Now that the 2020-21 women s college basketball season is over, we finally know which players will be available for the April 15 WNBA draft. With the NCAA s blanket eligibility waiver due to the coronavirus pandemic, seniors are able to return for another season, and some players who earlier were on our draft board opted to do that. Among the prominent draft-eligible juniors, one of our projected first-round picks UConn s Evina Westbrook is also remaining in college for 2021-22.
WNBA coaches and general managers use the NCAA tournament for evaluation, and sometimes it can boost a player s stock. Arizona s Aari McDonald, for instance, started at No. 2 in our first mock draft last December, then dropped to No. 8. Her March Madness success has her back in the top five.