The top of the 2026 WNBA Draft is crowded with prospects. To help separate them, our draft model identifies similar college profiles and who may provide value over time.
There is no real pause between the women’s college basketball and WNBA seasons.
The NCAA season ends, the draft quickly follows, and within weeks, the league’s new players are expected to adjust to a faster, more physical and more structured version of the game. That transition is rarely seamless, and projecting it correctly is what separates a good draft from a great one.
Unlike last year’s class, which had a clear top selection in Paige Bueckers, the 2026 WNBA Draft is more balanced. There’s no universally agreed upon No. 1 pick, and multiple players have legitimate cases to be selected first overall depending on team philosophy and fit.
To help sort through that uncertainty, we used DRIP, our all-in-one player performance model, to build a draft model that projects the WNBA careers of the top prospects who played NCAA basketball. This is an important distinction as the model only evaluates players who competed at U.S. colleges and doesn’t include international prospects, including Awa Fam, who is expected to be selected with one of the first picks of the three-round draft Monday night. These rankings reflect what the data says about long-term value, not how players are expected to be selected on draft night.
2026 WNBA Draft
When: Monday, April 13, New York TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN Rounds: 3 (15 Picks Per Round) No. 1 Pick: Dallas WingsThe goal is not to identify the best rookie, but the players who will provide the most value over time. We rank prospects based on their projected DRIP at the end of their fourth WNBA season, when rookie contracts typically expire, and roles become more stable.
We also compare each player to previous prospects based on similarity in their college statistical profiles. These comparisons reflect how players produced in college, not what they ultimately became as professionals.
With that context, here are 15 top prospects in the 2026 WNBA Draft, according to our model. The order reflects projected long-term impact based on historical production patterns, not projected draft position.
Even with some standout bigs, the draft is deep in guards.
15 WNBA Draft Prospects to Know
There may not be a consensus top pick, but UCLA’s Lauren Betts rises to the top of the model.
At 6-foot-7, she provides impact on both ends of the floor – efficient interior scoring with one of the strongest defensive profiles in the group. That gives her a level of baseline value that is difficult to match.
In the Bruins’ recent national championship season, she averaged 17.1 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game while shooting 58.2% from the field. For several years, she was one of the most reliable rim protectors in college basketball, and that’s helped make her the top center prospect in this class across multiple draft evaluations.
Betts’ statistical profile aligns most closely with Jessica Shepard, reflecting interior scoring efficiency and rebounding production. At Notre Dame, the 6-4 Shepard consistently produced at a high level, including games with 20+ points and double-digit rebounds, highlighting the same interior efficiency and glass control.
Betts’ UCLA teammate Kiki Rice follows closely and represents one of the stronger lead guard profiles in the class. She completed her final season at No. 5 on the DRIP rankings list.
At 5-11, her ability to control an offense and create for others is reflected in her production. She averaged 14.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game while shooting 49.0% from the floor, highlighting consistent all-around contribution.
Her role provides important context. Rice spent much of her college career operating within a balanced system alongside other high-level players, which sometimes limited her scoring output but not her efficiency or impact as a decision maker.
Rice’s profile aligns with players like Odyssey Sims and Kelsey Plum. Sims started for Baylor’s 2012 national championship team and exploded as a senior to average 28.5 points per game, while Plum ranks No. 2 to Caitlin Clark on the NCAA all-time scoring list. The comps bode well for Rice’s scoring and playmaking ceilings.
UConn’s Azzi Fudd lands next and is one of the most clearly defined offensive players in the class. The 5-11 guard’s profile is driven by scoring efficiency and shooting.
Fudd finished this past season ranked fourth in WAR (Wins Above Replacement). She averaged 17.3 points per game while shooting 44.7% on 3-pointers, one of the strongest shooting marks among high volume scorers. Her ability to space the floor and create her own shot consistently are noted across draft evaluations.
On the higher end, Fudd’s profile aligns with players like Asia Durr and Arike Ogunbowale. At Louisville, Durr was a two-time ACC player of the year and averaged over 21 points per game as a senior. Ogunbowale, a national champ at Notre Dame, has developed into one of the most consistent high-volume scorers in the WNBA. That leads to the scoring ceiling tied to this profile.
TCU’s Olivia Miles, who played the prior three-plus seasons at Notre Dame, stands out as one of the more productive guards in the draft class. The 5-10 guard averaged 19.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game as a senior.
Miles scores often when needed, but she’s consistently identified as one of the top playmakers in the class, with her court vision and passing ability driving offensive efficiency.
