Welcome! 🎉 In an effort to stop spamming my friends with constant women’s basketball updates, I’ve created this newsletter. I know—so generous of me. No need to thank me! I’m here to keep you informed on most things WBB.

Table of Contents

• WNBA DRAFT PREVIEW

  • The Potential Draftees

• One More Year: Those Who Decided to Stay

• Hoops & Hype: Media Picks

  • Film Session: WBB Highlights & Insights 📽️

  • Booked & Busy: WBB Reads 👓

• My Draft Predictions

WNBA DRAFT PREVIEW

The time has finally come! We’re about 35 days out from the start of the WNBA season, and with the NCAA season wrapped (shoutout to the Huskies 🏆), it’s officially draft season. The 2024 WNBA Draft is going down this Monday, April 14th at 7:30 PM on ESPN. 

Orange Carpet will start at 4:30 PM ET and be livestreamed on the WNBA YouTube Channel and the WNBA APP. Rickea Jackson will be hosting!

See below for the list of draftees who will be at The Shed in person for the Draft.

The Potential Draftees

Turning the Paige—First and foremost, we’ve got to acknowledge the obvious: the number one pick will, without a shadow of a doubt, be Paige Bueckers. She completed her storybook comeback by finally capturing a National Championship after a college career filled with setbacks and injuries. Now, she’s headed to Dallas, where she’ll join forces with Arike Ogunbowale, NaLyssa Smith, and Dijonai Carrington. That backcourt is going to be fun to watch.

Bon Jour— The No. 2 pick is expected to be 19-year-old French forward Dominique Malonga, who's currently playing pro in France for ASVEL Féminin. She’s a 6'6" post player that Tony Parker called the “female Wemby.” Can’t wait to see her in the league!

Luck of the Irish — After a standout season as part of Notre Dame’s Big Three, Sonia Citron is one of the hottest names in this year’s draft class. I don’t see her falling past the No. 4 pick—teams will be eager to add an efficient, high-rebounding guard with her poise and versatility.

The Storm, especially, could use a player like her. After losing Jordan Horston to a season-ending injury back in February, they’ve got a clear gap in the backcourt. Citron could be a perfect fit.

Wherever she lands, it’s going to be exciting to watch her transition to the pros. She’s built for it.

Nerds Hoop Too— Harmoni Turner has been lighting it up in the Ivy League. Leading Harvard to their first NCAA championship run EVER, she was named Ivy League Player of the Year and Mid-Major Player of the Year this season. She is a sleeper in this draft, but I would love to see her at least make a training camp.

Don’t Sleep on HBCU Hoops— Since the league began, only seven HBCU athletes have been drafted into the WNBA—but Diamond Johnson is looking to change that. She played at Rutgers and NC State, but really found her groove at Norfolk State. Since arriving, she’s earned both Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year and Player of the Year honors. Most recently, she was named MVP of both the National College All-Star Game and the HBCU All-Star Game.

Redemption — After a rocky season at LSU that torpedoed her draft stock, Hailey Van Lith set out on a journey of redemption. It began with a bronze medal in Olympic 3×3 Basketball and continued with her decision to spend her fifth and final year of eligibility at Texas Christian University (TCU)—either just before or shortly after the Olympics (I honestly can’t remember). At TCU, HVL returned to her roots and delivered a standout season, capped by an inspired Sweet Sixteen performance that included a takedown of Notre Dame. Still, many doubt whether that was enough to make her a first-round pick. But here’s my bold draft prediction: HVL will be selected in the first round—and I’m calling it now, top 7.

The Double Standard — LSU standout (who was robbed for SEC Player of the Year), Aneesah Morrow, has officially declared for the 2025 WNBA Draft. In true LSU fashion, Aneesah is a dawg—a relentless competitor who’s proven she can rebound and scrap with the best of them. She is one of two players in NCAA history with at least 100 double-doubles. In the Sweet Sixteen, she dropped an absurd 30 points and 19 boards (!!).

Still, there’s skepticism around how she’ll translate to the league, especially when matching up against pro-level bigs at just 6’1”. But to me, it’s a no-brainer—GMs have to take a chance on a player with her motor, grit, and elite rebounding instincts. As Curt Miller put it best:

“First and foremost, I personally, in my decade in this league, think that rebounding has translated, and players that rebounded in college ended up rebounding in the pros […] Rebounding is a big hustle statistic.”

