We are now in the midst of one of the most exciting times for any basketball fan, March Madness. 68 teams take court in a single-elimination frenzy to crown one National Champion amongst the NCAA’s top division. This year on the women’s side, eyes are everywhere.
Sophomore superstar JuJu Watkins has the USC Trojans as a one seed, alongside their rival UCLA Bruins, and the SEC standouts Texas Longhorns and defending champion South Carolina Gamecocks. But all eyes will be throughout the tournament evaluating senior talents in their last moments prior to the next step in their careers, the WNBA.
This WNBA offseason has been one for the ages, with high profile trades, superstar signings and the emergence of the new Unrivaled League. But the last step before training camps is the WNBA draft. And this is our first Mock Draft entering the Sweet Sixteen of the 2025 March Madness tournament.
1. Dallas Wings: Paige Bueckers/G/UConn
Paige Bueckers has been a household name in basketball since her freshman year. The UConn phenom took home the 2021 Naismith College Player of the Year award to start her career off, coming up just short in the Final Four.
Since then, a few injuries held her back from declaring for the WNBA draft last year in pursuits of bringing another national championship home to the Huskies. In her collegiate career she’s been to the National Championship, has two Final Four appearances, been a First-team All-American twice and been the Big East Player of the Year three times.
A 69-point win in the Round of 64 followed by a 34 point performance in the Round of 32 is certainly a statement way to kick off March Madness. And with UConn slated as a two seed in the Spokane regional, Bueckers looks to put the icing on the cake of a storybook career, and that looks to translate easily to the next level. Bueckers is a comfortable three-level scorer, putting up 19.0 points per game this season on 53.6% from the field and 40.6% from three.
She’s also a capable playmaker, leading her conference in assists per game this season at 4.9 and only averaging 1.3 turnovers per game. She’s a very high-IQ floor leader and looks like a lock to join the Dallas Wings who are in the midst of roster turnover to surround the young guard with talent. Led by the four-time all-star Arike Ogunbowale and reigning Most Improved Player DiJonai Carrington, this is more than an ideal scenario for a rookie to come into.
2. Seattle Storm (via LA): Olivia Miles/G/Notre Dame
Olivia Miles is one of the most versatile players in college basketball. A genuine anomaly on the basketball court. She’s averaging 16.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game right now on 49.6% from the field and 40.9% from three.
She’s been a second-team All-American in her last two seasons, including three straight first-team All-ACC appearances. Not to mention becoming a household name with her signature sports goggles look on the court.
She also fits very well for a Seattle Storm team looking to be retooling. They do have veteran all-star guard Skylar Diggins-Smith and Jordan Horston holding down the backcourt, but Miles brings intensity on the offensive end to operate as a building block for the next era of Storm basketball. She’s stepped up as a vocal leader for a very talented Fighting Irish, who have already punched their ticket to the Sweet 16, scoring 182 points in the first two rounds as a team.
3. Washington Mystics (via CHI): Sonia Citron/G/Notre Dame
Speaking of a talented Notre Dame team, Sonia Citron has been a huge part in one of the most revered defensive duos in the country alongside Sophomore Hannah Hidalgo. She took home First-Team All-ACC honors this season alongside being named to the conference’s All-Defensive Team.
And offensively, she’s had her most efficient season to date, putting up 13.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game on 49% from the field and 36.7% from three. Citron is a player that carries the innate abilities you want in your guard at the next level. And for a team with several question marks at the guard position, I think that’s the safest bet you could make this high in the draft.
4. Washington Mystics: Dominique Malonga/C/France
We depart from March Madness talks for a second to head to France where a 19-year-old 6’6 Center is making waves and shooting up draft boards. Dominique Malonga was the youngest representative on the silver medal winning 2024 French Olympic basketball team.
Her videos have gone viral for her throwing down dunks in practice gyms and games alike, but there’s more to her game than just size. She’s insanely fluid for her size, excelling in putting the ball on the floor, has nice footwork under the basket and thrives in pick & roll scenarios.
