With over 9 million viewers watching the women’s final 4 and championship games and with a peak of 12 million viewers, it is fair to say that the sport of women’s basketball is growing! With stars like Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, Ashley Joens, Maddy Siegrist, Diamond Miller, and Angel Reese drawing viewers every game, the potential for success for current and upcoming women’s college basketball players to grow their brand has increased dramatically. Now that the season is over, the WNBA season is set to begin. However, before the regular season starts, we must have the WNBA draft. The draft airs on Monday, April 10th at 7:00 PM CT on ESPN. The three round, 36 pick draft will showcase some well-known names in the women’s game that fans will recognize. As we reflect on last season and prepare for the upcoming WNBA season, here is a look at how I think the first round of the draft is going to go down.
1. Indiana Fever: Aliyah Boston, Forward, South Carolina
Every now and then you see a draft prospect that is the absolute, clear-cut #1 pick, and there is a prospect like that this year in Aliyah Boston. Any box that you can think to check off in a prospect, Boston does just that. First, she is a winner. She led the Gamecocks to a national championship win in 2022, where she was named the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player and received the Wooden Award. She also is a defensive nightmare for any opposing offenses, as a two-time Defensive Player of the Year winner who averaged 2.4 blocks per game in her career. Rounding out a very impressive college career in 2023 averaging 14.1 ppg and 10.1 rpg is no easy decision for Boston. However, she is going to make an instant impact for an Indiana Fever team that has been in the bottom two of the league the past 3 seasons. The post combination with Boston and Nalyssa Smith is going to uplift this team from the jump, and the Fever are going to get a home run with Boston with the first overall pick.
2. Minnesota Lynx: Diamond Miller, Guard, Maryland
Had it not been for the emergence of Caitlin Clark, Diamond Miller would have received many more awards than she already did. The guard was a second-team All American in 2023 and has been a household name for fans of Women’s College basketball. Her success in college could be correlated to her experience with playing in FIBA Championships, where Miller has three gold medals to her name representing team USA in the FIBA AmeriCup, Under-16 championship, and Under-19 championship. The season that Miller will be remembered for most is her senior season in 2023, where she averaged 19.7 ppg and 6.1 rpg and led Maryland to the Elite 8. The Lynx are in a transition period of sending Sylvia Fowles to retirement, and sending guard Moriah Jefferson to the Mercury. Gaining a player like Miller who is an athletic and aggressive guard that also averaged over 1 block per game makes them become a perennial top tier WNBA season in the upcoming years. She is going to make an instant impact, and the Lynx are going to gain a future WNBA All-Star with this pick as well.
3. Dallas Wings (via Atlanta): Maddy Siegrist, Forward, Villanova
For the past three seasons, the Dallas Wings have been right in the middle of the pack in the WNBA standings. The one good thing the Wings have going for them is that they have a superstar guard in Arike Ogunbowale that is going to continue to be the team’s go-to scorer for years to come. However, she needs another player to ease some pressure off of her and compliment her game as well. Maddy Siegrist does exactly that and much more. The forward has many accomplishments that make her stand out to WNBA teams including being named a First-Team All American last season and a four-time Big East First Team member. Siegrist also led college basketball last season with 29.2 ppg, and became the Big East’s all time leading single season scorer in both men’s and women’s basketball scoring 1,693 points. Not to mention she averaged 9.2 rpg and 1.2 bpg to make her a force on both ends of the basketball. Her ability to score inside the paint and behind the arc is going to translate well in the WNBA, and Siegrist has proven to be a force against any team in the country.
4. Washington Mystics (via LA): Haley Jones, Guard, Stanford
Another player that had success in college, Haley Jones is a very talented and defensive oriented guard that could do a lot of good things for the Mystics this upcoming season. The guard helped lead Stanford for to a national title in 2021, where she was the Most Outstanding Player. Although Stanford was bounced and upset in the Round of 32 this past season, Jones had another solid season, where she averaged 13.5 ppg and 9.1 rpg (yes, 9.1 rebounds per game as a guard). The one downside for Jones is that she was pitiful from behind the arc last season (shooting 9.4% from 3). She does make up with that with her ability to get transition buckets and pull up from midrange. Defensively, standing at 6’1″, she is able to guard every position. That defensive presence is going to improve an already stellar Washington Mystics defense that gave up only 75.9 ppg last season, the best in the WNBA. If she can find a way to improve from behind the arc, and continue her strength in scoring from midrange and in transition, Jones could very well be that key piece to get the Mystics to the top of league.
