8 WNBA Draft Prospects to Follow in March Madness
Chicago has a single first-round pick left in April's draft and the NCAA Tournament is their last chance to see this year's prospects in action.
After landing two players on track to be franchise cornerstones in last April’s draft, Jeff Pagliocca has a tough act to follow in this year’s edition given the Sky return with very different draft capital (only the 10th pick after trading the 3rd selection for Ariel Atkins) after entering the month of April with the 3rd and 8th picks a season ago. With just one pick available near the end of the first round and the pool of talent in 2025 more split into tiers than the 2024 class was, let’s take a look at a few of the potential options available at 10 that the front office (and Chicago fans) should watch closely over the course of the next month.
Top Options
Courtney Vandersloot’s age (36) and the lack of a locked-in reserve at the point guard position means Chicago should be keen to see any of these high profile point guard prospects slide to them at 10.
Shyanne Sellers - PG - Maryland
Sellers—like the two the names that follow in this list—has seen her draft stock oscillate in the mid-to-late first round for much of the last twelve months, and a strong NCAA Tournament may well ensure she’s off the board before Chicago’s tenth pick of April’s first round. In any case, Sellers is the type of player that GM Jeff Pagliocca would have to at least consider moving up to get like he did for Reese last season because of how perfectly she could fit with the team’s young core. Sellers, in many respects, is a very modern point guard who—while possessing some serious passing chops—can take the offense on her back and go get a bucket when needs dictate. Her downhill game is impressive—especially thanks to her 6’2” frame—and her ability to regulate tempo on drives becomes an even bigger advantage because of the difficulty other guards have matching up with her. Her defense is also solid (though inconsistent), her size allows her to get on the glass, and the only huge question about her as a prospect is her 3-point shot. After shooting 32.6% on 2.4 attempts per game in her first three college seasons, she’s seen a jump in efficiency (44%) thanks to a more selective trigger in her last season in College Park. The difference between being a low 30s three-point shooter and a high 40s three-point shooter could genuinely be the gap between Sellers going 2nd or 10th in this draft, and it’s up to each teams’ front office and scouting department to determine where they think she’ll land at the pro level.
Te-Hina Paopao - PG - South Carolina
After shooting 40% on nearly 5 threes a game over the life of her college career, the outside shot definitely is not a question scouts should have about Paopao, and those numbers make her a practical fit for a Sky team that needs more outside shooting and point guard play on its roster. The questions with Paopao then are what she’ll offer a team at the professional level beyond her ability to shoot the ball. Many of her skills (playmaking, defense, attacking the basket) have proven to be solid in the collegiate game, but few of them jump off the page enough to suggest she’ll be able to lean on them in the W. As a leader, she seems to be made for the point guard slot, but her good not great abilities as a table setter for others means she may be better served as a primarily off-ball guard at the professional level. For a Sky team that was so conscious about adding guards that can support their post players (and for a GM that was public about his desire to add big players), Paopao doesn’t make much sense as a 5’9” potential shooting guard with limited defensive upside. At the same time, WNBA drafts typically are not deep. While the window for Paopao to develop into something special (or even a starter) may seem limited, Chicago could see the value in getting a solid role player who has one obvious (and much needed) pro-ready skill and very few gaping holes in her game.
Georgia Amoore - PG - Kentucky
Another season in college has seen Amoore continue to produce exceptional numbers, but it seems to have done little to resolve analyst’s feelings about her ideal draft position. After floating up-and-down mock drafts prior to last year’s draft, Amoore is once again a player who’s mocked as high as 3rd and, at times, out of the first round entirely. I’ve been consistent with my praise for the once Hokie now Wildcat dating back to the start of this season and even last year’s pre-draft process, but it seems likely that—just as a year ago—she’ll still be on the board in the latter part of the first round. The main reason? The lack of defensive options she offers a line-up at just 5’6”. There’s no lack of effort in her game, and I’ve even gone so far as to praise her point-of-attack defense in the past, but it’s understandably difficult for a WNBA franchise to picture who she can reliably guard at the next level thanks to the nearly automatic size disadvantage she’ll be facing. That being said, Amoore still fits as a first round pick because again she does try at the defensive end, and the offensive firepower she offers will likely encourage coaches to think they can scheme around her at the defensive end. Like with Paopao, Amoore probably isn’t a fit for the Sky based on Pagliocca’s size-based assessment of his guard targets, but the Australian’s ability to carry an offense all on her own for stretches of a game should make her a favorite to be chosen if she’s left at #10.
Best of the Rest
These players look a lot more likely to be available at #10 and could each be strong candidates to be chosen if none of the point guards above are left.
Saniya Rivers & Aziaha James - G - NC State
Rivers and James both gained greater attention from scouts after NC State’s strong play in last year’s NCAA Tournament, and both are likely in line to gain if the Wolfpack can progress deep into the Big Dance again this spring. In any case, both have clear pro-ready skills at one end of the floor with work to do at the other. Rivers is a defensive standout with plenty of size (6’1”) but work to do on her offensive consistency (42/28/67 shooting) while James is a bucket-getter in every sense of the word (18 PPG on 45/33/74 splits) who will need to improve her defensive consistency to stick at the WNBA level. Both can be long-term pros but have work to do which, again, is par for the course in the late first round.
Azzi Fudd - G - Connecticut
While Paige Bueckers is unattainable for the Sky, Fudd is one who could make it to 10 if she decides to declare for the WNBA Draft. A strong return to the floor after a slew of injuries has seen her recapture her WNBA-ready shot (43.4% on 5 3PA per game), but Geno Auriemma has a knack for keeping players on campus for an extra season and that may be the case again here. If she does declare and makes it to 10, Fudd will be hard to pass up as she has the size (5’11”), defensive motor and aforementioned shot that Pagliocca and coach Tyler Marsh covet.
Maddy Westbeld - PF - Notre Dame
As long as you’re checking out top prospects Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron on their (presumably) deep run into the tournament, Westbeld—who’ll almost certainly be on the board at 10—is also worth a look. She plays a position where the Sky already have their long-term starter, but Westbeld would actually offer a change of pace for the Sky at the 4 thanks to the modern-style she brings to the position. With a 35.7% three ball this season, the 6’3” senior is a reasonably-efficient stretch big and could be a perfect complement to Reese or Cardoso off the bench thanks to her ability to space the floor. She’s also a solid defender and passer meaning the Sky could add a cost-controlled role player who could learn from Rebecca Allen and fill the Aussie’s shoes in the not too distant future.
Janiah Barker - F - UCLA
Barker could be one of the most interesting options for the Sky at 10 because of the optionality she would offer Marsh at the forward position over the next several seasons. At 6’4”, Barker is big and strong enough to handle herself in match-ups with traditional paint-dominant forwards, but she’s also quick and intelligent enough to put in a shift on the perimeter. Thus, the Sky could pick her at 10 to be Angel Reese’s back-up in 2025 with plenty of room for her to grow into the team’s starting small forward spot in the long run. Whether her game will look quite so versatile against the tougher competition in the W remains to be seen (as it does for all prospects), but the physical tools certainly suggest she could wind up as a great combo forward who can create some ridiculously long defensive fronts with Reese and Cardoso while serving as a solid-enough fourth or fifth scoring option (7.6 PPG on 47.2% FG this season).