NYSportsJournalism.com - WNBA '25 Draft: WIth The No. 1 Overall Pick
See the final WNBA Draft board here.
Just as the WNBA 2024 Draft put Caitlin Clark front-and-center, the WNBA 2025 Draft presented by State Farm will see Paige Beuckers at center stage.
Beuckers, coming off her NCAA Women’s Div. I championship with UConn, is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick by the Dallas Wings when commissioner Cathy Engelbert takes the podium on April 14 (ESPN 7:30 PM ET), being held in The Shed at Hudson Yards in New York.
When that happens, the incoming rookie will join such former overall No. 1 WNBA Draft picks as Clark (2024 Indiana Fever), Aliyah Boston (2023 Fever), Rhyne Howard (2022 Atlanta Dream), Sabrina Ionescu (2020 New York Liberty), A’ja Wilson (2018 Las Vegas Aces), Breanna Stewart (2016 Seattle Storm), Brittney Griner (2013 Phoenix Mercury), Maya Moore (2011 Minnesota Lynx), Tina Charles (2010 Connecticut Sun), Candace Parker (2008 Los Angeles Sparks), Diana Taurasi (2004 Phoenix) and Sue Bird (2002 Seattle).
Dominique Malonga of France, 19, a 6-6 center who played for the French Olympic team last year and is with Lyon, has been projected as the No. 2 overall pick by the Seattle Storm.
The Washington Mystics own the third and fourth selections.
The league’s first expansion team in 17 years, the Golden State Valkyries, will select fifth.
The Las Vegas Aces lost their First Round selection due to rules violations in 2023, so there will be 12 first-round picks by the league’s 13 teams.
Scheduled to join Paige and Malonga as invitees to the Draft are USC forward Kiki Iriafen, LSU forward Aneesah Morrow, TCU guard Hailey Van Lith, guard Georgia Amoore (Kentucky), guard Sarah Ashlee Barker (Alabama), guard Sonia Citron (Notre Dame), forward Sania Feagin (South Carolina) guard Aziaha James (NC State),, guard Te-Hina Paopao (South Carolina), guard Saniya Rivers (NC State), guard-forward Madison Scott (Ole Miss), guard Shyanne Sellers (Maryland), forward Ajša Sivka (Tarbes Gespe Bigorre/Slovenia) and guard Serena Sundell (Kansas State).
"We support the athletes' decisions, but we're excited to welcome all WNBA prospects, especially as they're making this huge transition," Colie Edison, WNBA chief growth officer, said during a Draft videoconference media call.
"Paige is a great example of how talent transcends any platform. Being the most followed NCAA athlete across men and women [basketball] just shows how powerful her reach really is, and we hope to amply that here at the W."
The formal start of the Draft night festivities will take place when the invited prospects walk the WNBA’s “Orange Carpet.”
Earlier that day, the prospects will visit the Empire State Building for a lighting ceremony to celebrate the Draft.
Beuckers picked up her first post-NCAA title.pre-WNBA Draft alliance when she signed today with financial firm Ally, which became a WNBA Changemaker and the league’s official banking partner.
"Paige h
as an authenticity that we like," Andrea Brimmer Ally CMO said via the financial firm. "She shares a lot of the same values that we share. She has real focus on financial literacy and education."
WNBA Countdown presented by Google will air from the WNBA Draft for the second consecutive year (ESPN 7 PM ET), hosted by Elle Duncan alongside analysts Chiney Ogwumike and Andraya Carter.
Coverage will include a feature on Bueckers, interviews with key draft prospects in attendance and ESPN analysts “breaking down the top fashion moments of the night.”
SportsCenter (6 PM ET) will be co-hosted by Duncan, live from The Shed at Hudson Yards, with Carter and Ogwumike joining live, giving fans insight into the WNBA Draft.
ESPN said it would enhance its on-site coverage throughout the night, starting with draft prospects arriving on the signature WNBA Orange Carpet and continuing through the final selection.
This year’s production will feature a 360-degree camera to highlight player fashion on the Orange Carpet; live cameras inside multiple draft rooms; and live coverage from official Draft Watch Parties nationwide.
The league’s 29th regular season is scheduled to begin May 16.
