WNBA Draft 2023 Plus WNBA Draft History

WNBA Draft results 2022

Rhyne Howard goes No. 1 to Dream: Two-time SEC Player of the Year Rhyne Howard of Kentucky tonight was selected by the Atlanta Dream with the first overall pick of WNBA Draft 2022 presented by State Farm^®. Rhyne, a three-time AP All-America First Team selection, averaged 20.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists as a senior. In each of the past three seasons, she was a finalist for the Dawn Staley Award as the nation’s top guard and the Cheryl Miller Award as the best small forward. Rhyne led the Wildcats to its first SEC Tournament title since 1982, upsetting No. 1-ranked South Carolina, as she received the MVP award for the tournament. Atlanta acquired Rhyne after acquiring the first pick in the WNBA Draft through a trade with the Washington Mystics for the No. 3 and No. 14 overall picks.

“She can provide scoring, she can provide defense, and I think she can be one of two-to-three key pieces that can be on a contending team,” new Atlanta Dream general manager Dan Padover said. “She’s going to have to grow and get better, but the ceiling is absolutely there for her to be one of those foundational pieces on a championship-level team.”

With the No. 2 overall pick, the Indiana Fever selected Baylor forward NaLyssa Smith. The two-time Big 12 Player of the Year was a finalist for the Naismith Women’s National Player of the Year after averaging 22.1 points and 11.5 rebounds, both of which led the Big 12. The senior won back-to-back Katrina McClain Awards as the nation’s top power forward and set a Baylor record with 25 double-doubles this season, which ranked third in the nation.

With the third pick, the Mystics selected Shakira Austin of Ole Miss. A two-time All-America Honorable Mention, the center was a semifinalist for the Lisa Leslie Award as the nation’s best center each of the last two seasons. Shakira led Ole Miss in scoring, rebounding and blocks per game for the second consecutive season and was on the 2022 John R. Wooden Award ballot for the nation’s top player.

The Fever used the fourth pick to select forward Emily Engstler of Louisville. A transfer from Syracuse, the Queens, NY native was a finalist for the Cheryl Miller Award as the nation’s best small forward and a semifinalist for the Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year award. The senior led the ACC in steals (2.7 spg) and was third in rebounding (6.7 rpg) and was an All-ACC First Team and All-Defensive Team selection. 

With the fifth pick, the New York Liberty, selected Nyara Sabally of Oregon. The two-time All-Pac-12 selection was a finalist for the 2021-22 Katrina McClain Award while leading Oregon in scoring (15.4 ppg) and rebounding (7.8 rpg). The German native is the younger sister of Satou Sabally, who was the second-overall selection by the Dallas Wings in the 2020 WNBA Draft.

The Fever used the sixth and 10^th picks – its third and fourth selections of the first round – on guard Lexie Hull of Stanford and center Queen Egbo of Baylor, making Indiana the first team in WNBA history to make four picks in the first round. Lexie, a three-time All-Pac-12 Team selection and two-time Pac-12 All-Defensive Team pick, helped lead Stanford to the Final Four while leading the team in steals. A two-time finalist for the Lisa Leslie Award as the nation’s best center (2020, 2021), Queen averaged 11.0 points and 8.4 rebounds per game this season and helped Baylor win the national title as a freshman.

With the seventh pick, the Dallas Wings selected Northwestern guard Veronica Burton.  The four-time Big Ten steals leader was an AP All-America Third Team selection this season and a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award as the best Division I point guard.  Veronica is only the second woman to earn three Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors, along with current Atlanta Dream coach Tanisha Wright.

The Las Vegas Aces used the eighth and 12th picks of the first round on Colorado forward Mya Hollingshed and Florida Gulf Coast guard Kierstan Bell.  Mya, a fifth-year senior and three-time All-Pac-12 selection, was All-Pac-12 First Team in 2022 while leading Colorado in scoring and rebounding. Kierstan is a two-time winner of the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award and was an AP All-America Honorable Mention selection the last two seasons.

At No. 9, the Los Angeles Sparks chose Rae Burrell of Tennessee. The senior from Las Vegas earned 2022 All-Tournament Team honors and was an All-SEC Second Team pick in 2021.

