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

25-year-old American pro golfer Nelly Korda secured her spot in LPGA history on Sunday, notching her fifth-straight title at this weekend's Chevron Championship in The Woodlands, Texas.

Ranked No. 1 in the world by Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, Korda joins Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sörenstam (2005) as just the third LPGA player to rack up five consecutive tour wins. She is also the third No. 1-ranked player to capture The Chevron Championship victory since the rankings debuted in 2006, accompanied by Lorena Ochoa and Lydia Ko.

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The Florida native shot three-under 69 in Sunday's final, besting Sweden's Maja Stark despite Stark's valiant come-from-behind attempt in the 18th. Korda finished with a four-day total of 13-under 275, celebrating her two-stroke win by cannonballing into Poppie's Pond, much to the crowd's delight. She left The Club at Carlton Woods with $1.2 million from an overall purse of $7.9 million.

It wasn't long ago that the two-time major champion's current winning streak seemed unimaginable. After maintaining her No. 1 position for 29 weeks, Korda underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from her left arm in 2022. She returned to the course not long after, but failed to win a single tournament in 2023 before seeing a surge in form during the first four months of 2024. As of today, she hasn't lost a tournament since January.

Korda will attempt a record sixth-straight win at next week's JM Eagle LA Championship at Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles, where she'll vie for a cut of the $3.75 million purse.

USWNT regulars Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson furthered their cases for Olympic inclusion with their respective club victories on Saturday and Sunday.

After a roller coaster of a week that saw former Thorns head coach Mike Norris reassigned and a flurry of last-minute roster reshufflings as Friday's trade window closure loomed, the NWSL sprung to life over the weekend with standout performances from ninth-place Portland and third-place Chicago, among others.

After her blocked attempt at goal set up a volleying sixth-minute opener from veteran Christine Sinclair — now the only player in history to record a goal in all 11 NWSL seasons — Smith swiftly netted her own in the 27th minute off a breakaway run that eluded Houston's backline. The goal represented Smith's third of the season as well as her 35th for the Thorns, ultimately leading to the home side's first win of the season in a 4-1 routing of the Dash.

But that wasn't Smith's only stat of the evening. The star forward also lapped former Chicago Red Star Sam Kerr to become the youngest player to reach 50 NWSL goal contributions across all games, chalking up 40 goals and 10 assists at the age of 23 years and 254 days.

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"Obviously it feels good to get a win," said Smith in a post-match press conference. "But this is the standard the Thorns have always had. So a win is great, but a win is the expectation — we're hungrier than ever after the way we started."

170 miles up the road, Lumen Field similarly showcased some promising Olympic prospect footwork on Sunday. In Chicago's 2-1 victory over the lagging 13th-place Seattle Reign, striker Mallory Swanson racked up an impressive counterattack assist on fellow forward Ally Schlegel's fourth-minute goal. Swanson went on to find the back of the net herself before halftime, lacing an explosive ball into the top corner in the 31st minute, her second of the season after returning from a lengthy sidelining injury.

Speaking of injuries, fellow USWNT favorites Alex Morgan and Tierna Davidson were not as fortunate as their national squad teammates this weekend. Each exited their club matches early, Morgan with an ankle knock in San Diego's loss to Orlando and Davidson with an apparent hamstring incident early on in Washington's win over Gotham.

LSU came out on top at the 2024 NCAA women's gymnastics championship in Fort Worth on Saturday, besting Cal, Utah, and Florida to capture their first-ever title.

The Tigers' win was far from a landslide. LSU took the first rotation handily thanks to 2024 All-Around winner Haleigh Bryant's team-leading 9.9375 backed by four additional 9.9+ scores from her teammates. But Utah then responded with three strong beam performances of their own, causing the Red Rocks to slide confidently into second place by the end of the second rotation.

By the halfway point, all four teams fell within .288 points of one another before Utah overtook the pack with a dominant floor showing after three rotations. LSU then went on to ace the beam event with Konnor McClain's meet-leading 9.9625 score, coming away with the highest collective score ever awarded to the event in NCAA championship history. The achievement propelled the Tigers to victory, ensuring them the title after the final rotation.

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"This team is full of individuals that have incredible character and integrity and love for each other and all the things you hear from coaches when they sit at a podium like this in a moment of victory, but I promise you it's a real thing," said LSU coach Jay Clark in a post-meet press conference. "I'm just so happy for them."

Contributing to Saturday's atmosphere of excitement was the absence of last year's champion and this year's heavily favored Oklahoma Sooners. Hot off earning the highest team score in NCAA history just last month, the top-ranked Norman squad suffered a shocking loss in the semifinals, where five major mistakes contributed to a third-place finish and a season-low team score of 196.6625.

With Oklahoma out, it was truly anyone's game.

"Every team was out there fighting for their lives — all four teams, it could have gone any of four ways out there," Clark told reporters. "As much as I feel for what happened to Oklahoma in the semifinals, I think it made for a championship that became so packed with emotion because every team out there believed they could do it. It was just tremendous."

LSU is now the eighth program in the sport's history to earn an NCAA women's gymnastic championship.
They share the honor with Georgia, Utah, UCLA, Oklahoma, Alabama, Florida, and Michigan.

Cameron Brink already has her rookie of the year pick for the upcoming WNBA season, and it’s Indiana-bound star Caitlin Clark. 

In the latest edition of Kelley on the Street, host Kelley O'Hara caught up with Brink in New York hours before the Stanford phenom went No. 2 overall to the Los Angeles Sparks at the 2024 WNBA Draft. When O’Hara asked who would win the WNBA's rookie of the year, she answered without pause.

"Caitlin Clark," she said, while a fan commented that she thought Brink would take home the award. Brink later added that the extra foul granted to WNBA players will be "good for me."

"I hope it’s me," Charisma Osborne, who was later drafted by the Phoenix Mercury, said when asked her ROY prediction. "But, I don’t know — we’ll see."

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