{"id":428300,"date":"2025-12-06T07:29:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-06T07:29:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/428300\/"},"modified":"2025-12-06T07:29:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-06T07:29:14","slug":"a-look-at-this-years-wnba-draft-class-winsidr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/428300\/","title":{"rendered":"A Look at This Year&#8217;s WNBA Draft Class \u00bb Winsidr"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I was sitting in the media area of Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, during the Sweet 16 last year. I was chatting with another writer, talking about how there really is no offseason (great podcast on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/author\/no-offseason-podcast\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Athletic<\/a>, by the way) for women\u2019s hoops.<\/p>\n<p>Think about it:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">The WNBA season runs from May until October<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">NCAA women\u2019s basketball runs from October until April<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Unrivaled runs from January to March<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And that\u2019s only basketball stateside.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s nonstop. It\u2019s a lot. And it\u2019s absolutely fantastic.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And while it\u2019s a lot for the basketball fan, it\u2019s even more strenuous for the players\u2014especially those who are entering the WNBA Draft right after their season concludes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was definitely a quick turnaround,\u201d Te-Hina Paopao said after being drafted by the Atlanta Dream nine days after playing in the NCAA Championship game.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019ll be a quick turnaround for players who are entering the 2026 WNBA Draft, too. But before they get to that point, they continue to build their resumes throughout the 2026-2027 collegiate season.<\/p>\n<p>Every other week at Winsidr, we\u2019ll be taking a look at players we\u2019re expecting to appear in this year\u2019s draft class, what they are doing on the court, and how their value is changing.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><b>Olivia Miles (G \u2013 TCU)<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Last year, there was one guarantee in the draft: Paige Bueckers was going No. 1 overall. After that, Olivia Miles was the name that most had going second until Dominique Malonga started gaining momentum as the draft got closer.<\/p>\n<p>At worst, though, Miles wasn\u2019t going to drop further than No. 3 in the draft, which is why it was surprising when Miles not only said that she was returning to college for another season, but was transferring away from Notre Dame to TCU.<\/p>\n<p>Mark Campbell\u2019s program has had success with transfers. Look no further than his Elite Eight team last year which featured Hailey Van Lith. And Miles is hoping to go out with a bang in college, replicating the type of success for TCU that it has had in the past while positioning herself as a top-three prospect once again.<\/p>\n<p>So far, so good. Through five games, Miles is averaging 18.4 points per game (PPG) on 49.1 percent shooting. While yes, her eFG% has dipped to 53.3 percent, her assist rate has climbed up to 35.8 percent as a go-to facilitator for the Horned Frogs. As of this filing, Miles is one of four players in all of the country with a Win Shares value higher than 2.0.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s eight games so far, and there\u2019s a lot of basketball to play. However, Miles is picking up right where she left off, looking like a clear-cut option to go top three in the draft.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Olivia Miles became the first major conference player this century to start a season with nine straight games of at least 15 points and 5 assists.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tcuwbb?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@tcuwbb<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Big12Conference?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@Big12Conference<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/OptaSTATS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@OptaSTATS<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ckLPR6Gfnk\">pic.twitter.com\/ckLPR6Gfnk<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Rachel Galligan (@RachGall) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RachGall\/status\/1996566098259656892?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">December 4, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><b>Azzi Fudd (PG \u2013 UConn)<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Speaking of players deciding to return to school, look no further than Fudd. And honestly, I get it.<\/p>\n<p>During the early part of the season last year, Fudd was tentative and looked like she was shaking off rust from her ACL injury. Understandably so, right?<\/p>\n<p>But the thing is, March Madness can change a lot for a player.<\/p>\n<p>Look at Van Lith, who was seen as a late second-round pick at best before March came along, but was able to improve her stock and get drafted by the Chicago Sky in the first round.<\/p>\n<p>The same path was happening with Fudd. Right before the end of the season, the thought was that Fudd was an early second-round pick if she decided to declare for the draft. There were some rumblings of the backend of the first round, but the late surge alone wasn\u2019t enough to get her to the first round.<\/p>\n<p>But the tournament changed that, as she immediately became in discussions to go top six if she declared.<\/p>\n<p>Fudd made the decision to go back to school for another year, to show that she is healthy, and get another year of high-level experience under her belt as the option for UConn.