{"id":262593,"date":"2025-10-31T09:36:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T09:36:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/262593\/"},"modified":"2025-10-31T09:36:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T09:36:11","slug":"lauren-betts-goes-no-1-while-caitlin-clark-gets-a-new-fever-running-mate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/262593\/","title":{"rendered":"Lauren Betts Goes No. 1, While Caitlin Clark Gets a New Fever Running Mate"},"content":{"rendered":"

While the WNBA<\/a> negotiates a new collective bargaining agreement, college basketball is set to begin, and we are excited about the upcoming season. After a tough, injury-filled season in the W, the league is ready to bring in some fresh young talent to spark the next generation of women\u2019s basketball.<\/p>\n

Two important draft notes: The Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo are expansion teams, and I am unsure who will pick first of the pair, so I have listed Portland first for now. Also, the WNBA Draft Lottery has not yet occurred, so the order of the top four picks is not officially determined.<\/p>\n

1) Dallas Wings
\nLauren Betts, C, UCLA<\/p>\n

While the Wings may be tempted to go with Azzi Fudd based on her relationship<\/a> with last year\u2019s top pick, Paige Bueckers, Lauren Betts<\/a> is a can\u2019t-miss prospect. She is the clear top pick in this draft and is only behind UConn\u2019s Sarah Strong on ESPN\u2019s Top 25 players for 2025-26.<\/p>\n

This spot is very deserved, and she also has a strong case for the top spot. Betts has improved in each of her three years of college, first at Stanford and then at UCLA, and most recently posted 20.2 points per game and 9.5 rebounds per game, along with an impressive 2.9 blocks per game. Betts and Bueckers would be a dynamic duo in this league immediately.<\/p>\n

2) Minnesota Lynx (via CHI)
\nAzzi Fudd, G, UConn<\/p>\n

Fudd has been steady for UConn from Day 1, but she showed in the most critical games of last year that she could be a star if given the chance. In UConn\u2019s semifinal game against UCLA, Fudd scored 19 points, including a trio of three-pointers. She also had three steals in the 85-51 win to help the Huskies advance to the championship.<\/p>\n

In the championship game against South Carolina, she scored 24 points, had five rebounds, and three steals, leading UConn to a title. She won Most Outstanding Player<\/a> of the Final Four for these efforts.<\/p>\n

3) Seattle Storm (via LA)
\nOlivia Miles, G, TCU<\/p>\n

After three years as Notre Dame\u2019s starting point guard, Olivia Miles transferred to TCU to showcase her talents in the Big 12, coincidentally for the team that knocked her and Notre Dame out of the NCAA Tournament. She is the clear top senior point guard in the NCAA and should immediately be an impact player on the Seattle roster.<\/p>\n

4) Washington Mystics
\nAwa Fam, C, Valencia (Spain)<\/p>\n

Awa Fam is the only player I think has a chance to go No. 1 if teams start to change their minds about Betts. She is the draft\u2019s top international prospect and has played among professionals in Spain since she was 15.<\/p>\n

Her numbers from last season, when projected out to 36 minutes played<\/a>, have her averaging 11 points and 11.7 rebounds per game. She would be a massive upgrade for a Washington team that ranked towards the bottom of the WNBA in rebounding last season.<\/p>\n

5) Chicago Sky (via CON)
\nTa\u2019Niya Latson, G, South Carolina<\/p>\n

While Angel Reese was suspended<\/a> for her comments about the team\u2019s point guard situation, she did have a point. While Ta\u2019Niya Latson doesn\u2019t have experience in the WNBA winning championships, she is a high school champion and has a real shot to make a run at one this season with a powerhouse in South Carolina.<\/p>\n

At Florida State, she started for three years and last season led the NCAA in scoring, averaging 25.2 points per game, along with 4.6 assists. She would slide right into the starting point guard slot for the Sky, and I think she and Reese would work very well together.<\/p>\n

6) Portland Fire
\nFlau\u2019Jae Johnson, G, LSU<\/p>\n

Johnson does not lack confidence, and for someone as polarizing as her, how cool would it be to usher in a new franchise as their first-ever draft pick?<\/p>\n

MORE: NBA Trainer Urges Fever Star Caitlin Clark To Make 1 Major Change During WNBA Offseason<\/a><\/p>\n

