Lauren Betts aims high: Number 1 pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft?
Last season, Lauren Betts and the UCLA Bruins reached the Final Four for the first time in the NCAA era. Now, Betts is looking to repeat the feat. However, the senior player has ambitious individual goals, including being the first pick in the 2026 WNBA draft.
Before that moment arrives, several key factors must be defined. The WNBA is negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement with the players’ union, a topic that has dominated the league throughout the year. In addition, the lottery draw, expansion drafts for Toronto and Portland, and a massive free agency involving most players without rookie contracts, are crucial events before the 2026 draft.
In this context, a mock draft published during the WNBA Finals is a hypothetical exercise, a projection that will become clearer in the next seven months. Below, we present the top five teams according to their lottery odds, followed by the expansion teams.
Five of the first six picks in this mock draft were eligible for the 2025 draft, but decided to return for another college season.
2026 WNBA Draft Predictions
Dallas Wings: Lauren Betts (UCLA, center, 6-7, senior)
The Wings, who selected Paige Bueckers as number 1 in 2025, achieved the Rookie of the Year award, but the team only won 10 games and tied for last place with Chicago. Recently, the Wings fired Chris Koclanes after a year as coach. If they win the draft lottery, it would be their third number 1 pick in six seasons.
Betts was a first-team All-American last season, averaging 20.2 points per game, 9.5 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks, with a 64.8% field goal percentage. She is a traditional center who doesn’t shoot three-pointers. WNBA teams will have to decide if this is a disadvantage or something that can complement her strong inside game.
Minnesota Lynx: Olivia Miles (TCU, guard, 5-10, senior)
Miles played six games at Notre Dame in the 2020-21 season. Then she played three full seasons, but missed the 2023-24 season due to a knee injury. Many saw her as a lottery pick in 2025, but she transferred to TCU for her final season. She averaged 15.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 5.8 assists last season and appears to be the best point guard among college seniors.
The Lynx played in the 2024 WNBA Finals and had the best record in the league this year. However, they are in the lottery thanks to a 2024 trade with Chicago.
After injury problems in her first three years at UConn, Fudd had a generally healthy 2024-25 season, playing in 34 of the Huskies’ 40 games. She averaged 13.6 points per game and 43.6% from three-point range for the national champions. Fudd’s talent has never been questioned: she is an elite player when healthy, especially as a perimeter scorer.
Washington Mystics: Awa Fam (Spain, center, 6-4)
Fam, who will turn 20 in June, seems to be the best international prospect in this draft. He started playing with a Spanish professional club at 15 years old and helped Spain reach the EuroBasket final against Belgium this summer, averaging 8.7 points and 4.2 rebounds. His potential is high and he could reach the top spot for the draft.
Chicago Sky: Flau’Jae Johnson (LSU, guard, 5-10, senior)
Johnson has expressed her desire to move up and be number 1, and that confidence is part of what makes her an attractive player. National champion in her first year, last season she had her best numbers with 18.6 points per game and a 38.3% three-point shooting percentage. She also averaged 5.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists.Flau’Jae Johnson, on the right, projected to be a lottery pick. Janiah Barker, on the left, projected as the number 10 pick for Indiana.Steph Chambers/Getty Images
Toronto Tempo: Ta’Niya Latson (South Carolina, guard, 5-8, senior)
Latson averaged 25.2 points per game last season, leading Division I with Florida State. He sought a higher profile with a program that regularly competes for the national championship, and South Carolina provides that. How will Latson adapt from being the primary offensive threat to being one among several? He has a 32.6% three-point shooting percentage, something he will look to improve.
McMahon will spend her final season in the SEC after three years at Ohio State, where she was one of the best players in the Big Ten. Her average of 16.5 points per game and a 37.4% three-point shooting percentage in 2024-25 were the highest of her career. McMahon is a bit short to be a forward, but she should improve defensively at Ole Miss and can improve her value to play at the next level.
