Understanding the Draft & Rookies to Watch

Now that the 2026 WNBA Draft has passed, we are going to recap and analyze not only how Draft Day works, but discuss the outcome of the draft.

Read below to see:

• Who was initially eligible for the draft
• The general process that the Draft Day follows
• Projected First Round Picks before the draft
• The final results of the draft

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Who is eligible to enter the Draft?

Any collegiate or international athletes who turned 22 years old last year are eligible to enter the draft and renounce any NCAA eligibility they have left to opt into the 2026 WNBA Draft. 

Draft Format

The WNBA Draft has three rounds. The first five picks are decided by the Draft Lottery, which took place in November 2025 and awarded the first overall round pick to the Dallas Wings. This year’s full draft order is listed below. Teams often trade picks up until the night before the Draft, so the order is subject to change.

You may notice two new teams, the Toronto Tempo and the Portland Fire, that were created as a result of the WNBA expansion and will play in their first season later this year. Just last year the WNBA announced a historic expansion to 18 teams with the new addition of teams in Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia. This is a testament to the WNBA’s growing popularity and increases opportunities for the next generation in women’s basketball to play at the highest level.

The top 15 prospects in the 2026 WNBA draft are listed below.

PROSPECTED	BACKGROUND	DRAFTED?
AZZI FUDD	UCONN/ GUARD	YES
LAUREN BETTS	UCLA /CENTER	YES
AWA FAM THIAM	SPAIN NATIONAL	YES
OLIVIA MILES	TCU/ GUARD	YES
NELL ANGLOMA	FRANCE NATIONAL	YES
ANGELA DUGALIC	UCLA/ FORWARD	YES
GABRIELA JAQUEZ	UCLA/ GUARD	YES
FLAU’JAE JOHNSON	LSU/ GUARD	YES
RAVEN JOHNSON	SOUTH CAROLINA / GUARD	YES
GIANNA KNEEPKENS	UCLA / GUARD	YES
TA’NIYA LATSON	SOUTH CAROLINA/ GUARD	YES
COTIE MCMAHON	UCLA/ GUARD	YES
MADINA OKOT	SOUTH CAROLINA/ CENTER	YES
KIKI RICE	UCLA/ GUARD	YES
MARTA SUAREZ	TCU/ FORWARD	YES

Tomorrow, April 13th at 7 p.m. ET, the 2026 WNBA draft will be held at the Shed in Manhattan, New York. Coverage begins on ESPN at 6:30 p.m. Tune in to see where your favorite college players will be playing this season!

This year’s draft order is as follows:

First Round: 

1) Dallas Wings 

2) Minnesota Lynx (from Chicago Sky)

3) Seattle Storm (from Los Angeles Sparks)

4) Washington Mystics 

5) Chicago Sky (from Connecticut Sun)

6) Toronto Tempo* 

7) Portland Fire*

8) Golden State Valkyries 

9) Washington Mystics (from Seattle Storm)

10) Indiana Fever 

11) Washington Mystics (from New York Liberty) 

12) Connecticut Sun (from Phoenix Mercury)  

13) Atlanta Dream 

14) Seattle Storm (from Las Vegas Aces)

15) Connecticut Sun (from Minnesota Lynx)

Second Round: 

1) Seattle Storm (from Dallas Wings)

2) Chicago Sky 

3) Connecticut Sun 

4) Washington Mystics 

5) Los Angeles Sparks 

6) Portland Fire 

7) Toronto Tempo 

8) Golden State Valkyries 

9) Los Angeles Sparks (from Seattle Storm)

10) Indiana Fever 

11) Chicago Sky (from New York Liberty) 

12) Phoenix Mercury 

13) Atlanta Dream 

14) Las Vegas Aces 

15) Washington Mystics (from Minnesota Lynx) 

Third Round: 

1) Dallas Wings  

2) Chicago Sky  

3) Connecticut Sun 

4) Washington Mystics 

5) Los Angeles Sparks  

6) Toronto Tempo 

7) Portland Fire 

8) Golden State Valkyries 

9) Seattle Storm 

10) Indiana Fever 

11) New York Liberty 

12) Phoenix Mercury 

13) Atlanta Dream 

14) Las Vegas Aces 

15) Minnesota Lynx