WNBA Draft 2024: Caitlin Clark goes No. 1 to Indiana Fever; Angel Reese joins Kamilla Cardoso on Chicago Sky

WNBA Draft 2024: Caitlin Clark goes No. 1 to Indiana Fever; Angel Reese joins Kamilla Cardoso on Chicago Sky

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After a historic NCAA tournament, women’s college basketball’s best and brightest took their next step Monday night in the WNBA Draft in New York.

Caitlin Clark started the night by going No. 1 overall to the Indiana Fever after helping Iowa to the national championship game in back-to-back seasons.

Clark finished her college career averaging 31.6 points and 8.9 assists per game, both of which led the country.

Stanford’s Cameron Brink was next, going to the Los Angeles Sparks, and Kamilla Cardoso from South Carolina went No. 3 to the Chicago Sky.

After an illustrious collegiate career at LSU, Angel Reese was selected by the Sky with the seventh pick, joining Cardoso in the frontcourt rotation.

It was an incredible evening for the WNBA, with commissioner Cathy Engelbert saying she was “pretty confident” the league will expand to 16 teams by the 2028 season.

Engelbert said Philadelphia, Toronto, Denver, Nashville and South Florida are potential landing spots for expansion teams.

WNBA Draft order

First round

1. Indiana Fever: Caitlin Clark, PG, Iowa

2. Los Angeles Sparks: Cameron Brink, PF, Stanford

3. Chicago Sky: Kamilla Cardosa, C, South Carolina

4. Los Angeles Sparks: Rickea Jackson, SF, Tennessee

5. Dallas Wings: Jacy Sheldon, SG, Ohio State

6. Washington Mystics: Aaliyah Edwards, UConn

7. Chicago Sky: Angel Reese, F, LSU

8. Minnesota Lynx: Alissa Pili, F, Utah

9. Dallas Wings: Carla Leite, SG, France

10. Connecticut Sun: Leïla Lacan, PG, France

11. New York Liberty: Marquesha Davis, SF, Ole Miss

12. Atlanta Dream: Nyadiew Puoch, PF, Australia

Second round

13. Chicago Sky: Brynna Maxwell, G, Gonzaga

14. Seattle Storm: Nika Mühl, PG, UConn

15. Indiana Fever: Celeste Taylor, PG, Ohio State

16. Las Vegas Aces: Dyaisha Fiar, G, Syracuse

17. New York Liberty: Esmery Martinez, PF, Arizona

18. Las Vegas Aces: Kate Martin, SG, Iowa

19. Connecticut Sun: Taiyanna Jackson, C, Kansas

20. Atlanta Dream: Isobel Borlase, PG, Australia

21. Washington Mystics: Kaylynne Truong, PG, Gonzaga

22. Connecticut Sun: Helena Pueyo, PG, Arizona

23. New York Liberty: Jessika Carter, C, Mississippi State

24. Las Vegas Aces: Elizabeth Kitley, C, Virginia Tech

Third round

25. Phoenix Mercury: Charisma Osborne, PG, UCLA

26. Seattle Storm: Mackenzie Holmes, PF, Indiana

27. Indiana Fever: Leilani Correa, PG, Florida

28. Los Angeles Sparks: McKenzie Forbes, SF, USC

29. Phoenix Mercury: Jaz Shelley, SG, Nebraska

30. Washington Mystics: Nastja Claessens, SG, Belgium

31. Minnesota Lynx: Kiki Jefferson, SG, Louisville

32. Atlanta Dream: Matilde Villa, SG, Italy

33. Dallas Wings: Ashley Owusu, SG, Penn State

34. Connecticut Sun: Abbey Hsu, SG, Columbia

35. New York Liberty: Kaitlyn Davis, PF, USC

36. Las Vegas Aces: Angel Jackson, C, Jackson State

Live52 updates

  • Another sweet moment seeing the Aces draft Kate Martin out of the crowd. Martin attended the draft with Iowa teammate Gabbie Marshall to support Clark. She played for five seasons after redshirting as a freshman and is referred to as “the glue” for doing anything the Hawkeyes needed. Martin’s family is not in attendance, but after speaking with ESPN’s Holly Rowe she received big hugs from Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder, Anne Nizzi-Clark, Brent Clark and Caitlin’s brothers, Colin and Blake. Former Iowa Naismith winner Megan Gustafson is also in Las Vegas. The two missed each other by one year at Iowa.

  • Dyaisha Fair feels like a fitting pick for Las Vegas. Aces head coach Becky Hammon knows what it’s like to be an undersized and overlooked point guard with a will to be great. It could be a great learning opportunity for Fair to play behind Chelsea Gray (who often takes a coach role in practices) and learn from Hammon. She’s third on the all-time NCAA DI scoring list.

  • Nika Mühl showed out in that Final Four defensive performance against Caitlin Clark. If she sticks on the Seattle roster, she’ll learn behind veteran point guard Skylar Diggins-Smith. Very special moment for her, and clearly for her UConn teammates Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd watching from the gallery.

  • Angel Reese brings it all the way back to high school describing first playing against Kamilla Cardoso, her new teammate. Said she’s excited to see the Chicago frontcourt duo against the Los Angeles duo of Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson.

  • One important point on the back-to-back international picks by Dallas and Connecticut. Teams will often draft-and-stash these players to bring onto the roster in a later season. They might do it because of a lack of roster room this year or with the knowledge that a player isn’t ready to join the WNBA yet while they remain with their Olympic teams or domestic teams.

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