Yes, the women’s NCAA tournament just ended. But, no, you do not get a moment to breathe.
The WNBA draft is already here. In just under a week on April 10, the draft will take place in New York. And many of college basketball’s biggest stars you just watched over the last month will have their names called by WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert.
Many of you probably didn’t know this was coming. And most of you probably didn’t know it was coming this soon.
But if you didn’t, no worries. We’ve got you covered here. Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming WNBA draft.
Wait, when is the WNBA draft?
The women’s college basketball season might be over, but the start of the WNBA season is right around the corner in May.
With that in mind, the draft is on Monday, April 10.
Who's next 👀
We are 1️⃣ week away from the #WNBADraft presented by @statefarm
📅 April 10th, 7pm/ET on ESPN pic.twitter.com/QPQoGYWANs
— WNBA (@WNBA) April 3, 2023
All 3 rounds will be on ESPN.
Ok, easy enough. What is the draft order?
For the first time in the franchise’s history, the Indiana Fever will have the first pick in the WNBA draft after winning the lottery in November.
Here’s the complete order of the first round:
- Indiana Fever
- Minnesota Lynx
- Atlanta Dream
- Washington Mystics (via LA Sparks)
- Chicago Sky (via Phoenix Mercury)
- New York Liberty
- Indiana Fever (via Dallas Wings)
- Atlanta Dream (via Washington Mystics)
- Seattle Storm
- Connecticut Sun
- Dallas Wings (via Chicago Sky)
- Minnesota Lynx (via Las Vegas Aces)
And do we know who the No. 1 overall pick will be?
We absolutely do. It’ll be South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston, who is one of the most decorated college athletes ever.
Boston announced her intent to enter the WNBA draft after South Carolina was eliminated from the tournament by Iowa.
God makes no mistakes❤️ this program has been so good to my family and I. Wouldn’t trade these past 4 years for anything. With love gamecock nation❤️ #forevertothee pic.twitter.com/tM2iY0lMet
— Aliyah A. Boston (@aa_boston) April 1, 2023
Boston was unanimously named the Associated Press Women’s College Basketball Player of the Year for the 2021-22 season and won the Most Outstanding Player award that same year during South Carolina’s championship run.
This will be a no-brainer pick for the Fever. She’s got a fantastic career ahead of her.
Who will round out the top 5 with Boston?
Because the pool of teams is so small in the WNBA with only 12 selections, predicting the selections teams will make tends to be more of a crap shoot. But there is some talent widely expected to be taken early.
- Maryland’s Diamond Miller is widely expected to be the No. 2 pick with her size at 6-foot-3 combined with her guard skills on the perimeter.
- Tennessee’s Jordan Horston is an elite rebounder and has the best motor out of anyone in the draft.
- Iowa State’s Stephanie Soares is an absolute beast in the post with incredible footwork. Her size at 6-foot-6 is incredible and she averages 3 blocks per game.
- Maddy Siegrist is the best shooter in the draft. She averaged nearly 30 points per game and shot 36% from 3-point range on incredible volume.
Wait, is Caitlin Clark going to be drafted?
Lol yes. Caitlin Clark will absolutely be drafted. Just not this year.
She’s ineligible for the WNBA draft this season because of the league’s rules of eligibility.
The WNBA requires players to be 22 years old during the year of the draft, have graduated from school within 3 months of the draft or have gone to a school where her original class would have graduated within at least 3 months of the draft to be eligible to enter.
Clark is only 21 years old and is still a junior. She’s not allowed to enter the draft and still has a year of eligibility at Iowa.
The same applies to names like LSU’s Angel Reese, UConn’s Paige Bueckers and Louisville’s Hailey Van Lith.
Women’s college basketball is going to be so fun next year. And the draft will be stacked, too. Get ready for 2024, folks.
