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Where will Paige Bueckers go in the 2025 WNBA Draft? Our big board projections

Where will Paige Bueckers go in the 2025 WNBA Draft? Our big board projections
NCAA Womens Basketball

Where will Paige Bueckers go in the 2025 WNBA Draft? Our big board projections

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Now that Caitlin Clark is a member of the Indiana Fever, it’s time to turn the page on the 2024 WNBA Draft and look ahead to what could be an even more talented class in 2025. This is the last group of players to be eligible for a pandemic bonus year, so the WNBA will have a true double draft of fourth- and fifth-year seniors, which will simplify the process for general managers who no longer have to wonder who will declare.

The relevant exception to that is the medical redshirt. Players still have an additional year of eligibility if they sit out for a season due to injury, as is the case with the top prospect on the board. However, the number of players who fall into that category is relatively small.

Given that the draft order isn’t set until after the 2024 WNBA season, which has yet to commence, this isn’t a mock draft. Instead, it’s a list of the top players without regard to team fit. This exercise also only considers domestic prospects, though we should expect internationals to factor heavily on draft day in 2025. After all, three non-NCAA players were taken in the first round of Monday’s draft.

Much is expected to change between now and then, but probably not the first pick. Until further notice, this is the Paige Bueckers draft.

(* denotes players who have an additional year of eligibility due to a medical redshirt)

1. Paige Bueckers | 5-11 guard | Connecticut *

The 2021 national Player of the Year was finally healthy again in 2023-24 and improved across the board since her freshman season. She’s a dynamic scorer from every spot on the floor and can create for her teammates without turning over the ball at a high rate. She makes impact defensive plays and scores effectively in transition. Plus, Bueckers is an absolute gamer. In the biggest moments, she shows up. Right now, she’s the no-brainer choice for the top pick in the 2025 draft.

go-deeper

Perhaps no player raised her stock in the NCAA Tournament more than Kiki Iriafen, who scored 41 points in the second round and showed off a deep bag of tricks in the post. With her combination of raw athleticism and smooth footwork, Iriafen is an ideal modern frontcourt player, especially if she continues to expand the range on her jumper. As of now, she’s taken only seven 3-pointers in her college career, but her continuous improvement on free-throw shooting and success in the midrange suggests it’s only a matter of time.

Stanford highlighted Iriafen on offense, so she will have to prove she isn’t a system player at her next stop. She also needs to demonstrate more impact on defense, though it’s hard to judge on-off numbers when Iriafen was often replacing Cameron Brink. However, Iriafen’s steal and block rates are a little low considering her physical tools.

go-deeper

It’s hard to design a more prototypically perfect 2-guard than Citron. She is tall and strong, defends well and has a beautiful jumper that goes in 37 percent of the time from long range. Citron is overtaxed as a primary ballhandler, but let her run off screens or handoffs, and she can create her own shot. She is plug-and-play on any team, adding positive value on both ends of the floor.

Amoore would have been a first-round pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft had she declared. She ran a pro-style offense at Virginia Tech and can make every kind of pass, whether that’s out of the pick-and-roll, an entry into the big or a skip pass to a shooter. Despite her size, she creates a high volume of clean 3-point looks, and she converts nearly 45 percent of her catch-and-shoot jumpers.

Amoore will have a new challenge at Kentucky without Elizabeth Kitley, but in the same Kenny Brooks system — and with Clara Strack also coming to Lexington — it’s hard to imagine her stock falling given the new circumstances. WNBA general managers already believe in her ability to run a professional team.

go-deeper

Throughout the 2024 draft cycle, a common refrain was “you can’t teach 6-7” in reference to South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso. Well, Lee is almost that height, and even more offensively polished. She once put up 61 points in a game, after all. Lee has great footwork and touch in the post, and she doesn’t turn over the ball. She also uses her size to great effect defensively. Her injury history causes some concern since Lee has redshirted two seasons, but when she’s on the court, she’s the best domestic center prospect in this class.

6. Maddy Westbeld | 6-3 forward | Notre Dame

Another player who could have been a first-rounder in this year’s draft, Westbeld does everything well. She can shoot from distance (36 percent on 3s in her college career), and she also can drive to the basket. Westbeld is a load in the paint and dominates on the glass. She can body bigger players on defense; her effort to limit Kitley to 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting during the 2024 ACC season was an eye-opener. It’s unclear if she has All-Star upside, but Westbeld is the type of player winning teams find minutes for.

Morrow is a little undersized as a WNBA power forward, but she is strong enough to overcome that. She is a pure scorer who is undeterred on her way to the rim and moves well off the ball. She’s another player who must improve her jumper consistency; however, scoring 9.2 paint points per game is a good base on offense. Even though she’s shorter than most who play the four, she uses her length well on the glass and on defense.

8. Olivia Miles | 5-10 guard | Notre Dame*

It’s been a long time since we watched Miles play basketball, so in case you forgot, she’s an elite passer who excels at creating offense in transition. She rebounds well for her position and is a defensive playmaker with 2.1 steals per game. The 3-point jumper was a work in progress during her sophomore season, but she started to fill it up from midrange at least. Without the jumper, she’d be a solid backup point guard in the WNBA, but she has a chance to be even more if that developed during her rehab year.

