The 2026 WNBA Draft began almost identically to the 2025 edition: The Dallas Wings selected a guard from UConn with the No. 1 overall pick. This year, the Wings selected Azie Fudd, who will reunite with her girlfriend, Paige Bueckers, as the 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year. The two won a national championship together at UConn and will now look to bring the same level of success to Dallas.
The Lynx then took TCU guard Olivia Miles at No. 2, the Storm added Spanish center Awa Pham at No. 3, and the Washington Mystics and Chicago Sky completed the lottery by taking UCLA stars Lauren Bates and Gabriela Jaquez at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.
As always, the draft went much better for some teams and players than others. We’ve graded each first-round pick here.
Ahead of training camps, which open in less than a week on April 19, here are the winners and losers of the 2026 WNBA Draft:
Winner: Storm got off to a great start
The Storm lost Nneka Ogwumike, Skylar Diggins, Gabby Williams, Brittany Sykes and Erica Wheeler in free agency, forcing the franchise to rebuild. This process has already made an incredible start.
Early on Monday, he got a big break when both the Wings and Lynx passed on Awa Pham, allowing the Storm to select him at No. 3. Fam, a 19-year-old center from Spain, was a candidate for top selection And it has the most progress of any player in this class. He is an excellent athlete, a strong interior finisher and a talented passer who is significantly smaller than other lottery picks. Additionally, he is a perfect fit for Dominic Malonga and Ezee Magbegor, who can handle rim protection duties on defense and allow Pham to slowly come along.
WNBA Draft 2026: Who is Awa Pham? Seattle Storm select Spanish star with No. 3 pick
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Later in the evening, the Storm defeated the Valkyries by trading a 2028 second-round pick for Marta Suarez (No. 16 pick) and LSU star Floja Johnson (No. 8). While Johnson had an underwhelming senior season in Baton Rouge, he is one of the most athletic and naturally talented players in this class, with serious potential as a two-way wing.
The race between Pham and Johnson was so exciting that the Storm’s confusing decision to select Duke’s Tania Meier at No. 14 doesn’t even matter. At this point, whatever they get from Mair – an interesting prospect, but first-round access – is a bonus.
A look at the young talent in Seattle now:
Some franchises could rebuild for years without acquiring a talented player like Malonga or Pham. The Storm have both, and they are in great position moving forward, especially if they can get another lottery selection in 2027, which is a loaded category.
Loser: Valkyries stuns Johnson by decision
Johnson – a genuine talent who looked like he would be a good fit in the Bay Area, both on and off the court – was a two-second-round pick, what were the Valkyries doing? According to general manager Ohema Nyanin, it is a mystery.
“When I’m ready to speak more about what the strategy is behind it, I’ll speak on it,” Nyanin said during the post-draft press conference. “I don’t really talk about my tactics publicly because other teams are watching.
Nyanin added, “I’m going to make some efforts to be able to respond eloquently.” “I don’t have a lot of details to share. One, because I’m tired. Two, because I want to be very thoughtful when I’m talking about other human beings and their basketball abilities and how they will or won’t look on our team.”
If the Valkyries aren’t completely sold on Johnson, who can be frustratingly inconsistent, that’s fair. But then why was he drafted in the first place? And if they picked him up with the design of trading him to a team that really wanted him, why couldn’t they get a better return from Suarez and a second-round pick?
Suarez is a fun player, and his ability to shoot the ball and make decisions would theoretically make him a good fit for Golden State. But there are some real questions about whether he can stick athletically in the pros, and the Storm’s 2028 second-round pick is going to be in his late teens at best.
The trade is even more shocking considering the Valkyries’ stellar track record since entering the league as an expansion franchise last season.
Winner: UCLA makes history
Fresh off a national championship, the UCLA Bruins made WNBA Draft history on Monday night with the selection of six players, the most ever from a single program in a single draft. Five of them went to the first round, also a new record.
Lauren Bates, Gabriela Jacquez and Kiki Rice were selected fourth, fifth and sixth overall, marking the second time the draft saw three consecutive selections from the same program. Later in the night, Angela Dugalic joined Bates as the No. 9 pick on the Washington Mystics roster. Gianna Neepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker were selected at No. 15 and No. 18, respectively, and both will meet again at Connecticut. Leger-Walker also made history as New Zealand’s first player.
