By: Reagan McLean
With the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) winning the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship, the college basketball season has officially come to a close; however, the historic 30th Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) season is closer and closer.
On April 13, the WNBA draft was held, and this year’s class showed viewers and former teammates being reunited, as well as the league’s overall evolution.
With the Dallas Wings having the number one pick, the “elephant in the room” is who would earn that coveted title.
Dallas has earned incredible players such as Paige Bueckers, Arike Ogunbowale, and Aziaha James, and has also acquired Jessica Shepard and Alanna Smith from the Minnesota Lynx. Throughout the NCAA regular season, the number-one mock draft pick has fluctuated among Awa Fam Thiam, an international player from Spain, Azzi Fudd from the University of Connecticut (UConn), and Olivia Miles from Texas Christian University (TCU).
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced that the number one pick was Azzi Fudd. Dallas has a deficiency in shooters on their roster, so this draft pick benefited them. With Fudd also being the first pick, it shows her resilience as an athlete, as she persevered through injury throughout her college career. In her freshman year, she was sidelined with a foot injury, suffered a right-knee injury against Notre Dame in her sophomore year, and a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in her junior year.
In her junior year, fully healthy and alongside Bueckers, the backcourt duo led UConn to an NCAA championship in 2025. Fudd was the Most Outstanding Player (MOP) of that tournament.
When asked about playing with Bueckers again, Fudd responded positively.
“I’m excited to play with Paige again. I mean, she’s an incredible person, incredible player, and it’s going to be a lot of fun,” said Fudd.
Fudd becomes the seventh number one pick from UConn in WNBA history.
The Minnesota Lynx had the second overall pick and chose Olivia Miles. Miles transferred from Notre Dame to TCU for her final year of college basketball.
ESPN commentator Rebecca Lobo said, “Olivia Miles is an elite and creative playmaker in the mold of Chelsea Gray and Ticha Penicheiro. The numbers she put up in her senior year, ridiculous. 19.5 points per game, over seven boards, over six and a half assists, and […] dazzling with her passes, the velocity that she uses to deliver them with both hands, just an elite point guard.”
The Lynx are a very strong team with a roster including Naphessa Collier, Courtney Williams, Kayla McBride, and Jaylyn Sherrod. Last season, the Lynx finished first in the Western Conference with a total of 34 wins and 4 losses. With Miles joining this elite team, she can learn from Williams and other vets to become a better player in the league while also helping the Lynx become a WNBA championship contender this season.
UCLA also made history; not only did they earn their first-ever NCAA championship, but they were the only school to have six players drafted in one night. Lauren Betts was drafted fourth overall by the Washington Mystics and reunited with her former Stanford teammate, Okikiola (Kiki) Irafien. “That’s my girl. That’s my sister,” said Betts about Irafien, reinforcing the bond they have as competitors and as teammates.
Gabriella Jaquez was fifth and sent to the Chicago Sky. Jacquez faced the pressure of coming from a family of athletes and of not being recruited as highly as the rest of her draft class, but she still grew into a successful athlete at UCLA. “I think that just having these dreams, of going to UCLA and to be in the WNBA and to just achieve them, not only myself, but with my teammates, just really means everything,” said Jacquez.
The Toronto Tempo, an expansion team, has already sold out its tickets for the season and chose Kiki Rice as its first-ever WNBA draft pick. As the WNBA expands, the impact these ladies made on and off the court is benefiting their brand and creating more opportunities for future players, with companies wanting to invest in them and make them the face of their brand.
Although the picks in the 2026 draft are need-based, highlighting each player and what they can bring to the table, some picks made are left open to debate.
The Golden State Valkeryies selected Flau’jae Johnson as the eighth overall pick, but traded her to the Seattle Storm in return for No. 16 pick Marta Suárez and a 2028 draft second-round pick. On social media, Valkyrie fans were mourning the loss of Johnson since there was a chance for an E-40 collab. However, the trade was seen as beneficial to the Storm, as guards such as Skylar Diggins, Nneka Ogwumike, Gabby Williams, and Brittney Sykes departed, and in a few years, there is a chance that Johnson could help Seattle win a WNBA championship as a new guard.
Two other picks left for debate were Raven Johnson, being the 10th pick to the Indiana Fever, and Ta’Niya Latson, being the 20th pick to the LA Sparks. Johnson had a phenomenal five-year run at the University of South Carolina (USC) and won two national championships. Johnson’s coach, Dawn Staley, hailed Johnson as a true point guard and said that, in the 2026 NCAA regular season, out of all her players, she would miss Raven the most. Although her value isn’t always in the stats, she is one of the best perimeter defenders in the draft class.
Latson at No. 20 was shocking; although she is small, she can create her own offense, and she can also learn from Kelsey Plum about how to make an impact. Furthermore, it isn’t the draft pick that matters, but whether you make the final roster and what mark you leave on the team you are drafted to.
The new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) deal was officially signed on March 24 and will run until 2032, presenting new financial opportunities for all players.
As the number-one pick, Fudd will receive a salary of $500,000, according to Sportico, which is a substantial amount in comparison to the former 2025 first-round pick, Paige Bueckers, who earned $78,831.
With this new CBA deal, Naphessa Collier signed a million-dollar contract; however, she wouldn’t play until the second half of the season due to injuries sustained from last season’s playoffs. A’ja Wilson signed a $5 million contract with the Las Vegas Aces, and Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, and Sabrina Ionescu signed multi-year deals with the New York Liberty.
With the historic CBA deal official and days away from the opening day, this draft proved how marketable the league can become. From elite talent to iconic financial deals, the WNBA is moving forward at a pace that cannot be stopped.