She is perfect for the role and is of great value with the sixth pick. Johnson was a champion in her first season at LSU, and since then, her role has grown and her production has increased. She was a third-team AP All-American last season, averaging 18.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game.<\/p>\n

7) Toronto Tempo
\nGianna Kneepkens, G, UCLA<\/p>\n

After four years \u2014 including an injury-shortened junior season \u2014 with Utah, Gianna Kneepkens transferred to UCLA to try to close out her college career with a championship. In any case, Kneepkens is a great player for the Tempo to build around, as she averaged 19.3 points per game last season and hit three 3-pointers per game.<\/p>\n

8) Golden State Valkyries
\nCotie McMahon, F, Ole Miss<\/p>\n

The Golden State Valkyries garnered impressive support in their inaugural WNBA season, and they rewarded those fans with a playoff appearance. Now, they will look to improve on that by drafting Cotie McMahon, who continues to develop each year. She would join a deep rotation of solid players, with the upside of being among the best of them from the start.<\/p>\n

9) Washington Mystics (via SEA)
\nYarden Garzon, G, Maryland<\/p>\n

Yarden Garzon is transferring within the Big Ten to Maryland for her final season, and she played her best basketball last year, averaging 14.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game. The hope is that Maryland takes her game to an even higher level and increases her three-point shooting to showcase just how good she can be for Washington next season.<\/p>\n

10) Indiana Fever
\nSerah Williams, F, UConn<\/p>\n

With Caitlin Clark and the Fever looking to take the next step towards being champions, bringing a versatile forward into the mix seems logical. Serah Williams transferred from Wisconsin to UConn after three strong seasons.<\/p>\n

Last year, Williams averaged nearly a double-double a night with 19.2 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Look for UConn to prepare her for the next level and for her to showcase these abilities at the highest level of women\u2019s college basketball.<\/p>\n

11) Washington Mystics (via NY)
\nChloe Kitts, F, South Carolina<\/p>\n

With the third of their first-round picks, I expect the Mystics to go with a little more polished rebounder to allow Fam some time to develop.<\/p>\n

Chloe Fitts only played 22.4 minutes per game<\/a>, but still averaged 7.7 rebounds and took her game to another level in the NCAA Tournament. In close wins against Indiana, Maryland, and Duke, she played 30 minutes per game, scoring 13 points and grabbing 8.3 rebounds on average, with two double-doubles to her credit in that time.<\/p>\n

12) Connecticut Sun (via PHX)
\nAshlon Jackson, G, Duke<\/p>\n

The Sun were the worst three-point shooting team in the WNBA last season, and bringing in Ashlon Jackson would be a significant improvement to their roster. She made 87 threes last season<\/a>, shooting 37.2% on those, an improvement from her 36.2% mark from the previous year.<\/p>\n

13) Atlanta Dream
\nKiki Rice, G, UCLA<\/p>\n

Kiki Rice was an assist machine in the NCAA Tournament, with at least seven assists in four of the five games. She averaged 6.4 for the tournament, which was a step up from her five per game during the season. Rice\u2019s production has been steady through her first three years, and I expect her to show that her improvement from beyond the arc was no fluke and ride that into the first round.<\/p>\n

14) Seattle Storm (via LV)
\nRaegan Beers, C, Oklahoma<\/p>\n

With their second pick of the first round, I expect Seattle to grab Raegan Beers to help on the glass, as she is a big, strong rebounder with a nose for the ball. In her last three games of the tournament, she had 41 rebounds (13.7 per game). Her offense should come over time, but Seattle needs rebounding badly, and the answer is Beers.<\/p>\n

15) Connecticut Sun (via MIN)
\nDarianna Littlepage-Buggs, F, Baylor<\/p>\n

Darianna Littlepage-Buggs was a consistent double-double threat last season, and I think she can be a high riser on other draft boards if she performs better in the big games this season and in the NCAA Tournament. She has fantastic rebounding instincts and has consistently demonstrated them for three years now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While the WNBA negotiates a new collective bargaining agreement, college basketball is set to begin, and we are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":262594,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[99,434],"class_list":{"0":"post-262593","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-sports","9":"tag-wnba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=262593"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262593\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/262594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=262593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=262593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=262593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}