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Even so, there\u2019s been plenty going on in college basketball and abroad. As we continue to wait for the WNBA to reach a deal, let\u2019s revisit the first round of the 2026 draft and discuss which prospects have helped their own cases the most since January.<\/p>\n
1. Dallas Wings: Awa Fam (Spain)![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/a76eb7e5f89c98fc531c392dbd8a8c0e.jpeg\"\/)
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\nPreviously projected: No. 1 (Dallas)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
As a teenager playing for one of Spain\u2019s strongest clubs (Valencia), Fam hasn\u2019t yet had the opportunity to put up big numbers like many of the other players in her draft class. She has, however, been highly efficient in her time on the court, shooting 62 percent on 2-pointers in Spanish league play and 57.9 percent in EuroLeague Women. In terms of pure upside, Fam is clearly a lottery pick, and her potential fit alongside Paige Bueckers may be too enticing for Dallas to pass up. Her best chance to prove it will be with the Spanish national team during the FIBA 2026 World Cup qualifiers.<\/p>\n
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2. Minnesota Lynx: Olivia Miles (TCU)
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\nPreviously projected: No. 3 (Seattle)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Miles\u2019 decision to transfer to TCU for her graduate season was a surprising one, but she\u2019s proven that she can spearhead a high-octane offense regardless of the environment. Miles is having the most prolific scoring season of her career at 19.6 points per game, and as always, her peripheral stats are spectacular (6.9 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 1.8 steals). Last years\u2019 Lynx didn\u2019t necessarily need an explosive downhill attacker, but they have a lot of room to operate in free agency, and it\u2019s hard to imagine them passing on a guard of Miles\u2019 caliber.<\/p>\n
3. Seattle Storm: Azzi Fudd (UConn)
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\nPreviously projected: No. 4 (Washington)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Fudd\u2019s draft stock continues to rise as UConn puts the finishing touches on an undefeated regular season. She\u2019s been arguably the best shooter in the country for years, and that certainly hasn\u2019t changed\u2014she\u2019s shooting 44.6 percent on 6.9 3-point attempts per game. It\u2019s Fudd\u2019s improvement in 2-point scoring (53.2) and defensive playmaking (2.5 steals per game) that have been noticeable; she\u2019s being regarded as less of a shooting specialist and more of an all-around player, which should give teams more confidence in selecting her early in the draft.<\/p>\n
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4. Washington Mystics: Lauren Betts (UCLA)
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\nPreviously projected: No. 2 (Minnesota)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Betts\u2019 numbers may be down a bit from her spectacular junior campaign, but the 16.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks she averaged were still enough to win her back-to-back Big Ten Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards. The issue is that it\u2019s hard to find an ideal landing spot for a player of her archetype early in the draft, as most of the teams with high draft picks have more pressing needs elsewhere. Regardless, Betts is too talented to drop out of lottery range, and the Mystics could use another towering presence in their frontcourt backing up (or playing alongside) Shakira Austin.<\/p>\n
5. Chicago Sky: Kiki Rice (UCLA)
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\nPreviously projected: No. 7 (Portland)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
No matter what happens in free agency, it\u2019s likely that Chicago is going to need another point guard. From her leadership to her playmaking ability, Rice embodies everything a WNBA team could want at the position, and she recently added another Big Ten championship and Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player award to her lengthy resume. Should Rice captain a stacked UCLA roster to another Final Four appearance in the upcoming NCAA Tournament, she may get drafted even earlier than this.<\/p>\n
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6. Toronto Tempo: Flau\u2019Jae Johnson (LSU)
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\nPreviously projected: No. 5 (Chicago)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Johnson remains one of the most talented two-way guards in the class, though she hasn\u2019t been as consistent as a senior as many expected. She\u2019s scoring 13.8 points per game and shooting 48.2 percent on 2-pointers\u2014the lowest such marks since her freshman season\u2014and her free throw rate continues its downward trend. Johnson is, however, shooting a career-best 40.2 percent from long range, and she\u2019s still shown the capability of pushing the envelope on both ends of the floor more often than not.<\/p>\n
7. Portland Fire: Ta\u2019Niya Latson (South Carolina)
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\nPreviously projected: No. 6 (Toronto)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Latson\u2019s offensive role hasn\u2019t been nearly as large as it was during her time at Florida State, but she\u2019s been a much more efficient 2-point scorer as a Gamecock (54.4 percent) and she\u2019s committing far fewer turnovers. There\u2019s no doubt that Latson can score in bunches, and her lone season at South Carolina has turned her into a better all-around player; the question is now whether she can play her natural shooting guard position at the WNBA level or if her height (5-foot-9) will limit her to more of a combo guard role.<\/p>\n
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8. Golden State Valkyries: Nell Angloma (France)
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\nPreviously projected: No. 11 (Washington)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Regardless of whether or not Angloma decides to play in the WNBA this summer, she\u2019ll be a high-upside pick for whichever team drafts her. She won\u2019t turn 20 years old until June, but she\u2019s already one of the Ligue F\u00e9minine\u2019s most athletic and productive players, and she\u2019ll be able to hang in the WNBA right away, at least physically. The Valkyries have shown a willingness to invest heavily in international talent, so they might be more patient with Angloma than other teams would.<\/p>\n
