2026 WNBA draft

Basketball player selection From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)'s draft for the 2026 season was held following the 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. This was the first draft for the league's two newest expansion teams, the Portland Fire and the Toronto Tempo.

SportBasketball
DateApril 13, 2026
NetworkU.S.: ESPN
LeagueWomen's National Basketball Association
Quick facts General information, Sport ...
2026 WNBA Draft
General information
SportBasketball
DateApril 13, 2026
NetworkU.S.: ESPN
Overview
45 total selections in 3 rounds
LeagueWomen's National Basketball Association
Teams15
Expansion teamPortland Fire
Toronto Tempo
First selectionAzzi Fudd (Dallas Wings)
← 2025
2027 →
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Draft lottery

In November 2025, the WNBA announced that the 2026 WNBA Draft Lottery would be held on November 23, 2025.[1][2] The lottery decided the order of the first 5 picks in the 2026 WNBA draft and was televised on ESPN in the United States.[1] The five teams that did not qualify for 2025 WNBA playoffs participated in this draft lottery.

Lottery chances

The lottery chances were based on the combined record from the 2024 and 2025 WNBA seasons. In the drawing, 14 balls numbered 1 to 14 were placed in a lottery machine and mixed. Four balls were drawn to determine a four-digit combination. The team assigned that four-ball combination received the No. 1 pick. The four balls were then be placed back into the machine and the process was repeated to determine the second pick. Of the three teams not selected in the drawings, the team with the worst cumulative two-year record was selected third; the team with the next worst record selected fourth; and the remaining team, fifth.[1]

A representative from the league's independent accounting firm, Ernst & Young, was in attendance to oversee the draft lottery process.[1]

Note: The team selected for the No. 1 pick in the lottery is noted below in bold text.

More information Team, Combined 2024–25 record ...
Team Combined 2024–25 record Lottery chances Result
Dallas Wings 19–65 42.0% 1st pick
Minnesota Lynx (from Chicago Sky)[a] 23–61 26.1% 2nd pick
Seattle Storm (from Los Angeles Sparks)[b] 29–55 16.7% 3rd pick
Washington Mystics 30–54 9.7% 4th pick
Chicago Sky (from Connecticut Sun)[c] 39–45 5.5% 5th pick
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Notes
  1. [a]
    April 13, 2025: Chicago to Minnesota[3][4]
    • Minnesota acquired the 2026 first-round pick outright, and extinguished the previous right to exchange 2026 first-round draft picks with Chicago
    • Chicago acquired the 2025 No. 11 draft pick (Hailey Van Lith)
  2. [b]
    January 31, 2024: Seattle to Los Angeles[5]
    • Los Angeles acquired Kia Nurse and a 2024 first-round pick (Rickea Jackson)
    • Seattle acquired a 2026 first-round pick
  3. [c]
    July 17, 2024: Connecticut to Chicago[6]

Eligibility and entrants

Under the 2026 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the WNBA and its players' union, ratified before this draft and mostly unchanged from the previous CBA, draft eligibility for players (not defined as "international") requires the following to be true:

  • The player's 22nd birthday falls during the calendar year of the draft. For the 2026 draft, the cutoff birth date is December 31, 2004.
  • She has either:
    • completed her college eligibility;
    • received a bachelor's degree, or is scheduled to receive such in the three months following the draft; or
    • is at least four years removed from high school graduation.

Early eligibility

Players who are younger than the draft's cutoff age and are scheduled to receive their bachelor's degree within three months of the draft date will only be eligible if the calendar year of the draft is no earlier than the fourth year after their high school graduation.

Players with remaining college eligibility but who do meet the cutoff age criteria must notify WNBA headquarters of their intent to enter the draft no later than 10 days before the draft date, and must renounce any remaining college eligibility to do so. For the 2026 draft, the date fell on April 3. A separate notification timetable is provided for players involved in postseason tournaments (i.e. the NCAA Division I tournament); those players (normally) must declare for the draft within 24 hours of their final collegiate game.

