Iowa’s Caitlin Clark — the celebrity who shattered collegiate scoring data this previous season — was chosen No. 1 total by the Indiana Fever within the WNBA draft on Monday in New York.
With the Fever, Clark will likely be paired with final 12 months’s No. 1 total decide, South Carolina product Aliyah Boston. Together, the 2 former consensus nationwide gamers of the 12 months in school will try to steer a franchise that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2016.
While Clark led all of school basketball in scoring in 2023-24 with a mean of 31.6 factors per recreation, her passing helped lead her to the highest spot within the WNBA draft.
As she led Iowa to the nationwide title recreation for the second 12 months in a row, Clark topped the nation in assists, too, at 8.9 per recreation. The 22-year-old native of West Des Moines, Iowa, is worked up to ship passes within the put up to the 6-foot-5 Boston, who’s the reigning Rookie of the Year.
“There’s so much you can say about her,” Clark stated of Boston. “In my eyes, one of the best players in the league. As a point guard, my biggest job is — I’m just feeding Aliyah the ball every single day. That’s what I’m going to do.”
A 3-time Big Ten Player of the Year and two-time nationwide participant of the 12 months, Clark scored 3,951 factors in her 4 seasons enjoying for the Hawkeyes, making her the all-time main scorer in all of Division I school basketball, girls’s and males’s.
Clark’s Hawkeyes fell on this 12 months’s nationwide title recreation to the South Carolina Gamecocks, whose 6-foot-7 middle, Kamilla Cardoso, was taken No. 3 total by the Chicago Sky. Cardoso was named the Most Outstanding Player on the Final Four after grabbing a career-best 17 rebounds in opposition to Iowa.
In Chicago, Cardoso will crew up with former LSU star Angel Reese, whom the Sky chosen with the seventh total decide. The two have been rivals within the Southeastern Conference for the previous two seasons, however Cardoso is able to wash away any dangerous blood.
“I think it’s going to be great. She’s a great player. I’m a great player,” Cardoso stated. “So, two great players together. Nobody is going to get no rebounds on us.”
Stanford’s Cameron Brink — the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year — was chosen by the Los Angeles Sparks with the second total decide. The Sparks then drafted Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson with the fourth decide.
With the fifth decide, the Dallas Wings selected Ohio State sharpshooter Jacy Sheldon.
“It’s a surreal moment because I grew up as a little kid watching all these women play and how talented they are and being able to have a chance to play with them and compete against them, it’s a dream,” Sheldon stated. “It’s what we all are here for, and it’s what we’re looking forward to.”
Versatile UConn ahead Aaliyah Edwards was taken sixth by the Washington Mystics, and the Minnesota Lynx chosen Utah’s Alissa Pili eighth total.
Three worldwide gamers have been taken within the first spherical, with French guard Carla Leite going to Dallas at No. 9, French guard Leila Lacan going to the Connecticut Sun at No. 10, and Australian ahead Nyadiew Puoch going to the Atlanta Dream with the twelfth and closing decide of the primary spherical.
The New York Liberty, who have been runners up within the WNBA Finals final season, drafted Marquesha Davis of Ole Miss with the eleventh decide.
The reigning champion Las Vegas Aces had their first decide within the second spherical, sixteenth total, and so they chosen Syracuse guard Dyaisha Fair.
Round 1
1. Indiana Fever — PG Caitlin Clark, Iowa
2. Los Angeles Sparks — F Cameron Brink, Stanford
3. Chicago Sky — C Kamilla Cardoso, South Carolina
4. Los Angels Sparks — F Rickea Jackson, Tennessee
5. Dallas Wings — G Jacy Sheldon, Ohio State
6. Washington Mystics — F Aaliyah Edwards, UConn
7. Chicago Sky — F Angel Reese, LSU
8. Minnesota Lynx — F Alissa Pili, Utah
9. Dallas Wings — G Carla Leite, France
10. Connecticut Sun — G Leila Lacan, France
11. New York Liberty — G Marquesha Davis, Ole Miss
12. Atlanta Dream — F Nyadiew Puoch, Australia
Round 2
1. Chicago Sky — G Brynna Maxwell, Gonzaga
2. Seattle Storm — G Nika Muhl, UConn
3. Indiana Fever — G Celeste Taylor, Ohio State
4. Las Vegas Aces — G Dyaisha Fair, Syracuse
5. New York Liberty — F Esmery Martinez, Arizona
6. Las Vegas Aces — G Kate Martin, Iowa
7. Connecticut Sun — C Taiyanna Jackson, Kansas
8. Atlanta Dream — G Isobel Borlase, Australia
9. Washington Mystics — G Kaylynne Truong, Gonzaga
10. Connecticut Sun — G Helena Pueyo, Arizona
11. New York Liberty — C Jessika Carter, Mississippi State
12. Las Vegas Aces — C Elizabeth Kitley, Virginia Tech
Round 3
1. Phoenix Mercury — G Charisma Osborne, UCLA
2. Seattle Storm — F Mackenzie Holmes, Indiana
3. Indiana Fever — G Leilani Correa, Florida
4. Los Angeles Sparks — F McKenzie Forbes, Southern California
5. Phoenix Mercury — G Jaz Shelley, Nebraska
6. Washington Mystics — G Nastja Claessens, Belgium
7. Minnesota Lynx — G Kiki Jefferson, Louisville
8. Atlanta Dream — G Matilde Villa, Italy
9. Dallas Wings — G Ashley Owusu, Penn State
10. Connecticut Sun — G Abbey Hsu, Columbia
11. New York Liberty — F Kaitlyn Davis, Southern California
12. Las Vegas Aces — C Angel Jackson, Jackson State
—Field Level Media/Reuters
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
