What you need to know ahead of the 2024 WNBA Draft

After a dominant season in terms of growth and viewership, women’s college basketball dominated much of the conversation in March.

Over the course of this year’s NCAA Tournament, more fans than ever tuned in to view marquee matchups and megastars.

Caitlin Clark, whose number was just retired by Iowa after four seasons of shattering records, brought millions of eyes to the sport.

According to data compiled and presented by CNN’s Alex Leeds Matthews, three of Iowa’s NCAA Tournament games rank among the most viewed televised events in recent years. The Hawkeyes’ Elite Eight victory against LSU — a rematch of the 2023 national championship game which drew an average of 9.9 million viewers — pulled in 12.3 million viewers. Iowa’s Final Four win agaisnt UConn averaged 14.4 million viewers.

This year’s national championship game, wherein undefeated South Carolina toppled Iowa, drew 18.9 million viewers — more than four million more viewers on average than the 2024 NCAA men’s national championship game between UConn and Purdue. The Gamecocks’ Final Four defeat of North Carolina State drew an average of 7.1 million viewers.

Women’s college basketball will graduate some of the biggest stars in the history of the sport and leave the game in the hands of talented returners like UConn’s Paige Bueckers, Southern California’s Juju Watkins, Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo and Texas’ Madison Booker. But, with the WNBA draft on Monday night, there’s reason to believe players like Clark and LSU’s Angel Reese, among others, will continue to elevate viewership at the next level.

In a recent media availability ahead of the draft, analyst Rebecca Lobo spoke about the excitement surrounding this year’s rookie class.

“In terms of off the court, Caitlin’s kind of in a world of her own,” said Lobo, a Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member. “But I don’t know that we have seen this kind of excitement across the board. Angel Reese has a massive following. Cameron Brink has a large following of people. Whether it’s following them on social media or following them throughout the course of their college career, we have women coming into the draft this year who people are very much aware of and eager to see how their game is going to translate at this level.”

The WNBA announced the 15 players invited to attend the draft in Brooklyn on Monday night, with Clark, Reese and Stanford’s Brink headlining a talent-packed list that also includes South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso, UConn’s Aaliyah Edwards and Nika Mühl and Virginia Tech’s Liz Kitley.

With Clark essentially a lock to go first overall to the Indiana Fever, the remaining 11 picks in the first round will likely be some combination of the in-person attendees. Most mock drafts have Brink, Cardoso, Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson and Edwards vying for the remaining lottery picks.

But draft night provides potential for all in a league with a current maximum of 144 roster spots; opportunity and fit are more important than where in the night a player’s name is called. More than 80 players declared for the WNBA draft, with six of those having some sort of tie to either UK, another school in the commonwealth or the state of Kentucky itself.

Here’s a breakdown of those players.

Former Kentucky star

Dre’Una Edwards, Baylor: The 6-foot-0 forward, who transferred to UK following a stint at Utah, lifted the underdog Wildcats to a shocking victory with a buzzer-beater in the 2022 SEC Tournament championship game to defeat top-ranked South Carolina and give UK its first SEC Tournament title since 1982. Edwards was one of several players to enter the transfer portal following the end of that season, and then accused former head coach Kyra Elzy of preventing her from being eligible to play immediately at Baylor, her destination institution. After sitting out the 2022-23 season due to NCAA transfer rules, Edwards led the Bears in scoring with 11.6 points per game. She also averaged 6.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.6 blocks during the Bears’ 26-8 campaign and helped bring Baylor to its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2021.

Kentucky college standouts

Kiki Jefferson, Louisville: The Cardinals’ leading scorer elected to spend her fifth and final season of college basketball at Louisville after four strong years at James Madison. Jefferson, a 6-foot-1 guard, averaged 12.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals in 24.3 minutes per game over the course of 34 contests this season. Louisville finished fifth in the Atlantic Coast Conference with an overall record of 24-10.

Nina Rickards, Louisville: Rickards transferred to Louisville ahead of this season after four years with the Florida Gators and received a career-low in minutes per game, averaging 22.9. The 5-foot-9 guard averaged 7.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, a team-high 2.4 assists, and 1.1 steals.

Sydney Taylor, Louisville: Another graduate transfer for the Cardinals, the 5-foot-9 guard arrived in Louisville after four seasons at UMass. The Cardinals’ third-leading scorer this season averaged 10.8 points to go with 2.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists.

Antwainette Walker, Eastern Kentucky: A top-50 scorer in Division I basketball, Walker transferred to Eastern Kentucky prior to the 2022-23 season after stops at both Little Rock and Marquette. The first-team All-ASUN selection led the Colonels in scoring (18.3 points) and steals (1.8). She also averaged 5.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 30.8 minutes per game during EKU’s 22-12 season, which came to an end in the first round of the WNIT.

Kentucky prep star

Savannah Wheeler, Middle Tennessee: The 2019 Miss Kentucky Basketball winner and Boyd County graduate transferred to MTSU before the 2022-23 season after three years at Marshall. Wheeler made noise in Conference USA in each of her five seasons of college basketball, and was named the C-USA Player of the Year and C-USA Tournament MVP this season. The 5-foot-6 guard averaged a team-high 17.5 points and 5.0 assists during the Blue Raiders’ 30-5 season, which ended in a loss to LSU in the NCAA Tournament round of 32, following a 71-69 upset of Louisville in the first round. Wheeler also contributed 4.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals while averaging 38.1 minutes this season.