International players

"International players" are defined as those for whom all of the following is true:

  • Born and currently residing outside the U.S.
  • Never "exercised intercollegiate basketball eligibility" in the U.S.
  • The player's 20th birthday falls during the calendar year of the draft. For this draft, the international cutoff birth date is December 31, 2006.

Draft

Azzi Fudd was selected 1st overall by the Dallas Wings.
Olivia Miles was selected 2nd overall by the Minnesota Lynx.
Awa Fam was selected 3rd overall by the Seattle Storm.
Lauren Betts was selected 4th overall by the Washington Mystics.
Gabriela Jaquez was selected 5th overall by the Chicago Sky.
Kiki Rice was selected 6th overall by the Toronto Tempo.
Iyana Martín was selected 7th overall by the Portland Fire.

# Denotes player who never played in the WNBA regular season or playoffs
Bold Denotes player who won Rookie of the Year

First round

More information Pick, Player ...
Pick Player Nationality Team School / club team
1 Azzi Fudd  United States Dallas Wings UConn
2 Olivia Miles  United States Minnesota Lynx (from Chicago)[a] TCU
3 Awa Fam  Spain/ Senegal Seattle Storm (from Los Angeles)[b] Valencia (Spain)
4 Lauren Betts  United States Washington Mystics UCLA
5 Gabriela Jaquez  United States/ Mexico Chicago Sky (from Connecticut)[c] UCLA
6 Kiki Rice  United States Toronto Tempo UCLA
7 Iyana Martín  Spain Portland Fire Perfumerias Avenida (Spain)
8 Flau'jae Johnson  United States Golden State Valkyries (Traded to Seattle) LSU
9 Angela Dugalić  United States/ Serbia Washington Mystics (from Seattle)[d] UCLA
10 Raven Johnson  United States Indiana Fever South Carolina
11 Cotie McMahon  United States Washington Mystics (from New York via Minnesota and Connecticut)[e][f][g] Ole Miss
12 Nell Angloma  France Connecticut Sun (from Phoenix via Chicago)[h][c] Basket Lattes Montpellier (France)
13 Madina Okot  Kenya Atlanta Dream South Carolina
14 Taina Mair  United States Seattle Storm (from Las Vegas)[i] Duke
15 Gianna Kneepkens  United States Connecticut Sun (from Minnesota via Washington)[f][g] UCLA
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Second round

More information Pick, Player ...
Pick Player Nationality Team School / club team
16 Marta Suárez  Spain Seattle Storm (from Dallas, traded to Golden State)[j] TCU
17 Frieda Bühner  Germany Portland Fire (from Chicago)[k] Estudiantes (Spain)
18 Charlisse Leger-Walker  New Zealand Connecticut Sun UCLA
19 Cassandre Prosper  Canada Washington Mystics Notre Dame
20 Ta'Niya Latson  United States Los Angeles Sparks South Carolina
21 Latasha Lattimore  Canada Chicago Sky (from Portland)[k] Ole Miss
22 Teonni Key  United States Toronto Tempo Kentucky
23 Ashlon Jackson  United States Golden State Valkyries Duke
24 Chance Gray  United States Los Angeles Sparks (from Seattle)[i] Ohio State
25 Justine Pissott  United States Indiana Fever Vanderbilt
26 Saffron Shiels  Australia Toronto Tempo (from New York via Chicago)[l][m] Townsville Fire (Australia)
27 Inès Pitarch-Granel  France Phoenix Mercury Tango Bourges (France)
28 Indya Nivar  United States Atlanta Dream North Carolina
29 Janiah Barker  United States Las Vegas Aces Tennessee
30 Darianna Littlepage-Buggs  United States Washington Mystics (from Minnesota)[n] Baylor
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Third round