9. Washington Mystics: Gabriela Jaquez (UCLA)
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\nPreviously projected: No. 8 (Golden State)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
It\u2019s going to be difficult to find a more versatile wing player in this class than Jaquez. She may not get the shine of her higher-profile UCLA teammates, but she\u2019s been the glue that\u2019s held everything together for the Bruins, scoring at a highly efficient clip from 2-point (62.1 percent) and 3-point range (41.1 percent) from the forward position. Jaquez still seems like a safe pick for a team to make later in the first round, especially one that already has an established core like Washington.<\/p>\n
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10. Indiana Fever: Raven Johnson (South Carolina)
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\nPreviously projected: No. 10 (Indiana)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
It\u2019s official: Johnson is finally a legitimate offensive threat. She\u2019s having by far her best collegiate season, shooting career-bests on 2-pointers (55.4 percent) and 3-pointers (40.5 percent), and her 3.41 assist\/turnover ratio ranks No. 4 among all Division I players. Factor in her lockdown perimeter defense and you get a guard who will slot in nicely just about anywhere\u2014especially Indiana, whose backcourt isn\u2019t exactly in need of more scoring but could use a defensive stopper.<\/p>\n
11. Washington Mystics: Marta Su\u00e1rez (TCU)
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\nPreviously projected: No. 13 (Atlanta)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Su\u00e1rez has cooled off a bit after a hot start to the season, but her ability to stretch the floor as a power forward and carry the offensive load when Miles is off the floor has remained a major part of TCU\u2019s success. Though Su\u00e1rez profiles as a stretch big, she has a little more than that in her toolbox, particularly as a passer; she\u2019s been loose with the basketball at times, but if a WNBA team drafts her to play more of a complementary role, she\u2019ll be right at home as an offensive connector.<\/p>\n
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12. Connecticut Sun: Gianna Kneepkens (UCLA)
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\nPreviously projected: No. 12 (Connecticut)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Not much has changed here. Kneepkens has been exactly as advertised in her lone season at UCLA, playing a crucial role in the Bruins\u2019 starting lineup thanks to her elite jumpshooting and off-ball movement. There aren\u2019t many players in the country who can regularly shoot above 40 percent from the 3-point line on high volume, but Kneepkens did it yet again in her graduate season, and that skill alone should get her drafted in the first round.<\/p>\n
13. Atlanta Dream: Cotie McMahon (Ole Miss)
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\nPreviously projected: No. 14 (Seattle)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Much has been made about Ole Miss recently moving McMahon to point guard, and while it\u2019s a long shot that she sticks there in the WNBA, more reps as a primary ball handler can only be good for her development. As for the rest of her game, McMahon is posting career-highs in points (19.9) and free throw attempts (6.8), and she remains one of the most physical, hard-working wing players in the nation.<\/p>\n
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14. Seattle Storm: Iyana Mart\u00edn (Spain)
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\nPreviously projected: N\/A<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
At 20 years old, Mart\u00edn already has a wealth of international experience, most recently competing in EuroLeague Women and EuroCup Women for Spanish club Perfumerias Avenida Salamanca and playing starters\u2019 minutes in both leagues. She\u2019s also played a large role for the Spanish national team in the 2024 U18 Women\u2019s EuroBasket and 2023 U19 Women\u2019s World Cup competitions, and she\u2019ll be a fixture of their program for many years to come We don\u2019t yet know if Mart\u00edn would want to play in the WNBA immediately after being drafted, but if she doesn\u2019t, Seattle would be happy to sit on her rights until she does.<\/p>\n
15. Connecticut Sun: Madina Okot (South Carolina)
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\nPreviously projected: N\/A<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Okot\u2019s skills are still developing\u2014basketball wasn\u2019t her first sport, and she\u2019s only been playing for a few years\u2014but as a 6-foot-6 center with outstanding mobility for her size, her pure athletic potential is bound to appeal to WNBA scouts. It doesn\u2019t hurt that she\u2019s playing for a program that regularly churns out WNBA talent, either; Dawn Staley has said that she\u2019s trying to get Okot another year of NCAA eligibility, but if that doesn\u2019t happen, she stands as one of the highest-upside players in this draft class.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The days leading up to the NCAA Tournament can be just as big for WNBA Draft prospects as…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":654209,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[49],"tags":[5356,1503,1497,2472,2470,217828,93427,93429,2473,234,23245,1519,11009,45328,2471,216173,2086,1494,12795,62,2501,67,132,68,2058,1514,232,21829],"class_list":["post-654208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-atlanta","tag-atlanta-dream","tag-chicago-sky","tag-connecticut-sun","tag-dallas-wings","tag-euroleague-women","tag-gabriela-jaquez","tag-gianna-kneepkens","tag-golden-state-valkyries","tag-indiana-fever","tag-lauren-betts","tag-minnesota-lynx","tag-ncaa-tournament","tag-olivia-miles","tag-paige-bueckers","tag-raven-johnson","tag-seattle","tag-seattle-storm","tag-shakira-austin","tag-sports","tag-ucla","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-washington","tag-washington-mystics","tag-wnba","tag-wnba-draft"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116225520375232673","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654208","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=654208"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654208\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/654209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=654208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=654208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=654208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}