WNBA Mock Draft 3.0: Fam No. 1, Betts to Mystics
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- 2026 WNBA Draft is set for April 13, with the Dallas Wings holding the No. 1 pick after a coin flip determined the Portland Fire (No. 7) and Toronto Tempo (No. 6) positions in the order.
- Dallas Wings are projected to select 19-year-old Spanish center Awa Fam, whose strong showing at the FIBA Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament signaled she can compete against top-level WNBA players.
- Lauren Betts, the 6-foot-7 UCLA center and NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player, is projected at No. 4 to the Washington Mystics as 'the best rim protector in this class' with significantly improved defensive mobility.
- UCLA has five players in the mock's first two rounds: Betts (4), Kiki Rice (5), Gianna Kneepkens (8), Gabriela Jaquez (12), and Charlisse Leger-Walker (14) — an unusually concentrated program haul.
- Washington Mystics hold three first-round picks (Nos. 4, 9, 11), giving them rare draft-night flexibility to address multiple needs including scoring punch and a draft-and-stash option in Spain's Iyana Martín.
- Azzi Fudd remains projected at No. 3 to Seattle despite a 'rough' Final Four and disappointing NCAA Tournament, with her 3-point shooting called 'largely unmatched' by the mock.
- Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire took opposite expansion-draft approaches — Tempo prioritized experience while Fire targeted youth — a contrast now shaping their No. 6 and No. 7 draft strategies.
Why it matters: The Wings' top pick is genuinely debated for the first time in years, and the Mystics' three first-round picks (Nos. 4, 9, 11) give Washington rare draft-night leverage. UCLA's five projected selections — including NCAA Tournament MOP Betts — would mark an unusually concentrated single-program haul following the program's first national title.