With the 12^th pick, the Connecticut Sun selected Nia Clouden of Michigan State. A two-time All-Big Ten First Team selection, the senior guard set a Michigan State single-game record with 50 points this season and was a semifinalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award as the nation’s best point guard.

In the second round, the Mystics selected guard Christyn Williams at No. 14, the first of three Connecticut players selected in the round, alongside guard Evina Westbrook to Seattle and forward Olivia Nelson-Ododa to Los Angeles. The Storm traded the draft rights to No. 18 pick Lorela Cubaj of Georgia Tech to the Liberty for New York’s 2023 second-round pick. The Fever made its fifth overall selection of the draft with the 20^th pick, selecting guard Destanni Henderson, who led South Carolina to a national championship win over Connecticut with a game-high 26 points.

Explore 2022 WNBA mock drafts 

• ESPN’s first 2022 WNBA mock draft has 6-foot-2 guard Rhyne Howard and double-double average 6-foot-4 NaLyssa Smith duking it out over the No. 1 spot overall.
• Bleacher Report’s first mock draft has NaLyssa Smith going to the Mystics in spot 1, and Rhyne Howard going to the Fever.
• The WNBA also took look at some of the latest mock draft projections across the board for the opening round.
• Check out HerHoopStats‘ Gabe Ibrahim’s latest mock draft following the Atlanta and Mystics trade for the number one pick, in which NaLyssa Smith goes first to Atlanta.
• Meanwhile Fansided has Rhyne Howard going first to Atlanta in their latest mock. Don’t forget multiple WNBA sources told The Next they believe Kentucky’s Rhyne Howard will come off the board first when Atlanta makes its selection.

2022 WNBA Draft entrants

The WNBA announced that 108 players from colleges and universities have formally filed for inclusion as candidates for the 2022 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm, scheduled for April 11 at Spring Studios in New York (ESPN, 7 p.m. ET). 

Since the NCAA granted, in 2021, every winter sport student-athlete an additional year of NCAA eligibility as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, intercollegiate women’s basketball players – even those who are finishing their senior year or graduate studies – may have remaining NCAA eligibility after the 2021-22 season. Accordingly, the WNBA and the WNBPA previously agreed on an opt-in process for NCAA players who are otherwise eligible for the 2022 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm. 

Players whose college teams are still active will have 48 hours following the conclusion of their final game to renounce their remaining NCAA eligibility and declare themselves available for the 2022 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm.

Players who have exhausted all NCAA eligibility, including the additional year granted due to Covid-19, are not required to renounce in order to be available.  Eligible international players (as that term is defined in the Collective Bargaining Agreement) also are not required to opt in to the 2022 WNBA Draft in order to be selected.

Following is an initial list of players who have filed for consideration as candidates for the 2022 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm.

The select prospects who will be attending WNBA Draft 2022 presented by State Farm include:

Shakira Austin (Ole Miss): A two-time All-America Honorable Mention selection at Ole Miss, Austin was one of 15 players on the ballot for the 2021-22 John R. Wooden Award as the nation’s top player and a semifinalist for the Lisa Leslie Award as the nation’s best center.  The 6-5 Fredericksburg, Va., native earned all-conference honors first in the ACC with Maryland and then in the SEC with Ole Miss, which she helped improve from 7-23 the year before her arrival to 23-7 this season.

Kierstan Bell (Florida Gulf Coast): Bell, a 6-1 guard and the winner of the 2020-21 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award, was a finalist for the same honor in 2021-22 as well as for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award as the nation’s best shooting guard.  An AP All-America Honorable Mention selection the last two seasons, the native of Alliance, Ohio helped FGCU earn the ASUN Conference regular-season and tournament titles in 2021-22.  She averaged 24.3 points in 2020-21 and 22.8 points in 2021-22.

Rae Burrell (Tennessee): A 6-1 guard-forward from Las Vegas, Burrell overcame an early-season leg injury this season to average 12.3 points and 3.9 rebounds in 22 games for the Lady Vols.  Burrell capped her final season at Tennessee by earning All-Tournament Team at the NCAA Wichita Regionals.

Veronica Burton (Northwestern): The 5-9 Burton, a finalist for the Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year honor, joined current Atlanta Dream coach Tanisha Wright as the only women to earn three Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors.  The four-time Big Ten steals leader also was an AP All-America Third Team selection this season and a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award as the best Division I point guard.  A native of Newton, Mass., her late grandfather, Ron Burton, was the first-ever draft pick of the New England Patriots.

