Monday, April 16th was the Women’s National Basketball Association draft. This year, women’s college basketball has skyrocketed in popularity, with the NCAA women’s championship beating out the men’s championship in ratings. The championship showing of the Iowa Hawkeyes vs. the South Carolina Gamecocks on the women’s side averaged a whopping 18.7 million viewers compared to the UConn Huskies vs. the Purdue Boilermakers average viewership of 14.8 million on the men’s side.
Many of the outstanding players from women’s college basketball entered the draft this year, making for a must-watch event. However, if you did miss it, here’s the rundown of who got drafted where:
To no one’s surprise, Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark was the first pick, being drafted by the Indiana Fever. In an interview after being drafted, Clark responded to her impressive performance by stating, “You know what, I earned it, and that’s why I’m proud of it.”
For the second pick of the night, the Los Angeles Sparks chose forward Cameron Brink from Stanford. Next, the Chicago Sky took the Brazilian NCAA women’s basketball champion from South Carolina, 6’7’’ Kamilla Cardoso.
Due to draft-round trading, the LA Sparks got to pick again. They chose Rickea Jackson from the University of Tennessee to join Brink. The Dallas Wings then selected Jacy Sheldon from Ohio State, and the Washington Mystics selected Aaliyah Edwards from the University of Connecticut.
The Chicago Skys traded for the seventh-round pick and picked the highly anticipated Angel Reese from Louisiana State University.
Next, the Minnesota Lynx selected Alissa Pili from the University of Utah, the Dallas Wings selected Carla Leite from France, and the Connecticut Suns selected Leila Lacan, also from France. Finally, the New York Liberty selected Marquesha Davis from the University of Mississippi.
Making the final pick of the first round, the Atlanta Dream chose Nyadiew Puoch from Australia.
To open up the second round and make their third pick of the night, the Chicago Sky chose Brynna Maxwell from Gonzaga University.
Finally making their first pick of the night, the Seattle Storm chose Nika Muhl from the University of Connecticut. The Indiana Fever then chose Celeste Taylor of Ohio State to join Caitlin Clark as a rookie on their team.
Making their first selection of the night, reigning back-to-back WNBA champs Las Vegas Aces chaos Dyaisha Fair from Syracuse University. The New York Liberty chose Esmery Martinez from the University of Arizona. Back at the podium, the Las Vegas Aces chose Kate Martin from the University of Iowa. Then, the Connecticut Suns selected Taiyanna Jackson from the University of Kansas, the Atlanta Dream chose Isobel Borlas from Australia, the Washington Mystics chose Kaylynne Truong from Gonzaga University, the Connecticut Suns chose Helena Pueyo from the University of Arizona, the New York Liberty chose Jessika Carter from Mississippi State, and the Las Vegas Aces selected Elizabeth Kitley from Virginia Tech.
Starting the third round, the Phoenix Mercury chose Charisma Osborne from UCLA. Next, the Seattle Storm chose Mackenzie Holmes from Indiana University, the Indiana Fever chose Leilani Correa from the University of Florida, the Los Angeles Sparks chose McKenzie Forbes from USC, the Phoenix Mercury chose Jaz Shelly from the University of Nebraska, the Washington Mystics chose Nastja Claessens from Belgium, the Minnesota Lynx chose Kiki Jefferson from the University of Louisville, the Atlanta Dream chose Matilde Villa from Italy, the Dallas Wings chose Ashley Owusu from Penn State, the Connecticut Suns chose Abbey Hsu from Columbia University, and the New York Liberty chose Kaitlyn Davis from USC. Finally, to close out the night, the Las Vegas Aces chose Angel Jackson from Jackson State.
If you are excited about the WNBA, don’t worry about waiting! All of these incredible women will be entering the professional scene on May 14th, when the season starts. Hopefully, the WNBA will share in the remarkable success of college basketball.
