As the women’s college basketball season approaches its conclusion, many players have to decide whether to declare for the WNBA draft or return for another year.

The WNBA requires that draft entrants be at least 22 years old during the year in which the draft takes place. Additionally, they cannot have any remaining college eligibility or must renounce any remaining eligibility.

With the draft coming up on April 11 in New York City, there will be plenty of players declaring in the coming weeks. Just Women’s Sports is tracking those who have declared for the draft – or opted to return to their teams.

Wednesday, April 6: Victaria Saxton to return to South Carolina for fifth year

Senior forward Victaria Saxton announced Wednesday that she will return to South Carolina for another year. A veteran presence on the team, coach Dawn Staley called her a key piece to the Gamecocks’ tournament.

“We don’t get here without Victaria (Saxton),” Staley said before the Elite Eight. “We don’t. She is Teflon. She takes falls. She gives up weight and girth, quickness. Every game there is something that there is a disadvantage for her, and she is just sheer will.”

One of the team’s top rebounders (5.8 per game), Saxton will be a key piece as the team looks to make back-to-back title runs.

Monday, April 4: Lexie Hull to leave Stanford, enter WNBA draft

On Monday, Lexie Hull announced that she would not be returning for one more year at Stanford. The senior guard announced the decision via social media.

Her next chapter awaits ❤️#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/tCdoZSKViV

— Stanford Women’s Basketball (@StanfordWBB) April 4, 2022

“It truly has taken a village and without you all, I would not have gotten where I am today, so thank you for making this all possible,” said Hull. “It was an honor to put on a Stanford jersey.”

She also thanked her twin sister, Lacie, “for being my best friend through it all.” The two have played together at Stanford for the entirety of their collegiate experience.

Hull was a major piece of Stanford’s team the past four years, helping lead the Cardinal to one national championship, two Final Fours, two Pack-12 regular season championships and three Pac-12 Tournament championships.

Thursday, March 31: NC State’s Elissa Cunane, Michigan’s Naz Hillmon declare for WNBA draft

NC State star Elissa Cunane has officially declared for the WNBA Draft, announcing the news on Wednesday. After four seasons with the Wolfpack, Cunane holds three ACC tournament championships, two ACC tournament MVP awards and two ACC regular-season titles.

“I am truly thankful for my four years at NC State and everyone who made it all possible,” said Cunane. “With that being said, I am declaring for the 2022 WNBA Draft.”

Cunane is projected as a top-10 draft pick.

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Naz Hillmon announced her decision to enter her name into the WNBA Draft, posting an emotional message to social media.

“I am humbled to announce that I have entered my name into the WNBA Draft! I am forever thankful for the opportunities I have had, the people that I have met and the lifelong experience that Michigan has afforded to me,” wrote Hillmon.

The senior is the first-ever Wolverine player to notch 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds, finishing her last Michigan season averaging 21.0 points and 9.6 rebounds.

Hillmon is projected to be a first-round draft pick, with many suspecting she will be selected fifth overall by the New York Liberty.

💙〽️ pic.twitter.com/AipnmjhEw7

— Naz Hillmon (@nazhillmon) March 31, 2022

 

Tuesday, March 29: WNBA releases list of 88 players who have filed for the draft

Players include Ole Miss’ Shakira Austin, Louisville’s Emily Engstler, Florida Gulf Coast’s Kiersten Bell and many more. The full list is available on the WNBA website.

Those players whose college teams are still alive in the postseason and who have remaining years of NCAA eligibility will have 48 hours after the end of their final game to renounce their eligibility and declare for the draft.

Tuesday, March 29: Oregon Ducks’ Nyara Sabally, Tennessee’s Rae Burrell declare for the draft

Nyara Sabally, a fourth-year sophomore forward for the Ducks, was the team’s top scorer and rebound in 2022. A projected No. 4 overall pick, she averaged 15.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.

Sabally is the younger sister of Satou Sabally, who also played at Oregon and is now with the Dallas Wings.

“It was an honor to put on the Ducks jersey and play at Matthew Knight. I will forever cherish my time here, and I hope that I was able to inspire the people in Eugene that have shown me unwavering support the past four years,” Nyara Sabally said.

The Ducks made the NCAA tournament this year as a fifth seed but lost in double overtime to No. 12 Belmont 73-70 in the opening round.

Tennessee’s Rae Burrell also announced that she is entering her name in the pool of WNBA draft players. In four years with the Lady Vols, Burrell averaged 10.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.

