selection of Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark by the Indiana Fever with the first overall pick.

“There’s Caitlin Clark and the phenom that she’s become,” Reeve said. “But it’s really beyond Caitlin. Caitlin’s sort of the leader of it. But we’ve got some tremendous personalities coming into the league that have worked really hard in college. They’ve built their brand, so to speak. You see the benefits of that and the momentum.

“That’s what we’re feeling. The things we’ve said about our sport and what it could be. The WNBA being around more than 25 years now, these are things that are natural to start happening. The timing of this draft class and the momentum around women’s sports made our WNBA draft a spectacle this evening.”

The Lynx had held the seventh pick in the first round, but struck a deal with the Sky over the weekend in which Minnesota received the Sky’s No. 8 pick on Monday, a second-round pick in 2025, the right to exchange first-round picks in 2026 and forward Sika Koné in exchange for the No. 7 pick and the rights to forward Nikolina Milić.

The 6-foot-3 Koné was selected by the New York Liberty in the third round of the 2022 draft but came to the Sky on waivers prior to last season and saw action in 20 games for Chicago. She is currently playing for Spanish club Perfumerías Avenida. Chicago took LSU forward Angel Reese with the seventh pick.

“We felt really good about which seven players would go (first) in some order,” Reeve said. “We discussed the merits and possibilities of what players would be there at (the seventh pick). Pili was not in anybody’s top seven and we knew that, at eight, we’d be the first team that would take her.”

The Lynx closed out the draft by selecting 6-foot-1 Louisville guard Kiki Jefferson in the third round with the 31st pick overall. She averaged a team-best 12.3 points per game for the Cardinals last season after playing four seasons at James Madison.

“Everybody who knows us knows that being a productive player is something that we really value,” Reeve said. “She’s a player who understands how to impact multiple columns in a box score.”

Pili, meanwhile, said she is excited to join the Lynx and begin soaking up lessons from her more veteran teammates.

“We think we’ve been playing for so long that we know a lot about the game, but there’s so much more to learn and I’m looking forward to that,” she said. “I think I bring versatility and physicality to the game of basketball so that’s what they’ll be seeing from me.”

BALTIMORE — As Cedric Mullins trotted around the bases, Louie Varland paced. And paced. And then appeared to yell angrily into his glove. Varland’s frustration simmered over after Mullins got ahold of a 2-1 cutter and sent it out into right field for a two-run home run.

Those two runs were the fifth and sixth Varland gave up in his five innings as part of the Twins’ 7-4 loss to Baltimore on Monday night at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

It was a difficult day from the outset for Varland against one of baseball’s best lineups, and he was hurt early by the Twins’ infield defense when Edouard Julien was unable to turn what should have been an inning-ending double play.

That kept the inning alive long enough for the Orioles to put a couple of runs on the board. Baltimore tacked on another pair of runs in the third inning off Varland, and they added two more on Mullins’ big swing two innings later.

For Varland, it was the second straight start that he has given up six runs. To date this season, the St. Paulite has allowed 13 earned runs in 14 innings over three starts.

The Twins would never recover from the hole they fell into, despite the efforts of Ryan Jeffers and Jose Miranda. Both went 3 for 4 with a pair of runs batted in, with Miranda hitting his first major league home run since April 28 in the second inning.

Miranda would later drive in Byron Buxton with an RBI single in the fourth inning.

Jeffers, meanwhile, had a pair of doubles, including one in the seventh inning that brought home two runs. The catcher was left stranded on second base in the first inning when Mullins made a highlight reel diving play to rob Kyle Farmer of extra bases and an RBI that would have given the Twins an early lead.

The Minnesota DFL on Monday disavowed a local party chapter’s endorsement of a Minnesota House candidate convicted of second-degree felony assault as Republicans criticized the move to back him in the first place.

Democrats in Senate District 12 in northwestern Minnesota endorsed Judd Hoff over the weekend. He is running against Republican Rep. Mary Franson of Alexandria.

In August 2020, Hoff assaulted a person with a machete after a confrontation. According to court documents, Hoff argued that he was using self-defense.

