Wait, WNBA draft reaction? Didn’t the NCAA tournament end like a week ago? Yes, yes it did. And we keep it moving over here in women’s basketball, because the WNBA season tips off on May 16th. Read on for my semi-pro analysis of the 2025 WNBA Draft.

First Round

1. Dallas Wings – Paige Bueckers, UConn, G – There’s really not much to say about this one. Once Bueckers declared for the draft, she was always going to be the number one pick. So really the most notable thing is that she’s apparently going to change her gameday hairstyle for the W.
2. Seattle Storm – Dominique Malonga, France, C – If you didn’t see Malonga help lead France to the silver medal in the 2024 Olympics, you missed out. She’s an athletic, versatile 6’6”. And she can dunk easily. And she’s only 19.
3. Washington Mystics – Sonia Citron, Notre Dame, G – Terrific pick. Playing alongside the flashier Olivia Miles and Hannah Hidalgo, Citron quietly went about her business. And her business was 14.1 PPG on .484/.372/.890. AND she was an ACC All-Defensive pick.
4. Washington Mystics – Kiki Iriafen, USC, F – During Iriafen’s junior year at Stanford, I thought she was the closest thing I’ve seen to A’ja Wilson. (She’s also one of the few people who can actually pull off the A’ja Wilson one-leg sleeve.) I’m really excited to see how her game translates to the W.
5. Golden State Valkyries – Justė Jocytė, Lithuania, G – Golden State’s first-ever WNBA draft pick is… someone I’ve never heard of, and my brain contains way too much women’s basketball knowledge, so that’s saying something. I’ve since learned that she made her debut for the Lithuanian national team at age 13 and in the EuroLeague at 14 so I think it’s safe to say she’ll be ready for the W.
6. Washington Mystics – Georgia Amoore, Kentucky, PG – I can’t prove it, but I had a feeling Amoore would go mid-first round, as opposed to late-first round where most mock drafts had her slotted. She’s only 5’6”, but she shoots the shit out of the ball, is a terrific passer, and probably has the highest basketball IQ of anyone in the league as a rookie.
7. Connecticut Sun – Aneesah Morrow, LSU, F – Same number that Morrow’s former LSU teammate Angel Reese went last year–is it a sign? A sign that Morrow’s rebounding and effort will translate to the WNBA, just like Reese’s did.
8. Connecticut Sun – Saniya Rivers, NC State, F – Rivers is crazy athletic and she can do a little bit of everything. In 2024-25, she averaged 11.9 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 3.8 APG, 1.6 SPG and 1.3 BPG.
9. Los Angeles Sparks – Sarah Ashlee Barker, Alabama, G – I said it after she put up 45 points in the NCAA Tournament Second Round against Maryland (Mom, please back me up on this): She’s not just a “draft pick.” She’s a first-rounder!! She’s someone I have absolutely no interest in playing against, so I’m picking her for my team every time.
10. Chicago Sky – Ajša Sivka, Slovenia, F – I can’t claim to know much about Sivka, but if the Leonie Fiebich comps come true, she’s going to be just fine.
11. Chicago Sky – Hailey Van Lith, TCU, G – After all the hate that was heaped on her last year at LSU, HVL is a first round pick!!!
12. Dallas Wings – Aziah James, NC State, G – I love this pick. If you watched any of NC State’s run to the Final Four in 2024, you know that James is an absolute bucket-getter and who better to learn the art of bucket-getting from than Arike Ogunbowale?

Note: As of 2025 there are 13 WNBA teams, but the Las Vegas Aces had their 2025 first-round pick rescinded–they were supposed to pick 10th–so that’s why there were only 12 picks in the first round.

Second Round

I think it’s bullshit that WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert doesn’t call out every draft pick (I mean come on Cathy, there’s only 38 of them), but I’m no better because rather than give a pick-by-pick analysis of the second and third rounds, I’m only going to give a few general thoughts:

• Aaliyah Nye (13th overall to Las Vegas)– You love to see someone come sit in the crowd to support their college teammate but also hear their name called, à la Kate Martin.
• I figured Maddy Westbeld would get picked at some point, but I’m surprised it was this early (16th overall to Chicago).
• South Carolina made it to the national championship game without a single first-round pick. They did have three second-rounders, however–Te-Hina Paopao (18th overall to Atlanta), Bree Hall (20th overall to Indiana) and Sania Feagin (21st overall to Los Angeles). A testament to the kind of program Dawn Staley’s built at South Carolina.
• Makayla Timpson (19th overall to Indiana)– She’s 6’2” with a 6’10” wingspan. That’ll play.

Third Round

• I think Serena Sundell (26th overall to Seattle) is going to be a terrific pro.
• I absolutely love seeing the entire UConn team going just as wild for Kaitlyn Chen (30th overall to Golden State) and Aubrey Griffin (37th overall to Minnesota) getting picked in the third round as they did for Paige Bueckers going number one overall.
• Shoutout to the mid-majors, and to the Ivy League in particular, for getting two players selected (Harmoni Turner, Harvard, 35th overall to Las Vegas; Kaitlyn Chen graduated from Princeton before transferring to UConn for her grad year.)
• I’m very high on Taylor Thierry (36th overall to Atlanta). I see a lot of Gabby Williams in her.

To tie a bow on things, I want to mention that ticket prices for the draft more than doubled from last year, starting at $99 on Ticketmaster (as compared to $49 in 2024). Last year’s draft class was historic, but this year’s is already proving to be too, and I can’t wait to see what they do in the WNBA.

Yours in hoops,

Katie