Ta’Niya Latson has one of the more context-dependent profiles in the class. At South Carolina this past season, the 5-8 guard averaged 14.1 points and 3.6 assists per game, reflecting a more-structured offensive role to earlier seasons.
That’s because at Florida State, Latson never failed to average at least 21 points in three seasons, highlighted by a 2024-25 campaign in which her 25.2 points per game led Division I.
Madina Okot, also from South Carolina’s national runner-up squad, stands out because of her size and interior production. At 6-6, she averaged 12.8 points and 10.6 rebounds per game while shooting 57.5% from the floor.
Her production is concentrated around the basket, with value driven by rebounding positioning and efficiency rather than perimeter usage.
West Virginia’s Jordan Harrison profiles as one of the most active guards defensively, with her 3.2 steals per game this past season ranking 12th nationally and fifth among major conference players. Prospects with her steals consistently project as disruptive defenders who create turnovers rather than simply contain.
The 5-6 Harrison also averaged over 12 points in each of her four seasons, including 13.1 as a senior along with 5.2 assists per game.
UCLA’s Gianna Kneepkens, a 6-foot guard who played three-plus seasons at Utah, profiles as an efficient perimeter scorer. She averaged 12.8 points and shot 42.9% on 3s for the Bruins. Her shooting efficiency (335 made 3s in her career) aligns with a player like Kayla McBride, who translated elite perimeter efficiency in college into her long-term production as a primary shooting threat at the professional level.
Charlisse Leger-Walker brings a playmaking-focused guard profile from UCLA’s veteran-laden championship roster. The 5-10 transfer from Washington State, where she was a proven scorer, averaged 8.4 points and 5.6 assists this past season.
Texas’ Rori Harmon takes the playmaking-driven profile even higher. Her 977 career assists as a four-year starting point guard are the 10th-most in Division I history. Only 5-6, she averaged 8.4 points and 6.3 assists per game as a senior.
Harmon’s playmaking and defensive profile aligns with players like Natasha Cloud and Jordin Canada, both of whom built long-term value in college through ball pressure, defensive activity and primary guard responsibilities.
UConn’s Paige Bueckers, right, poses for a photo with commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected first overall by the Dallas Wings at the 2025 WNBA Draft in New York. (AP Photo)Teams are always looking for the steal of the draft, and Richmond’s Maggie Doogan fits the profile in this year’s class. At 6-2, she averaged 21.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game and shot 50.6% from the floor in a highly productive statistical profile.
That level of involvement is often reflected strongly in model outputs, particularly for players who contribute across multiple categories.
South Carolina’s Raven Johnson, a 5-9 point guard, averaged 9.9 points, 4.0 rebounds and 5.1 assists as a senior, contributing across multiple areas while playing a consistent role on a Gamecocks team defined by depth.
Johnson’s impact has been driven as much by defense as offense. She’s widely regarded for her length and instincts on the perimeter, but with improving offensive consistency.
LSU’s Flau’Jae Johnson averaged 14.2 points and 4.2 rebounds as a senior, and was a steady scoring presence throughout her college career. The 5-10 guard’s production is tied to her ability to generate offense off the dribble, with consistent shot creation in both transition and half-court settings.
Gabriela Jaquez, from, yes, UCLA again, averaged 13.5 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 53.9% on the Bruins’ balanced team. The 6-foot younger sister of NBA player Jaime Jaquez (he also played at UCLA) profiles as a multi-skills contributor, with production spread across scoring and rebounding within a system that has distributed usage.
Payton Verhulst, a 5-10 guard from Oklahoma, averaged 12.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists this past season, all numbers slightly below each of her two previous seasons with the Sooners.
Her final season was uneven relative to expectations, with a decline in shooting efficiency – just 30.0% on 3s – influencing her projected range.
Help Wanted? Yes, With Efficiency, Versatility
This WNBA Draft class may not produce a consensus No. 1 pick, but it presents a wide range of viable outcomes, with separation driven less by volume and more by how that production is generated.
Some prospects project through efficiency, others through playmaking or defensive impact, and others through the ability to contribute across multiple areas without dominating usage.
Within the draft model, those differences carry real weight, as players who maintain efficiency and role stability tend to provide more reliable long-term value than those dependent on singular production paths.
While the prospects learn the WNBA is faster, more structured and less forgiving, the best ones aren’t just the most talented, but those whose style of play holds up under the different conditions.
Data modeling by Matt Scott. For more coverage, follow on social media at Instagram, Bluesky, Facebook and X.
Who Do the Top WNBA Draft Prospects Compare to in Previous Years? Opta Analyst.
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