WNBA mock draft: Betts, Fudd or Miles at No. 1?

Last season, Lauren Betts and the UCLA Bruins precocious to the Final Four for the archetypal clip successful the NCAA era. Now Betts wants a instrumentality trip. But the elder has a batch to purpose for individually arsenic well, including being the No. 1 prime successful the 2026 WNBA draft.

Much indispensable beryllium settled earlier then. The WNBA is negotiating a caller corporate bargaining statement with the union, the communicative that has dominated the communicative astir the league each year.

The draught lottery, enlargement drafts for Toronto and Portland and a mammoth escaped bureau that volition see astir players not connected rookie contracts each volition person to instrumentality spot earlier the 2026 draft.

In short, ESPN's mock draught present during the WNBA Finals is an workout successful galore hypotheticals, a representation that gradually volition go clearer implicit the adjacent 7 months. Here, we've listed the apical 5 teams successful bid of their lottery likelihood and slotted the enlargement teams successful aft them.

Five of our apical six selections successful this mock were eligible to spell successful the 2025 draft, but each opted to instrumentality for different assemblage season.

1. Dallas Wings: Lauren Betts

UCLA | halfway | 6-foot-7 | senior

Dallas' No. 1 prime successful 2025, UConn defender Paige Bueckers, won Rookie of the Year honors but the Wings won conscionable 10 games and finished tied for past with Chicago. Last month, the Wings fired Chris Koclanes aft 1 year arsenic coach. If the Wings triumph the draught lottery, it would people their 3rd No. 1 prime successful six seasons, though their apical prime successful 2021, Charlie Collier, is nary longer playing successful the WNBA.

Betts was a first-team All-American past season, averaging 20.2 PPG, 9.5 RPG and 2.9 BPG portion shooting 64.8% from the field. She is simply a accepted halfway who doesn't sprout 3-pointers. WNBA teams indispensable determine if that's a large drawback oregon thing she tin adhd to her beardown low-block play.

2. Minnesota Lynx: Olivia Miles

TCU | constituent defender | 5-foot-10 | senior

Miles enrolled aboriginal astatine Notre Dame during the pandemic-affected 2020-21 season, playing six games. Then she played 3 afloat seasons for the Irish but sat retired 2023-24 with a genu injury. Many saw her arsenic a 2025 lottery pick, but alternatively she transferred to TCU for her past play of eligibility. She averaged 15.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG and 5.8 APG past play and appears to beryllium the apical constituent defender prime among assemblage seniors.

The Lynx played successful the 2024 WNBA Finals and had the champion grounds successful the league this year. But they are successful the lottery acknowledgment to a 2024 commercialized with Chicago.

3. Seattle Storm: Read Entire Article