- 4. Lauren Bates – Washington Mystics
- 5. Gabriela Jacquez – Chicago Sky
- 6. Kiki Rice – Toronto Tempo
- 9. Angela Dugalic – Washington Mystics
- 15. Gianna Neepkens – Connecticut Sun
- 18. Charlie’s Leger-Walker – Connecticut Sun
“It’s very special,” Rice said. “Every single one of us here deserves this and I’m very proud of this group because we’ve worked so hard over the last few years. This is a special moment.”
-Isabel Gonzalez
Loser Becomes Winner: Latson Comes to a Great Place
Ta’Niya Latson averaged at least 20 points per game in each of her first three college seasons at Florida State and led the nation in scoring as a junior. But despite her best efforts, she was never able to get the Seminoles past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, so she decided to transfer to South Carolina for her senior season to play for Don Staley and compete for a title.
While Latson got an intense tournament experience, he struggled to adjust to a reduced role in the Gamecocks’ egalitarian offensive system. His scoring dropped greatly, dropping from 25.2 points per game to 14.1, and his 3-point efficiency dropped from 34.3% to 32.5%. Although he improved defensively, it was not enough to maintain his draft stock.
Latson was once considered a potential lottery pick, but was projected to go late in the first round by the end of the season. Ultimately, he fell to the Los Angeles Sparks at No. 20 overall. The first-round exit cost Latson some serious money and a guaranteed contract next season, but the good thing is he landed in a great spot.
The Sparks, in an effort to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2020 and end the longest active playoff drought in the league, signed Nneka Ogwumike, re-signed Kelsey Plum and De’Arika Hamby, and traded away Ariel Atkins. Instead of going to a rebuilding team, Latson gets a chance to join a potential playoff team that needs guard depth. His slide may prove to be a blessing in disguise.
Loser: Mystics still need shooting
Just a few weeks ago, the Mystics were considered to have one of the best positions in the league. They capitalized on their 2025 draft, highlighted by Sonia Citron and Kiki Irifen, had three first-round picks in Monday’s 2026 draft and swapped the rights to the Sky’s 2027 pick, and they have plenty of cap space.
Then, just before free agency, the organization made a surprise announcement that general manager Jamila Weidman was out after just one year on the job due to “serious strategic differences.” A few days later, they added to their draft reserves by first acquiring the Sky’s 2028 trade for Jessie Sheldon, then matching Shakira Austin’s three-year max offer sheet by signing with the Tempo.
While firing Wideman and the decision to match Austin’s contract raised some eyebrows, the Mystics were still in great shape, but in desperate need of adding some shooting in the draft. Instead, he chose Bates, Dugalik and Coty McMahon.
WNBA free agency winners and losers: Liberty add fourth star in Sato Sabally, Lynx face brain drain
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The 6-foot-7 Bates was too talented to go No. 4, even if there were some questions about his fit with Iriafan and Austin. But given that he has scored almost exclusively in the paint and has only attempted two 3-pointers in his college career, this increases the need to pick a shooter or two at Nos. 9 and 11. He didn’t do that. Dugalik shot 32.6% on 2.3 attempts per game as a senior and McMahon shot 28.6% on 3.5 attempts per game as a senior.
The Mystics shot 32.9% on 17.1 3-point attempts per game last season. They took the fewest 3s of any team by a wide margin – no one else took fewer than 20 in a night – and ranked 10th in percentage. Citron, who shot 44.5% as a rookie – a mark that will be difficult to maintain – had nearly one-third of the team’s 3-point makes (81 of 248).
Georgia Amur’s return from injury should at least help boost the Mystics’ 3-point rate, if not their efficiency, and free agent signing Michaela Onyenwere is a nice threat, but the Mystics are still woefully short on the most important skill in the league these days.
It’s confusing that the Mystics didn’t add a single elite shooter, even though they had three first-round picks and four top-19 picks. Especially when they went through Gianna Neepkens and Marta Suarez multiple times. There are suddenly many more questions about the future of the Mystics than there were just a few weeks ago.
