Fudd goes first, UCLA breaks records in historic WNBA draft

Pop Base recaps the 2026 WNBA draft:

The Dallas Wings crowned Azzi Fudd the number one overall pick in the 2026 WNBA draft Monday night. Fudd, an All-American from the University of Connecticut, was the predicted first pick going into the final four, noted for her shooting. She made 48% of her shots from the floor and 45% from behind the three-point line last season. The Wings anticipated her arrival by building around her in free agency, securing forwards Jessica Shepard and Alanna Smith, last year’s Defensive Player of the Year, from the Minnesota Lynx. Fudd’s desination is also notable as the home team of Paige Bueckers, Fudd’s UConn teammate and girlfriend who went first overall at last year’s draft.

This year’s is the 30th WNBA draft, and the first since the historic CBA was reached between the players union and the league. Along with raising the team salary cap, the agreement significantly boosts rookie starting salaries. This year, drafted rookie contracts will start at $270,000 and top out at $500,000—Fudd’s starting salary. That’s more than 5 times that of the last two years’ number one picks: Paige Bueckers made around $79,000 and Caitlin Clark started at just $77,000. 

At second, TCU point guard Olivia Miles went to the Lynx, where she’ll make more than $460,000 her first year. The Lynx have gone several seasons without a traditional point guard, a role Miles is poised to fill. She’s a shooter with a near 50% average from the field who tied the record for the most triple-doubles during the NCAA tournament this year. With its third pick, Seattle selected Awa Fam Thaim of Spain. Fam Thaim is only nineteen years old, but has more professional basketball experience than her American draft classmates—she started in Spain’s pro league at fifteen, the youngest player in her program’s history. At 6-foot-4, she’ll bring size on offense and defense for the Storm. 

Five players from UCLA’s squad were drafted in just the first round of yesterday’s draft. That breaks the record for most players from one school in the first round set by UConn in 2002, the year Sue Bird was drafted along with three of her classmates. 6-foot-7 center Lauren Betts was picked 4th by the Washington Mystics, and was followed by four of her Bruin teammates, picked 5th, 6th, 9th, and 15th. 

LSU fan-favorite Flau’jae Johnson joined the Golden State Valkyries as the number 8 pick, but was traded to Seattle in a pre-arranged agreement between the two teams. In return, the Valkyries gained Seattle’s first pick in the second round—TCU’s Marta Suarez—and a 2028 second-round draft slot. The University of South Carolina’s Raven Johnson will join former teammate Aaliyah Boston on the Indiana Fever after being picked 10th. 

The draft was brimming with American and international talent, and some notable college names went undrafted. Oklahoma center Raegan Beers, an all-SEC first team member who averaged over 15 points per game and shot 61% from the field during her college career, was not selected. Hannah Stuelke, former Caitlin Clark teammate and Iowa Hawkeye forward, did not hear her name called despite much pre-draft chatter around her professional future. Mid-major star Maggie Doogan from the University of Richmond, who averaged more than 20 points per game and broke her school’s single-game scoring record by dropping 48 points, also was not picked up. These and other undrafted players are still able to join teams in training camp as rosters continue to evolve. Training camp starts April 19, and the WNBA preseason tips off on April 25. 

— Jules Yaeger

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