She’s putting up 15.3 points and 10 rebounds per game on 49.6% from the field in international play, and though she’s young she could thrive in Washington learning under Shakira Austin and Stefanie Dolson until she’s ready to start. And once she reaches her peak, a frontcourt duo of Malonga and Aaliyah Edwards will be very scary for any opposition.
5. Golden State Valkyries: Kiki Iriafen/F/USC
The W’s newest expansion franchise is making their first draft selection in a few weeks and honestly have the least pressure on them than any other team selecting. They should take the best player available and use them to build around for the next few seasons.
And the best player on the board at this stage would be the third-team All-American out of USC, Kiki Iriafen. The spotlight for the top-seeded Trojans has centered on JuJu Watkins, but she unfortunately went down with a torn ACL in their Round of 32 matchup against Mississippi State and will be out for the remainder of the season. And in their star’s absence, Iriafen is stepping up majorly.
She poured in 36 points and 9 rebounds in the 96-59 victory to punch the Trojans’ ticket to the Sweet Sixteen, and cementing herself as a household name for the draft as a do-it-all big at the next level.
A productive scorer at 18.2 points per game, a demanding offensive rebounder with half of her nightly attempts coming on the offensive end, and a touch around the rim, shooting 49.9% from the field. And more importantly than that, she’s surrounded by vets at her position in Golden State that can push her such as Temi Fagbenle and Kayla Thornton.
6. Washington Mystics (via ATL): Georgia Amoore/G/Kentucky
Georgia Amoore would’ve been a first-round pick last year coming out of Virginia Tech. But she opted to return to school, transfer to Kentucky and give herself another chance at improving her draft stock. And that’s exactly what she did.
Though her and the Wildcats were unfortunately sent home in the Round of 32 this year, it doesn’t take away from the accomplished career that Amoore leaves behind in college. She has been one of the most electrifying lead guards in the country, being honored as a Second-Team All-American and been a warrior on the court throughout, leading the SEC in minutes per game with a staggering 36.3 this season.
But in that time she’s been extremely productive putting up 19.1 points and 6.9 assists per game. She does have some three point consistency issues, and has a tendency to turn the ball over a bit too much but that’s to be expected when she’s essentially asked to do everything for her team on a nightly basis.
As mentioned earlier, the Mystics don’t have solidified answer at their guard positions, so Amoore could very well walk into a starter job for a team looking to build around their youth. And if that’s the case, Amoore could very well be in Rookie of the Year talks when it’s all said and done.
7. Connecticut Sun (via PHX): Aneesah Morrow/F/LSU
LSU Women’s basketball has a larger spotlight on it than years prior following the 2023 National championship run led by the ever viral Bayou/Chi-Town Barbie Angel Reese. Reese has gone to the WNBA, but the Tigers still have bonafide stars in Flau’jae Johnson and Senior Aneesah Morrow.
Morrow isn’t necessarily a franchise player, but she excels at the little things needed to be a consistent professional. She was honored as a second-team All-American this season with averages of 18.3 points and nation-leading 13.6 rebounds per game.
But when you need her to take over, she’ll do exactly that. In their Round of 32 matchup against Florida State, Morrow notched 26 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals as the Tigers marched to a 101-71 victory.
Not to mention her defensive expertise got her named to the SEC All-Defensive team, putting up a consistent 2.5 steals per game. Simply put, she is the most WNBA-ready defender in this draft class and it seems like Kim Mulkey excels at developing those defensive-oriented bigs.
8. Connecticut Sun (via IND): Shyanne Sellers/G/Maryland
With back-to-back selections and amidst a rebuild, I have the Sun taking a pure point guard to pair with Morrow. Shyanne Sellers has been a household name for Big 10 fans as she’s been a member of the First-team All-Big Ten team for three seasons in a row.