She had a breakout junior season, averaging 16.8 points and 4.6 rebounds before being sidelined with a knee injury for the first half of her senior season. But she rebounded well, averaging 15.3 points and 5.5 rebounds in the postseason en route to the Sweet 16.

Monday, March 28: Iowa State’s Ashley Joens to return for fifth year

One of the bigger question marks coming out of the season, Ashley Joens announced Monday that she will return for a fifth season with the Cyclones.

Joens has been a big piece of the Cyclones’ core, starting in every game for Iowa State since her freshman year. Throughout her career she has averaged 18.8 points and 8.6 rebounds through 126 career games. She also broke Angie Welle’s program record of 2,149 career points this season, finishing with 2,369 points.

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“This team is special,” Joens said in an announcement posted to her social media accounts. “We have more to accomplish, and I can’t wait to play another year with all of them!”

Friday, March 25: Northwestern’s Veronica Burton enters draft pool

Northwestern standout Veronica Burton announced Friday that she will be headed to the 2022 WNBA Draft. One of the nation’s best players in 2022, she averaged 17.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 4.0 steals. She’s the first Northwestern women’s basketball player to be named to an AP All-America team, earning Third Team honors.

After winning her third consecutive Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award, Burton was named the WBCA Defensive Player of the Year on Monday. She’s the first Big Ten student-athlete to win the award.

ESPN currently has Burton projected to go 11th overall.

Veronica Burton is the best defender in the country. 👑@WBCA1981 verified. That’s respect. #GoCats pic.twitter.com/Fnrfgw8xTF

— Northwestern Women’s Basketball (@nuwbball) March 28, 2022

With the 2025 NCAA gymnastics season in full swing, top collegiate athletes are already eyeing mid-April's national championship in Fort Worth, Texas.

Unlike elite gymnastics, where difficulty can outweigh execution, the college level values precision over big tricks, so Division I athletes all aim for perfect 10s in their competition performances.

Despite this difference, many of the world's most decorated elite gymnasts also compete in the NCAA. Two-time Olympian Jade Carey is back for her senior season with No. 14 Oregon State while her US teammate in both Tokyo and Paris, Jordan Chiles, is entering her junior year at No. 11 UCLA.

The Bruin, who took the 2024 NCAA season off to prepare for last summer's Olympics, will attempt to reclaim the national titles on uneven bars and floor exercise that she earned in 2023.

Top teams poised for the podium

After earning their first national title last spring, No. 2 LSU is hitting the 2025 mat armed with a stacked roster, headlined by 2024 all-around champion Haleigh Bryant and social media star Livvy Dunne.

Add in last year's freshman phenom Konnor McClain, whose prowess on the balance beam ultimately clinched LSU the NCAA trophy, and 2024 Olympic alternate Kaliya Lincoln, who opened her NCAA career with a 9.825 vault two weeks ago, and the Tigers are more than capable of a back-to-back run.

LSU isn't the only SEC team predicted to make a deep run this season, as the conference is once again flush with perennial contenders.

Elite US stars Kayla DiCello and early Freshman of the Year frontrunner Skye Blakely will join two-time US Olympic alternate Leanne Wong in trying to return No. 7 Florida to the NCAA championship meet. At the same time, new SEC team No. 1 Oklahoma, winner of seven of the last 10 NCAA trophies, could see senior Jordan Bowers de-throne Bryant for the 2025 all-around title.

Also causing early national championship chatter are 2024 finalists No. 5 Cal, who return two of the country's best all-arounders in senior Mya Lauzon and junior eMjae Frazier, and Big Ten champs No. 6 Michigan State, whose veteran-heavy lineup boasts stars Skyla Schulte and Sage Kellerman.

How to watch NCAA gymnastics this weekend

Some of the country's top NCAA gymnasts will take the mat when No. 7 Florida visits No. 2 LSU at 7:30 PM ET on Friday. Live coverage will air on ESPN2.

The NCAA unanimously approved implementing a women's March Madness revenue-sharing plan on Wednesday, aligning the women's side with the compensation program the men’s edition has enjoyed since 1991.

"This is a historic day for women's sports, women's basketball, and the NCAA," said NCAA president Charlie Baker in the college sports governing body's statement. "Today's vote means our members have the opportunity to do even more on campus to promote and support female athletes. I can't wait to see all the incredible things they do."

Sparked by 2021's landmark NCAA gender equity review, the decision ultimately actualized after years of pressure from administrators and coaches.

"The long-awaited, hard fought for, and well-earned day is here," said UNC coach and Women's Basketball Coaches Association president Courtney Banghart. "I am so grateful for the effort of so many to bring this reality to our sport."