More information Pick, Player ...
Pick Player Nationality Team School / club team
31 Zee Spearman  United States Dallas Wings Tennessee
32 Tonie Morgan  United States Chicago Sky Kentucky
33 Serah Williams  United States Connecticut Sun UConn
34 Rori Harmon  United States Washington Mystics Texas
35 Amelia Hassett  Australia Los Angeles Sparks Kentucky
36 Charlise Dunn  Australia Toronto Tempo Davidson
37 Taylor Bigby  United States Portland Fire TCU
38 Kokoro Tanaka  Japan Golden State Valkyries Eneos Sunflowers (Japan)
39 Grace VanSlooten  United States Seattle Storm Michigan State
40 Jessica Timmons  United States Indiana Fever Alabama
41 Manuela Puoch  Australia New York Liberty Southside Melbourne Flyers (Australia)
42 Eszter Rátkai  Hungary Phoenix Mercury PEAC (Hungary)
43 Ran Kejia  China Atlanta Dream Sichuan Yuanda (China)
44 Jordan Obi  United States Las Vegas Aces Kentucky
45 Lani White  United States Minnesota Lynx Utah
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Sponsorship

State Street Investment Management, promoting the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (known by its ticker symbol "SPY"), was the presenting sponsor of the event, replacing previous presenting sponsor State Farm. State Street began a multi-year sponsorship of the league in September 2025.[21]

Footnotes

  1. [a]
    April 13, 2025: Chicago to Minnesota[3][4]
    • Minnesota acquired the outright 2026 first-round draft pick and extinguished the previous right to exchange 2026 first-round draft picks with Chicago
    • Chicago acquired the 2025 No. 11 draft pick (Hailey Van Lith)
  2. [b]
    January 31, 2024: Seattle to Los Angeles[5]
    • Los Angeles acquired Kia Nurse and a 2024 first-round pick (Rickea Jackson)
    • Seattle acquired a 2026 first-round pick
  3. [c]
    July 17, 2024: Connecticut to Chicago[6]
  4. [d]
    August 5, 2025: Seattle to Washington[7]
  5. [e]
    March 16, 2025: New York to Connecticut[8]
  6. [f]
    April 14, 2025: Minnesota to Washington[9]
  7. [g]
    August 7, 2025: Connecticut to Washington[10][11]
    • Washington acquired Jacy Sheldon and the right to swap 2026 first-round picks (Washington with Minnesota's own and Connecticut with New York's own acquired from prior trades)
    • Connecticut acquired Aaliyah Edwards
  8. [h]
    February 6, 2024: Phoenix to Chicago[12]
  9. [i]
    February 1, 2025: Three-team trade among Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Seattle[13][14][15]
    • Las Vegas acquired Jewell Loyd (from Seattle) and a 2025 second-round pick (Aaliyah Nye, from Los Angeles)
    • Los Angeles acquired Kelsey Plum (from Las Vegas), a 2025 first-round (Sarah Ashlee Barker) and a 2026 second-round pick (from Seattle)
    • Seattle acquired the rights to Li Yueru and a 2025 first-round pick (Dominique Malonga, from Los Angeles), and a 2026 first-round pick (from Las Vegas)
  10. [j]
    June 14, 2025: Dallas to Seattle[16][17]
    • Dallas acquired Li Yueru
    • Seattle acquired a 2026 second-round pick (with right to swap with the Connecticut Sun) and a 2027 third-round pick (with right to swap with the Indiana Fever)
  11. [k]
    April 1, 2026: Chicago to Portland[18]
    • Chicago acquired the 2026 21st pick and complete protection from the Fire in the 2026 WNBA expansion draft
    • Portland acquired the 2026 17th pick
  12. [l]
    April 1, 2026: Chicago to Portland[18]
  13. [m]
    March 14, 2024: New York to Chicago[19]
    • New York acquired Rebekah Gardner
    • Chicago acquired 2025 and 2026 second-round picks
  14. [n]
    August 20, 2024: Minnesota to Washington[20]

References

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