But her senior season has shined the most. She had her most efficient season as a scorer, putting up 14.0 points and 4.2 assists per game shooting 47.3% from the field and 41.8% from three. She’s a stout defender, a high IQ and high energy guard and that was shown on full display in a double overtime thriller against Alabama in the Round of 32. Sellers led the Terrapins in scoring with 28 points in 40 minutes.
I think Sellers can learn a lot from Connecticut’s veteran guards such as Diamond DeShields and Lindsay Allen as the Sun prepare for a new era in their franchise.
9. Los Angeles Sparks (via SEA): Aziaha James/G/North Carolina State
Aziaha James came into this season with a lot more buzz around her name than years prior. Last season, James alongside Saniya Rivers were able to lead NC State to their second ever Final Four appearance on the women’s side where they would fall to the eventual champion South Carolina Gamecocks.
She came into this season with a vengeance.
She’s now a back-to-back First-Team All-ACC player and having a career year across the boards as far as production goes. She’s averaging 18.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.6 assists on 44.8% from the field for the Wolfpack.
She’s also very versatile and can plug into many lineups as a shooting guard or a lead guard. In the Round of 32 matchup against Michigan State, James took over offensively, scoring 26 points in just 29 minutes, shooting 10/17 from the field and 6/11 from beyond the arc.
Her fit with the Sparks seems natural as she could backup Odyssey Sims and work as a matchup nightmare in situational lineups alongside players like Kelsey Plum and Rickea Jackson.
10. Chicago Sky (via CON): Te-Hina Paopao/G/South Carolina
Redshirt Senior guard Te-Hina Paopao is known for her natural shot making from beyond the arc. But the Gamecocks’ Second-Team All-SEC guard is more of a jack-of-all-trades kind of player.
While she’s not matching her nation-leading three point percentage from last season, Paopao is still shooting 37.2% from beyond the arc, to go alongside 9.7 points and 3.0 assists per game serving as the non-ball dominant guard for South Carolina.
Paopao is a high IQ player with a low turnover rate and I expect her to transition back to the PG position in the WNBA, where I think she can fit well with the Chicago Sky. Learning under Courtney Vandersloot, who’s second all-time in assists, can help develop her playmaking even more, not to mention the natural pick-and-roll chemistry with her former championship winning teammate Kamilla Cardoso.
11. Minnesota Lynx: Janiah Barker/F/UCLA
Janiah Barker is one of the youngest players entering this draft class as she is only a junior, but she is draft eligible and has indicated interest in going pro as soon as possible. And it’s definitely for good reason.
The former third-ranked recruit spent her first two seasons at Texas A&M before transferring to UCLA last summer. As a Bruin, she would average 7.5 points and 6.1 rebounds and end the season as the Big Ten’s Sixth Player of the Year on the overall top seed in the tournament.
Her do-it-all mentality and size keeps her in games when the Bruins need her most, and that was certainly on display in their Round of 64 matchup against Southern University where Barker put up 10 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks in just 17 minutes.
For the Lynx she would provide the size and depth needed to give their MVP candidate Napheesa Collier the breaks she needs to continue her dominance, addressing a need for a pretty needless team from top to bottom.
12. Dallas Wings (via NY): Sania Feagin/F/South Carolina
Sania Feagin is one of the textbook definitions of the phrase “patience is a virtue.” In her first three years as a Gamecock, she registered only 3 starts in 96 games played, making the most of her playing time when it came.
This year, she hasn’t missed a single start and her hard work more than shows on a nightly basis. She’s averaging 8.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game and has earned SEC All-Defense honors. Not to mention she’s shooting 61.6% from the field.
She plays a huge role on a stacked Gamecocks team and has the defensive prowess to add to any organization, especially one that needs forward depth and just brought in a defensive-oriented wing in DiJonai Carrington in the offseason.
The Women’s March Madness will continue this Friday with the tip-off of the Sweet Sixteen action starting with the classic Duke vs UNC rivalry on ESPN at 2:30 EST.
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