Hoff received a 13-month prison sentence. He served about eight months in the St. Cloud prison before being put on supervised release for the remainder of the sentence, which was completed in January 2023.

“I have asked the local unit in question to withdraw their endorsement immediately,” state DFL Chair Ken Martin said in a written statement.

Hoff has been convicted of misdemeanors on several other occasions. He didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment.

Republicans, including the state party Chair David Hann, issued statements condemning the DFL endorsement. The chair of the House Republican Campaign Committee, Rep. Josh Heintzeman, said Hoff has a history of stalking and abusive behavior toward Franson, who appears to be Hoff’s neighbor in Alexandria.

“This man belongs nowhere near the ballot and the DFL should make clear that this behavior will not be tolerated,” Heintzeman said.

The DFL said it wants the local backing withdrawn. In the statement issued Monday afternoon, Martin said Hoff’s violent and threatening behavior doesn’t belong in the party.

“The Minnesota DFL will not spend any of our resources on behalf of Mr. Hoff,” Martin said. “We all have a responsibility, regardless of party or ideology, to reject violence in our politics. We can and should expect better from candidates for elected office.”

Local party leaders were unavailable for comment on their next steps.

The House race is not among those viewed as competitive. Franson won a seventh term in 2022 with nearly 70% of the vote.

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BALTIMORE — Twins first base coach Hank Conger was taking a trip down memory lane, reminiscing on a home run he hit way back in 2013, on Monday when first baseman Carlos Santana piped up.

He’s not the only one with a plaque out on Eutaw Street, Santana pointed out.

Nestled between the right field stands and the warehouse at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, you’ll find Eutaw Street. Since the park opened in 1992, just 122 balls have been hit out onto Eutaw Street. They’re all memorialized with a plaque shaped like a baseball featuring the player’s name, team, the date and the distance of the home run.

Conger and Santana are part of that exclusive club. So is Justin Morneau, the only player to accomplish the feat as a Twin.

“I put flowers there every year, make sure it’s a ceremony,” Conger joked. “No, but honestly, in all seriousness, after I was done playing, getting to see that, it was really cool. I get to show my daughter when she grows up, when she gets to visit out here in Baltimore and then obviously when my parents first get to see it, I think it’s going to be a really cool moment.”

Conger counts the 2-0 fastball that he hammered 412 feet out to right field on June 12, 2013 off Orioles pitcher Jason Hammel as among the top two home runs that he ever hit. His parents, he said, are itching to make the trip out to Baltimore to see the plaque.

Santana, meanwhile, has never been out to see his, because, in his words, “I hate to walk.” But he has been sent plenty of pictures.

His home run went even further, 424 feet out to right field off Orioles starter Mitch Atkins. It was a long time ago — July 17, 2011 in his second season in the majors — but he still remembers the swing.

And as long as the ballpark stands, the reminder of that swing will be out there.

“It’s one of my favorite stadiums,” Conger said. “And then that kind of puts the cherry on top.”

Twins celebrate Jackie Robinson

Byron Buxton showed up to the ballpark wearing a Negro Leagues jersey, paying homage on what is Jackie Robinson Day across Major League Baseball. Robinson broke MLB’s color barrier on April 15, 1947, and as a tribute, all teams sported his No. 42 on Monday.

Buxton also rocked custom Jackie Robinson-themed cleats featuring a picture of him sliding and his famous quote, “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” It also features a copy of Robinson’s signature.

“It means a lot,” Buxton said. “Obviously, if it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn’t be playing baseball now.”

Injury updates

Max Kepler, who is back in Minnesota, is expected to run the bases in the next day or two, weather permitting. After that, he might be sent out on a rehab assignment. Kepler was placed on the injured list with a knee contusion on April 9 after fouling a ball off the knee on Opening Day.

Reliever Jhoan Duran, who is with the Twins in Baltimore, will throw another bullpen on Tuesday. The Twins will then assess his next steps. Duran has been out with an oblique strain that he suffered in spring training.

Briefly

Chris Paddack will take the ball in the second game against the Orioles. He will be opposed by Grayson Rodriguez. … Former Twins utilityman Donovan Solano has reportedly signed a minor-league deal with the San Diego Padres.