5. Dallas Wings (via Phoenix): Jordan Horston, Guard, Tennessee
The Wings lost two out of their three starter guards from last season as Marina Mabrey went to the Sky and Allisha Gray went to the Dream. As already mentioned, the Wings do have a multi-time all star and one of the best WNBA players currently in Arike Ogunbowale, but they need another star player to round out that backcourt. They did add a couple solid guards in Diamond Deshields and Crystal Dangerfield, but adding a guard like Jordan Horston could elevate that backcourt even further. In her last two years at Tennessee, Horston averaged 15.9 ppg and 3.8 apg. She is a playmaker that also has had some international experience where she was the FIBA Under-17 World Cup MVP and led Team USA to a gold medal. The defensive intensity she brings every game is apparent, and you will also see her guarding the best players on opposing teams. The Wings did gain some help with their guard play in the offseason, but it is tough to see Horston falling out of the top 5.
6. Atlanta Dream (via New York): Stephanie Soras, Center, Iowa State
Last season, only one of the top 8 leading scorers for the Dream was a forward. Although Cheyenne Parker had a solid season last season, there has to be another inside presence for the Dream to have a chance to compete in the league (haven’t made the playoffs since 2018). In just one season of Division I college basketball, Soras averaged 14.4 ppg, 9.9 rpg, and 3.0 blg (6th in all of college basketball). She has some doubts from pro scouts, as she had played four years of NAIA basketball compared to her last year being the only year in Division I. She also will miss the entirety of the WNBA season this year with an ACL tear. However, Soras is a high risk, high reward prospect that gives the dream something that have needed for a long time in a true post presence. On top of her being 6’6” and dominant in the paint, she also shot 30.3% from behind the arc. Soras didn’t have as much Division I experience as scouts may have liked, but she is a player that if guided and trained right could become one of the better post players in the league.
7. Indiana Fever (via Dallas): Brea Beal, Guard, South Carolina
This pick for the fever makes sense for a number of different reasons. New Fever head coach, Christie Sides, has emphasized that the team is going to be focusing on the defensive end this season. Beal was proclaimed as one of the best defenders in the country last season. She guarded every team’s best player, and held most opponents to low scoring totals. Reports have also stated that the organization is very high on Beal’s athleticism and defensive skills. This pick also makes sense as Beal will be reunited with former South Carolina teammate, Aliyah Boston. The combination won a a championship for the school in 2022 and have had a lot of success at the collegiate level that could translate to the WNBA. Adding a defensive-minded guard like Beal could be very helpful for Kelsey Mitchell and Victoria Vivians to focus on offense, rather than guard the better guards on teams. This pick makes the absolute most sense for the Fever, and it is a step in the right direction to get them out of the basement of the WNBA.
8. Atlanta Dream (via Washington): Laeticia Amihere, Forward, South Carolina
Although I have the dream taking Stephanie Soras two picks earlier, the key point in that analysis was that Soras is out for the entire upcoming season with a torn ACL. There is a number of forwards that could greatly help the Dream in the draft class, and Laeticia Amihere is one of them. The 6’4” Forward was a key player in South Carolina’s dominance over the years. The stats for her do not show that at all, but she was a very solid defensive player who adapted well in the college game. The forward averaged over a block per game in college along with 4 rebounds per game. She has a keen for being in the right position at the right time and forces opponents to take bad shots to try to shoot over her. Adding a forward like her to go along with Cheyenne Parker, who is already solid for them, could make for a dangerous 1-2 combination down in the post for the Dream next season. Although she will not be the star player for them, Amihere fits the system that the Dream have defensively and would be a key asset to the team.