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Yes, Sarah Strong helps. As do Kayleigh Heckle, KK Arnold, Serah William, and, well, you get the picture.<\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s different this year. It\u2019s always been Bueckers\u2019 team while Fudd was at UConn. It\u2019s her turn to lead, and it\u2019s going pretty, pretty well so far.<\/p>\n<p>Through seven games, Fudd has the second-highest usage rate of her career, and her 19.7 PPG on 51 percent shooting are both career highs.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>What we\u2019ve been able to see with Fudd is that she\u2019s been operating as the primary ballhandler for the Huskies, averaging a career-best 3.4 assists per game (up from 1.8 last year) and a 34.3 PER, which is in the 99th percentile in the country.<\/p>\n<p>Fudd is showing that the late-season surge last year wasn\u2019t a fluke, but it\u2019s who she is. It\u2019s a reminder of the player that she was before her injury, and the player that she is now that she\u2019s at 100 percent.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Azzi Fudd midrange &gt;<\/p>\n<p>  See Also<\/p>\n<p>    <a href=\"https:\/\/winsidr.com\/2025\/09\/2025-wnba-playoffs-preview-minnesota-lynx-vs-golden-state-valkyries\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\" class=\"attachment-theissue-thumbnail-x2 size-theissue-thumbnail-x2 thb-lazyload lazyload wp-post-image\" alt=\"2025 WNBA PLAYOFFS MATCHUP BETWEEN VALKYRIES AND LYNX. VERONICA BURTON AND ALANNA SMITH PICTURED POSING AS COVER.\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Playoffs25_R1_Preview_MINvGSV_16x9.png\" data-  data-attachment-id=\"15488\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/winsidr.com\/2025\/09\/2025-wnba-playoffs-preview-minnesota-lynx-vs-golden-state-valkyries\/playoffs25_r1_preview_minvgsv_16x9\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/winsidr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Playoffs25_R1_Preview_MINvGSV_16x9.png?fit=1920%2C1080&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1920,1080\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"WNBA Playoffs 2025_R1_Preview_MINvGSV_16x9\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/winsidr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Playoffs25_R1_Preview_MINvGSV_16x9.png?fit=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/winsidr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Playoffs25_R1_Preview_MINvGSV_16x9.png?fit=1600%2C900&amp;ssl=1\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>She\u2019s the fourth Husky in double digits! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/AvZ3hEVTYU\">pic.twitter.com\/AvZ3hEVTYU<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 UConn Women\u2019s Basketball (@UConnWBB) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/UConnWBB\/status\/1995997064598077738?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">December 2, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><b>Cotie McMahon (F \u2013 Ole Miss)<\/b><\/p>\n<p>McMahon rolled the dice in the transfer portal, opting to leave Ohio State after three fantastic years there to go to Ole Miss to play for Coach Yo (Yolett McPhee-McCuin).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Moving to the SEC for one year was a gamble for McMahon. It is still a gamble for McMahon. But so far, she\u2019s thriving down south.<\/p>\n<p>It helps that she\u2019s one of the most physical players in the country, which makes her a perfect fit for the style of play in the SEC.<\/p>\n<p>McMahon and Latasha Lattimore, another transfer, are fitting right in beside Sira Thienou and Christeen Iwuala for Ole Miss.<\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s McMahon who is leading the way early for the Rebels. Her usage, scoring, and field goal percentage are all at career highs already under Coach Yo, and she\u2019s hitting the glass hard, along with Lattimore and Iwuala, to rank third in the country in defensive rebounding rate.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The physical approach to McMahon\u2019s game hasn\u2019t been reduced or exposed in the SEC. In fact, the ability to still play that style of ball at a high level in this conference only increases her draft stock.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Cotie McMahon tonight \ud83d\udd25<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 22 points<br \/>\u2022 4 rebounds <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/41sG3WqRcl\">pic.twitter.com\/41sG3WqRcl<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Women\u2019s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WomensHoops_USA\/status\/1996795602081022053?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">December 5, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I was sitting in the media area of Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, during the Sweet 16 last&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":428301,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[199229,1714,62,10077,23320,67,132,68,73540,232],"class_list":{"0":"post-428300","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-ncaa-wbb","9":"tag-ole-miss","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-tcu","12":"tag-uconn","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-us","16":"tag-winsidr","17":"tag-wnba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115671451487566966","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=428300"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428300\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/428301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=428300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=428300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=428300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}