With the WNBA draft lottery set to take place Friday, attention will turn to potential draft picks. The Atlanta Dream, Washington Mystics, Indiana Fever and Minnesota Lynx all have a shot at securing the No. 1 pick in the lottery, which will air at 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

There’s plenty of talent to choose from at the college level, and a few of those players will be on the court after the lottery, as No. 1 South Carolina takes on No. 17 Maryland.

Just Women’s Sports looks at five college players with professional potential for WNBA teams (and fans!) to keep an eye on this season:

Aliyah Boston, South Carolina

Much of the draft order is up for debate, but I don’t think anyone is arguing when it comes to the first overall pick. That spot belongs to Boston, the reigning Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Wooden Award winner… you get the idea.

The best part about Boston’s game is that from offense to defense – or vice versa – there is no drop-off. She’s a great rim protector and help defender while also being an efficient, strong scorer on offense. The 6-foot-5 forward averaged 16.8 points and 12.5 rebounds a game last season while shooting 54% from the field.

Boston’s one weakness is that she doesn’t extend the floor by shooting 3s. But another Gamecock, A’ja Wilson, didn’t shoot 3-pointers in college, and she was able to extend her range once she got to the WNBA.

National Player of the Year ✅
National Defensive Player of the Year ✅
National Champion ✅
Most Outstanding Player ✅

Take a bow, @aa_boston. pic.twitter.com/3Y7KHmif6b

— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) April 4, 2022

Diamond Miller, Maryland

In many ways, Miller is the perfect prospect. She’s versatile, with a great build for the next level – 6-foot-3 with long limbs – and has shown proficiency in almost every category.

Miller has a lot of raw skills and there is still untapped potential within her game. But she already does well in several areas that the WNBA values, such as running the court and playing multiple positions.

She battled injuries last season and because of that actually saw her production dip from the season before – as a sophomore, Miller averaged 17.3 points and 5.8 rebounds a game, compared to 13.1 points, 4.0 rebounds as a junior. I’d like to see her shoot a bit better this season, improving on 40.8% from the field and 31.6% from 3-point range. Her form is slightly jerky, so there may be some adjustments to be made when she becomes a pro.

Haley Jones, Stanford

Her value is super high because Jones is truly positionless. She’s played in the post, at the point guard spot and everywhere in between for the Cardinals over the last three seasons.

Another thing WNBA teams will love is her maturity. She bounces back the same whether win or lose. She’s also a great playmaker, with a high basketball IQ and elite court vision.

The biggest weakness I see for Jones: She’s not going to break people down off the dribble, and with more isolation ball popping up in the WNBA, some teams may want that. But there is still plenty of room in the league for a player like her, whether or not she can blow by defenders.

Ashley Joens, Iowa State

The Iowa State star popped up on plenty of draft boards last season, but she chose to come back for one more year as a Cyclone.

The fifth-year remains an exciting prospect because of her array of skills. Versatility is key in the WNBA, so you will see that as a factor throughout this list, and Joens fits the bill. She’s 6-foot-1 but has surprising strength for her size, and she can play three positions – guard, point guard or forward.

Joens averaged 20.3 points and 9.5 rebounds per game last season, and she can score from the inside out, shooting from long range at a 37.6% clip last season. Her post game makes her an asset as well, as she is capable of scoring on smaller guards in the paint.

Her weak spot is defense, and at the WNBA level she may struggle to stay in front of quicker guards. But she fills so many holes offensively that plenty of teams should be willing to overlook that aspect of her game.

Elizabeth Kitley, Virginia Tech

One of the few true centers in the NCAA, Kitley has carved out an impressive career at Virginia Tech. And this season, she has All-American potential.

She’s 6-foot-6, which already will turn heads, and she averages 18.1 points, 9.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game.

Kitley’s best asset is her body control, which helps her on offense and defense. Offensively, she boasts great awareness when it comes to the position of her defender, help defenders and double-teams, often scoring without having to dribble – and that will be especially important with the athleticism of WNBA guards coming down to help. Defensively, she’s able to block shots without fouling and rarely has to sit due to foul trouble.

Kitley isn’t going to blow you away with her footspeed or athleticism, a weakness she’s overcome at the college level but that may require more adjustment in the WNBA. Other than that, her main weakness is a lack of an outside game. But Kitley has great form out to the free-throw line, so a 3-point shot likely could come with practice.

We’re just getting started 😏#Hokies 🦃 pic.twitter.com/ddy3W1p77B

— Virginia Tech Women's Basketball (@HokiesWBB) November 7, 2022

The 2025 NCAA volleyball season is heating up, with a pair of Top 10 matchups headlining the first annual ACC-SEC "Showdown at the Net" event on Wednesday.

Recent conference realignment has seen the SEC and ACC emerge as volleyball strongholds alongside the Big Ten, with the two Power Four rivals laying claim to seven of the current Top 10 teams.