9. Seattle Storm: Ashley Joens, Guard, Iowa State
The Seattle Storm that we all once knew is no longer. Sue Bird retired after an illustrious 20 year WNBA career, and the leading scorer for the Storm last season, Brianna Stewart, left the team to join the New York Liberty. This team is going to be down this year, and they are going to be looking for some younger talent to rebuild them. The 2023 Big 12 Player of the Year and Second Team All-American guard, Ashley Joens could be just what they need to get that started. Joens had a very solid college career, where she scored 19.4 ppg in her career, along with 8.8 rpg, and shooting 35% from behind the arc. She is a team-first player and has shown her passion and grit throughout the years that she has played. She proved how passionate she was about her team when she surprised everyone and returned to Iowa State for her 5th year. Although it may take her a little bit to mold into a WNBA production-like prospect, Joens has shown that she is a scorer, and that alone is enough for a team to draft her in the first round.
10. Los Angeles Sparks (via Connecticut): Grace Berger, Guard, Indiana
With the loss of Brittany Sykes and Chennedy Carter in the offseason, the Sparks are going to be looking for a guard presence more than ever. Although they signed Jasmine Thomas in the offseason and will have Rae Burrell back from injury, guard play is what has failed for the Sparks for a long time. Berger fits that need and will make an immediate impact when drafted. The guard was a household name in the Big 10, as she was a four-time Big 10 First Team member. She also helped the Hoosiers become one of the powerhouse teams in the conference, as they were consistently towards the top since her arrival at the school. Berger had a very solid college career, where she averaged 14.4 ppg and 33% from 3 (40.7% from 3 her senior year). Her strength and physicality have caught the eyes of several WNBA executives as well, and some mock drafts have her going as high as 7. It would make her a steal if she ends up falling all the way to 10, and she could even help rejuvenate that Sparks backcourt.
11. Dallas Wings (via Chicago): Lou Lopez Senechal, Forward, Connecticut
After playing four years at Fairfield, Lou Lopez Senechal used her covid year to play for the UConn Huskies, and she certainly took advantage of that. The 6’1” forward averaged 15.1 ppg and shot a very impressive 44.0% from behind the arc. In her time in the MAAC, she was a three-team MAAC First-Team member and was the MAAC Tournament MVP in 2022. She was the go-to player for Fairfield and was one of the top scorers on UConn last season as well, and Senechal has been known to hit big shots throughout her career. A team that was a below-average scoring team like the Dallas Wings could add her to the lineup and see an immediate impact and compliment to Arike Ogunbowale. If the Wings select Siegrist third overall, Senechal will have the Big East connection with her, which could compliment well with each other and build an immediate chemistry. The Wings have been the middle of the pack team for a while now, but making moves like drafting Lou Lopez Senechal could very well catapult them to the top.
12. Minnesota Lynx (via Las Vegas): Alexis Morris, Guard, LSU
After struggling to find a home in college basketball, Alexis Morris finally found her true calling at LSU, and it showed. In her two seasons with the Tigers, Morris averaged 15.2 ppg, 3.4 apg, and shot 32.8% from 3. She has proven that she is a winner, as she helped lead the Tigers to a national championship victory last season, and she was solid throughout the entire tournament (17.1 ppg, 4.0 apg). Her success this season is going to be massive to help guide this once successful WNBA franchise. Most people are going to predict that she is going to slip past the first round, mostly due to her height of 5’6”. However, I think WNBA franchises are going to look past this, as she was taking on several guards much taller than her and handled her own. Even with that talented LSU team that had a lot of star players, Morris was the leader and had the team on her back at times. Nearly every mock draft that you are going to see out there is going to tell you that Morris is going to slip out of the first round and get drafted in the second. I think this is the perfect spot for her and the Lynx will take advantage of that.
Be sure to tune in to the WNBA draft this Monday to see where the future stars of the league end up. Also, check out the Whoopin’ Bets Podcast that is going to cover the WNBA all season long with plays, news and analysis.
