Five of college basketball's finest headline the newest WNBA mock draft.
As the 2024 WNBA season approaches, so does the WNBA draft, where the league’s 12 teams will select their newest additions. With the draft on the horizon, basketball fans and experts are creating mock drafts that serve as glimpses into the future of women’s basketball. Today, we’ll explore the projected top five draft picks from ESPN’s newly released mock draft.
Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark announced last Thursday that she will enter the WNBA draft. Over the course of her collegiate career, she has scored 3,685 points, surpassing Hall of Famer and legendary LSU alum Pete Maravich’s 3,667-point scoring record. The 6-foot senior point guard currently averages 32 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds per game. It comes as no shock that Clark’s remarkable performance this season landed her the number one spot in the mock draft. The first pick goes to the Indiana Fever, so if predictions are correct, Clark will be the team’s newest addition.
Coming in at number two on the list is Stanford’s Cameron Brink, who’s projected to go to the Los Angeles Sparks. Brink finished her last Pac-12 regular season game with 18 points, 17 rebounds, and three blocks in a win over Oregon. The 6-foot-4 power forward has been a key player for her team, averaging nearly 18 points and 12 rebounds per game. With her dominance in the paint, Brink is no doubt a top pick in the WNBA draft.
The Chicago Sky has the third pick and is predicted to draft Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson. Jackson leads her team in scoring, averaging almost 20 points a game. She set the program record for highest free throw percentage, shooting over 31 percent in each of her two seasons with the Lady Vols and going 14 for 14 in the 2023 SEC tournament quarterfinals. Additionally, Jackson recorded the second longest streak of 20 or more points (eight games). Her versatility makes her a perfect fit for the Sky.
South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso is projected to be the fourth overall pick, joining Brink with the Los Angeles Sparks. Cardoso’s powerful style of play has made her one of the best rim protectors in the game. In a loss to the Tennessee Lady Vols, she finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds, marking her 13th double-double of the season. She currently averages about 14 points and 10 rebounds a game. Cardoso hasn’t yet announced if she’s going to the WNBA or returning for another season with the Gamecocks, but all signs point to her declaring for the draft.
The predicted fifth pick in the draft is UConn’s Aaliyah Edwards, who would go to the Dallas Wings. The 6-foot-3 senior power forward averages around 18 points and nine rebounds per game. She’s been a consistent star for the Huskies, assisting in clutch plays and scoring seemingly impossible shots. The Wings could use an athlete of Edwards’s caliber, but like Cardoso, she has yet to declare for the draft.
The 2024 WNBA draft will be held on Monday, April 15th at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. This year marks the first year since the 2014-2016 drafts that fans will be allowed to attend. The draft will consist of three rounds, each of which includes 12 picks. Tune in to see WNBA Commissioner Cathy Englebert announce the league’s future stars.
Edited by Ella Chang
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