The Elephant in the Room — I couldn’t put out this Draft Edition without addressing the very controversial Sedona Prince.

Sedona became a household name in 2021 when she exposed the NCAA for the wildly unequal treatment of women’s teams during the COVID-era tournament bubbles. Her viral TikTok showing the disparity in weight rooms, food, and facilities between the men’s and women’s bubbles was a turning point. Thanks to her, in 2022, the women’s tournament was finally granted permission to use the “NCAA March Madness” branding, and we started seeing way more women’s games on national TV. It was a culture-shifting moment in women’s sports.

Unfortunately, that’s about where the good things end.

Sedona is a serial abuser (obligatory: allegedly). Multiple women have come forward with disturbing allegations about abuse in their relationships with her—testimonies that are deeply unsettling and well-documented, even if they haven’t led to charges. And yet, none of this has really slowed her seven-year (!!) college basketball career. Let’s not forget—she was in school with Sabrina Ionescu, who’s now a full-fledged WNBA champ.

From a basketball standpoint—sure, you can’t teach 6’7, but outside of her height? She’s not giving much. Still, I do think she’ll get drafted. The WNBA (like the NBA) is no stranger to players with messy or harmful histories, and unless something is legally concrete, a lot of GMs won’t feel pressure to pass—especially since her reputation doesn’t reach much beyond basketball or queer circles. It's frustrating, and honestly, it sucks.

One More Year: Those Who Decided to Stay

Olivia Miles was the projected No. 2 pick in pretty much every mock draft—but after getting knocked out of the NCAA tournament by TCU, she shocked everyone by not only skipping the draft to use her fifth year of eligibility but also entering the transfer portal. And in a very Kevin Durant-esque twist, she transferred to none other than TCU. Moves like this kind of explain why WNBA GMs haven’t been too high on this year’s draft. Don’t forget—LA traded the No. 2 pick to Seattle, and Chicago dealt the No. 3 pick to Connecticut for Ariel Atkins. They must’ve seen the writing on the wall.

Geaux Tigers— There was some buzz that LSU star Flau’jae Johnson might consider entering the 2025 WNBA Draft. She kept fans (and scouts) on edge for a few weeks, entertaining the idea post-season. But after LSU’s Elite Eight loss to UCLA, it looks like Flau’jae is running it back for another year in Baton Rouge. Smart move—another year to refine her game and stack that NIL BAG $$$$$.

One Last Rodeo- After rehabbing an ACL injury and making a triumphant return, senior PG Rori Harmon helped lead Texas all the way to the Final Four. Now, she’s coming back to Austin for one last ride—looking to help the Longhorns finally get over the Dawn Staley-sized hump err, I mean bring home an NCAA title. Texas had a stellar season, holding onto a No. 1 seed all year and making an inspired run through the tournament. Love to see them run it back with unfinished business on the table.

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A Birdie Stayed in the Nest — After a disappointing (and historic) loss in the National Title game, all signs pointed to the 2x National Champ, Gamecock senior Raven Johnson, declaring for the WNBA Draft. But then came the twist: former FSU guard—and Johnson’s high school teammate—Ta’Niya Latson announced she was transferring to South Carolina. With that move, Raven knew she had to run it back.

Latson, the NCAA’s leading scorer this season, will fill a much-needed offensive gap for the Gamecocks. And with the steady presence of veteran PG Johnson running the show, South Carolina looks even scarier than before. Raven has made it to at least the Final Four in each of her four college seasons—let’s see if she can keep that streak alive (and maybe end it with another ring?).

Hoops & Hype: Media Picks

Check out some of the cool podcasts, videos, reads, and fashion I saw this week.

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Film Session: WBB Highlights & Insights 📽️

Booked & Busy: WBB Reads 👓

My Draft Predictions

In No Particular Order

1. HVL’s going Top 7 — no chance she slips out of the second round.

2. Pao Pao to Chicago

3. Madison Scott and Kiki Iriafen will easily take Best Dressed. (Rickea will outdress them all, tho)

4. Paige will once again show up looking like a pallbearer.

5. Holly Rowe will either say something mildly racist or bring up someone’s tragic backstory.

6. The Sun will draft Sedona Prince.

7. Ellie the Elephant will absolutely make a cameo.

8. This isn’t a prediction, but take a drink every time they mention Caitlin Clark or Angel Reese