9. Te-Hina Paopao | 5-9 guard | South Carolina

One of the best shooters in the country, Paopao took her talents across the country as an Oregon transfer and shined on the biggest stages for South Carolina. Even a minor slump in March left her shooting 41.3 percent from 3-point range during the NCAA and SEC tournaments (both of which South Carolina won, of course). She’d be a little higher on this board if she were more of a playmaker, but as it stands, she’s a knockdown shooter (46.8 percent from distance as a senior) who is getting better at defense and should make an impact in the WNBA.

Fudd’s potential is mostly theoretical at this point, given how little she has played over the last two years. But the outlines of a star shooting guard remain. Fudd has outstanding mechanics and is disciplined with her fouls and turnovers. At worst, she’s a spot-up shooting specialist, but at best, she can also create her own shot and bend the defense with her shooting gravity. Nevertheless, we still need to see a healthy season from Fudd before using a high draft pick on her.

11. Serena Sundell | 6-1 guard | Kansas State

Sundell takes advantage of the fact that she is 6-1, and Big 12 guards felt it all season.
She has great court vision and was 26th in the country with 5.6 assists per game. Sundell is also a crafty finisher who shot nearly 40 percent from 3 in 2023-24. If she can put together another season like the last one, she’ll rocket up draft boards.

Marshall has come into her own defensively over the past two seasons. She moves well laterally and is a great shot blocker. She is also becoming a lob threat on offense — guards can throw a pass over the top and she can finish without bringing the ball down. Marshall still gets bullied a little by bigger posts and her offense isn’t consistent enough, but physically, there’s a lot to work with.

Ryan might be the best pure point guard in this class. She makes the right reads all the time. She was fifth in the country in assists this season —- even dealing with mostly freshmen in the Iowa State rotation —- and has never finished below 13th. Ryan is already an excellent pick-and-roll operator and a career 38 percent 3-point shooter. Her frame doesn’t scream WNBA athlete, but her production does.

Leger-Walker is a big, physical guard who reads the floor well. She improved her passing ability as a senior — seriously, watch her throw skip passes out of the pick-and-roll — and her finishing inside, but took a step back on her jumper. If she can put those three skills together, she’ll enter the Amoore tier of guard prospects.

Coulibaly is a tremendous athlete who finally became an efficient finisher at the basket in her first season at Texas A&M. She’s a strong rebounder who collects steals in help defense. If she develops a shot, look out.

Kneepkens is a ridiculous shooter who takes only high-percentage shots. It will be interesting to see how she functions without Alissa Pili in Utah’s offense, but the 2022-23 version of Kneepkens is absolutely a WNBA shooting guard.

17. Rori Harmon | 5-6 guard | Texas

Harmon is one of the nation’s best guard defenders. She’s a pass-first player but also had a pretty midrange game. Her upside is limited by her height, since the paint won’t be as forgiving against WNBA athletes, but she could follow a Jordin Canada-type path in the league.

18. Raven Johnson | 5-8 guard | South Carolina*

Johnson defends her tail off. She has unending energy on that end of the floor, picking up full-court and staying attached through screens and is quick to make turnovers into points for South Carolina. Offensively, she needs some more pop as an individual scorer but her jumper keeps improving and she is an excellent distributor; her assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.09 was fifth in the country.

Sellers is a point guard in a wing’s body, which allows her to see the floor well and be versatile defensively. She’s also a wrecking ball getting to the paint, drawing fouls at a high rate. Sellers needs to improve her scoring efficiency before she’s a first-round prospect, however.

20. Saniya Rivers | 6-1 guard | NC State

Rivers has the size and playmaking ability of a pro point guard. She’s also a disruptive defender at the point of attack and even on bigger wings. At her build, she would not look out of place on a WNBA court right now. The problem is shooting. Rivers could get by being a poor 3-point shooter, but finishing around the rim is the real issue. She’s below average within 4.5 feet of the basket, per CBB Analytics, and that diminishes one of her strengths, which is her ability to blow by defenders off the dribble. Rivers can’t be a starting point guard until she fixes either her jumper or layup package. With both, we’re looking at a WNBA All-Star.

21. Alyssa Ustby | 6-1 forward | North Carolina

Every time I look at Ustby’s shooting numbers, I cringe, but North Carolina’s offense is a mess with or without her. The appeal of Ustby is pretty clear: she knows how to play. She’s usually in the right spot, makes quick decisions and is an absolute menace in the paint. With the right amount of shooting around her, Ustby can be a productive WNBA player.

22. Aubrey Griffin | 6-1 forward | Connecticut

Griffin is one of the most impactful wing defenders in college basketball. She doesn’t really score in the run of play; her buckets mainly come in transition or on second chances. But she makes life absolutely miserable for opponents.

An athletic guard who takes 6.3 3-pointers per game and makes 40.5 percent of them? Someone in the WNBA will take a chance on her.

24. Madison Scott | 6-1 forward | Ole Miss

The SEC is the closest conference to the WNBA in terms of physicality, and Scott has held up well. She’s a good passer and rebounder and has been coached to play pro-level defense.

(Photos of Paige Bueckers, Georgia Amoore, Olivia Miles: Joe Buglewicz / Getty Image, Ryan Hunt / Getty Images, Michael Hickey / Getty Images)



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