Putting their reputations to the test, the conferences launched the two-day "Showdown at the Net" series this season, with 14 SEC vs. ACC games taking place at campuses nationwide while the four top contenders face off in the event's two-game spotlight showcase in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Wednesday doubleheader will first pair the SEC's No. 3 Kentucky Wildcats against the ACC's No. 7 Pitt Panthers before their respective conference standouts take the court as the No. 2 Texas Longhorns face the No. 4 Louisville Cardinals.

The battle between the Longhorns and Cardinals — a rematch of the 2022 national championship game — will be particularly tense, as both squads enter the match without a single loss on the young 2025 season.

How to watch "Showdown at the Net" NCAA volleyball tournament

No. 3 Kentucky and No. 7 Pitt will kick off Wednesday's top-tier college volleyball clashes at 6:30 PM ET before No. 2 Texas and No. 4 Louisville square off at 9 PM ET.

Both games will air live on ESPN.

Atlanta head coach Karl Smesko made WNBA history on Monday, becoming the winningest first-year manager on record after the No. 3 Dream earned their 29th victory of the season by defeating the No. 11 Connecticut Sun 87-62.

With Monday's result, Smesko surpassed the previous 28-win record set by former LA Sparks head coach Michael Cooper in 2000 — and boosted his position in the 2025 WNBA Coach of the Year race in the process.

Notably, while coaches like Cooper spent years as an assistant in the pros before leading a team, Smesko entered the 2025 WNBA season without any experience on the professional sidelines, with the Atlanta Dream hiring the 54-year-old following Smesko's 22 years helming the college team at Florida Gulf Coast University.

Smesko is now one of several new coaches seeing quick success at the sport's top level — with even more WNBA milestones looming on the horizon.

"It's nice that we're winning and that we're in a good position for the playoffs," Smesko said following Monday's victory. "Those types of [records] don't have a lot of meaning for me. The meaningful part is coming up: Are we going to be the best prepared for the playoffs?"

How to watch the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday

While it might not matter too much to Smesko, with one game left in the Atlanta Dream's 2025 regular season, he has the opportunity to pad his new record even more and finish the year with an even 30 wins on Wednesday.

The Dream will close out their 2025 regular season with a rematch against the Sun at 7 PM ET, with live coverage of the game airing on WNBA League Pass.

Sky star Angel Reese watched from the sidelines as No. 12 Chicago fell 92-61 to the No. 2 Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday night, ruled out with a back injury after serving a half-game suspension on Sunday for making "statements detrimental to the team" last week.

Back pain that has troubled the forward throughout the second half of the 2025 WNBA season, with Reese opting to sit out Tuesday's clash despite earlier expectations that she would take the court.

"After warm-ups, she communicated that she just wasn't feeling it physically," Chicago Sky head coach Tyler Marsh said, after previously telling reporters he expected Reese to play. "She reported that pain, and so we wanted to hold her back."

Reese's relationship with the organization has been under a microscope since the 23-year-old criticized team leadership in last week's Chicago Tribune interview, prompting high-profile reactions from both within the league and beyond.

"Chicago is probably the worst-run organization in the league. You're gonna suspend your best player just because she's putting pressure on you to get better? That was embarrassing to see," an anonymous WNBA exec told the Dallas Hoops Journal in response.

"She got in trouble for telling the truth. And I feel like women, especially Black women, are over-policed in this league," Sports Are Fun guest co-host Greydy Diaz said on this week's episode. "If you really look at Chicago and its history, ownership, front office — it's been a disaster for years. You've had star players leave over and over…. I think they need to clean house in Chicago."

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How to watch the final 2025 game for the Chicago Sky

Should her pain subside, Reese will suit up for the Chicago Sky's season finale on Thursday — though the league sophomore has already hit the requisite minimum number of game appearances to officially qualify as the WNBA's rebounds-per-game leader this year.

The No. 12 Sky will close out their 2025 campaign against the No. 5 New York Liberty at 8 PM ET on Thursday, with live coverage airing on WNBA League Pass.

Gotham FC is cleaning house, following up Monday's splashy Jaedyn Shaw trade with even more roster moves as the No. 6 NWSL club prepares for a major playoff push.

The Bats officially fulfilled defensive midfielder and 2023 NWSL champion Nealy Martin's trade request on Tuesday, sending her to Angel City in exchange for $85,000 in intra-league funds.

"More than anything I want to thank the Gotham community for taking a chance and believing in me," Martin said in a club statement. "I gave my heart and soul to this club, and a piece of me will always remain in NJ/NY."

Martin's departure is just one recent roster shift, with Gotham also loaning out recently acquired forward Princess Ademiluyi as they look to incorporate Shaw — and her league-record $1.25 million transfer fee — into their system.

Gotham is banking on long-term success from the 19-year-old, signing Ademiluyi from WSL mainstay West Ham United through the 2029 season before sending the England youth national team attacker for further development with USL Super League side Fort Lauderdale United FC on Tuesday.

Big-name NWSL signings tend to create a domino effect, and as long as they have the money, now is the time for mid-table teams like Gotham to trade as the 2025 season inches closer to crunch-time.