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Deep March Madness runs earn more revenue

Beginning this year, each team competing in the Division I tournament will now receive performance-based units of revenue, with deeper runs earning more units.

With plans to grow the prize pool to $25 million by 2028, this year's inaugural $15 million purse represents 26% of the competition's $65 million media rights valuation — putting it proportionally on par with the percentage allocated to the men's fund.

Distributions will begin in 2026 and, like the men’s program, they will be paid directly to conferences, whose member schools will collectively decide how to best invest the unrestricted funds.

For the 2025 edition, a unit will reportedly be worth $113,636. According to ESPN's calculations, a Final Four team could amass approximately $1.26 million for its conference over the next three years.

With conferences and schools set for an influx of funds should their teams flourish at the national tournament, the revenue plan becomes a significant incentive for institutions to further invest in women's basketball.

Ultimately, the NCAA's move not only addresses the sport's equity disparity, it could also bolster the annual tournament's level of competition.

Unrivaled basketball hits the court for the first time on Friday and, according to ESPN, the debut league's style of play will look a little different from the 3×3 Olympic game's rules.

Unlike the half-court version currently played in major international 3x3 basketball competitions, Unrivaled's full-court edition uses slightly smaller court dimensions from a traditional 5×5 setup.

Similarly, the inaugural league's format follows a four-quarter setup, but opts for seven-minute periods rather than the WNBA's 10-minute quarters. The shot clock will also be a speedier 18 seconds versus the professional 5×5 game's 24 seconds.

Unrivaled victories, however, rest solely in fourth-quarter play. This "winning score" quarter denotes that the win goes to the first team to score 11 more points than the highest final third-quarter score. For example, if a game's third quarter ends with a 45-43 scoreline, the first team to post the target score of 56 points in the final period walks away with the victory.

This system essentially eliminates the possibility of overtime. League organizers also hope it deters the late-game fouls used strategically and prolifically in 5×5 contests.

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Unrivaled 3×3 format revamps fouls

Speaking of fouls, Unrivaled is also condensing the free throw system to keep the game moving. Each player has six fouls to give, but each shooting foul will earn a single free throw at the line.

Those awarded free throws, however, will contain different point opportunities depending on the foul incurred. Fouled two-point shots grant a single free throw worth two points, while a free throw awarded from a three-point attempt will be worth three. All and-ones are worth one point.

With six players rostered on each of Unrivaled's six teams, the league also tweaked the traditional rule of fouling out to ensure games can be completed should they become especially chippy. If an athlete fouls out with only three available players left on their team, that player can continue competing. She will instead incur a technical foul — resulting in one opponent free throw — for each additional foul.

The new league's rules all point to Unrivaled's efforts to put an engaging, fast product on the court.

"This game is rooted in how you would play basketball as a kid on a black top," Unrivaled president of basketball operations Luke Cooper told ESPN's Kendra Andrews on Tuesday. "There's flow, there's pace. When you are watching, it feels like you are watching basketball... it's not a gimmick."

The WNBA free agency carousel started spinning this week, with teams evaluating rosters and coring athletes to either retain talent or trade players for a return.

Thus far, cored players include Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum, New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, Dallas Wings forward Satou Sabally, and Seattle Storm forward Gabby Williams.

Squads employ single-use coring on WNBA stars

Each of the WNBA's teams can core one unrestricted free agent on their roster, ensuring them exclusive rights to that cored athlete. Cored players receive an offer for a one-year, supermax salary contract, along with the option to negotiate different terms.

Cored athletes are unable to directly sign with another franchise, but they can be part of a trade offer by their coring team.

New York cored Stewart after she expressed interest in remaining with her 2024 WNBA Championship-winning squad. Sabally, on the other hand, will likely be part of a sign-and-trade deal after telling media late last week that she is looking to leave Dallas in 2025.

Plum's situation with the Aces is less clear-cut: The two-time WNBA champion could re-sign with her team, though Las Vegas could be exploring opportunities to cash in should she want to compete elsewhere.

Other offers spark WNBA free agent negotiations

In addition to coring, WNBA teams have also begun sending qualifying offers to certain restricted free agents, allowing them to initiate negotiations with those players.

Most notably, despite making Monday offers to three players — guard Dana Evans, forward Michaela Onyenwere, and forward Nikolina Milić — Chicago has yet to extend a qualifying offer to the Sky's 2024 points-leader Chennedy Carter.

Ultimately, while negotiations kick off next week, WNBA contracts cannot be finalized until free agency revs up in February, meaning more shuffling is on deck as teams gear up for the longest and most competitive roster-building season in recent memory.