Nia Clouden (Michigan State): A 5-8 guard, Clouden garnered All-Big Ten First Team honors in 2020-21 and again this season. A starter at Michigan State from the first game of her freshman season, the Baltimore native paced the Spartans in points per game in her final three seasons, lifting her scoring average from 14.5 to 18.7 to 20.0 points in that span.  She set a Michigan State single-game record with 50 points against Florida Gulf Coast this season en route to being one of 10 semifinalists for the Nancy Lieberman Award as Division I’s best point guard.

Elissa Cunane (NC State): Nicknamed “Big Smile,” the 6-5 Cunane was a finalist for the Lisa Leslie Award as the nation’s best center the past three seasons and an AP All-America Second Team selection the last two years. She helped the Wolfpack win the ACC Tournament crown in her hometown of Greensboro, N.C., each of the last three seasons, earning tournament MVP honors in 2021 and 2022.  Cunane also helped NC State earn four consecutive trips to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

Emily Engstler (Louisville): A transfer from Syracuse ahead of this season, Engstler excelled for Louisville, becoming one of five finalists for the Cheryl Miller Award as the nation’s best small forward and one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year honor.  The 6-1 forward from Queens, N.Y., was an All-ACC First Team and All-Defensive Team pick in 2021-22, a year after being named Co-Sixth Player of Year.  She finished this season atop the ACC charts in steals (2.7 spg) and ranked third in rebounding (6.7 rpg).

Destanni Henderson (South Carolina): A 5-7 guard from Fort Myers, Fla., Henderson propelled South Carolina to the 2021-22 national championship with a game-high 26 points in the title game win over Connecticut.  In Henderson’s final season with the Gamecocks, she was one of 15 players on the ballot for the John R. Wooden Award as the National Player of the Year.  She was also a finalist for the Dawn Staley Award as the best Division I guard and for the Nancy Lieberman Award as the nation’s top point guard.

Naz Hillmon (Michigan): The most decorated player in the history of the Wolverines’ women’s basketball program, Hillmon was an AP All-America First Team selection this season and the 2020-21 Big Ten Player of the Year.  The Cleveland native and four-time All-Big Ten First Team honoree was a finalist for both the Katrina McClain Award as the nation’s best power forward and the John R. Wooden Award as the National Player of the Year.  A 6-2 forward, Hillmon averaged more than 21.0 points and 9.5 rebounds in each of the past two seasons.

Rhyne Howard (Kentucky): The 6-2 Howard was the SEC Player of the Year in 2020-21 and 2021-22.  In each of the past three seasons, the versatile Chattanooga, Tenn., native was a finalist for multiple National Player of the Year honors as well as for the Dawn Staley Award as the nation’s top guard and the Cheryl Miller Award as the best small forward.  She is the ninth player ever to be a three-time AP All-America First Team pick, joining Alana Beard, Brittney Griner, Chamique Holdsclaw, Sabrina Ionescu, Maya Moore, Courtney Paris, Breanna Stewart and A’ja Wilson.  Howard averaged at least 20 points each of the last three seasons.

Nyara Sabally (Oregon): A native of Berlin, Germany, the 6-5 forward is the younger sister of Satou Sabally, the Dallas Wings forward and No. 2 selection in the 2020 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm.  After missing the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons due to injury, the younger Sabally was an All-Pac-12 selection the past two seasons and a finalist for the 2021-22 Katrina McClain Award as the nation’s top power forward.  This season, she led Oregon in scoring (15.4 ppg) and rebounding (7.8 rpg).

NaLyssa Smith (Baylor): Smith, a 6-4 forward, won the Wade Trophy as the nation’s best player in 2020-21.  In each of the past two seasons, she earned the Katrina McClain Award as Division I’s best power forward, was selected as the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year and was named to the AP All-America First Team.  This year, the Converse, Texas native was again a finalist for multiple National Player of the Year honors after pacing the Big 12 in scoring (22.1 ppg) and rebounding (11.5 rpg).

Just Women’s Sports has a full scouting report for the top 50 prospects in the 2022 class.