• Loading stock data...
Saturday, August 2, 2025
Tuned In returns to NYC on September 16. Hear from the biggest names in sports media. Click here to get your spot

WNBA Draft: Tourney Stars Face Tough Choices Amid CBA Uncertainty

Several top WNBA draft prospects have the option to return to college and go pro next year—when the league’s next CBA could take effect.

James Snook-Imagn Images

With all eyes focused on the women’s Final Four in Tampa this weekend, it’s easy to forget some of the NCAA’s top stars will turn pro in just two weeks. The 2025 WNBA draft is April 14, eight days after the national championship game.

The WNBA’s draft eligibility rules indicate that domestic players must be 22 years old in the year of the draft to declare. This means that, generally, college players would finish their four years of eligibility and then enter the draft, as is the case for projected 2025 first-round picks Kiki Iriafen and Aneesah Morrow. 

But there are several exceptions. Some players turn 22 in their junior year and could return to college, while others may have an extra year of eligibility after missing a season due to injury, or have gained a waiver during the pandemic-hampered 2020 season.

Draft Uncertainty

This year’s WNBA draft is particularly fascinating—not only because it follows a seminal season for the league in terms of viewership and attendance—but because it’s the last draft under the league’s current collective bargaining agreement. The Women’s National Basketball Players Association opted out of the current CBA in October.

Players are expected to ask for significant salary increases in the next CBA. Next season, the minimum salary for a WNBA player is $66,079, per Spotrac, while the max is only about $250,000. The expected salary increase in 2026 is why every single WNBA player who is not on a rookie contract will be a free agent next offseason.

While it’s possible the CBA negotiations include an adjustment for players under contract, there is no assurance. That could be a deciding factor in NCAA prospects returning to college instead of going to the WNBA and locking into a multi-year rookie deal in 2025.

There have already been indications that the WNBPA would be willing to reach a work stoppage with the WNBA if both sides can’t agree on a new CBA. “No one wants a lockout, but I think we have to stand firm in what we think we deserve,” Napheesa Collier, VP of the WNBPA, said last week on ESPN’s First Take.

Who’s Going Pro?

Here’s the status of some of the most prominent NCAA prospects who have the option to return to college:

  • Lauren Betts, UCLA: The Wooden Award candidate said in February that she will return to the Bruins next year for her senior season. 
  • Paige Bueckers, UConn: The projected No. 1 overall pick will enter this year’s WNBA draft, ESPN’s Rebecca Lobo reported Friday. She had a sixth year of college eligibility due to a combination of the COVID-19 waiver and missing the 2022–2023 season with a torn ACL.
  • Azzi Fudd, UConn: Bueckers’s teammate announced last week that she will play for the Huskies next season. She missed all of last season due to a torn ACL and meniscus.
  • Flau’Jae Johnson, LSU: Like Betts, Johnson is only a junior, but can declare for this year’s draft because she turns 22 in November. Following the Tigers’ loss Sunday in the Elite Eight, Johnson, who won a national title with LSU in 2023 alongside Angel Reese, said she has yet to make a decision on her future.
  • Olivia Miles, Notre Dame: Miles, who missed last season due to a torn ACL, was the projected No. 2 pick if she opted for the draft. ESPN reported Monday night that she’s hitting the transfer portal instead.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Coco Gauff at New York Liberty

How the New York Liberty Became the Hottest Ticket in Town

Once banished to the burbs, the Libs are now Brooklyn’s marquee attraction.

Ex-NBPA Chief on WNBA CBA Challenges, NBA Stake in League

Tamika Tremaglio was a consultant for the 2020 WNBA CBA.
Jul 26, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins shortstop Carlos Correa (4) walks to the dugout after the ninth inning against the Washington Nationals at Target Field.

MLB’s Biggest Buyers in Frantic Deadline Weren’t Top Markets

Teams besides the Dodgers, Mets, and Yankees dominate MLB’s trade deadline.
Happy Gilmore 2

Is ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ Really About LIV vs. PGA Tour?

The movie’s main plotline may sound familiar to many golf fans.

Featured Today

Las Vegas sign

College Sports Embracing Vegas After Years of Cold Shoulder

The Big Ten became the latest newcomer to Sin City.
2000, Jupiter, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; Montreal Expos pitcher Hideki Irabu in action on the mound against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Stadium during Spring Training
July 28, 2025

Dead Sports Franchises Are Alive and Well on Twitter

The Expos, Sonics, and Whalers have active social media accounts.
Limited Hype
July 27, 2025

Sneaker Reselling Was Once Easy Money. Success Is Now Complicated

Vendors need to evolve what they’re selling and how they do it.
HAPPY GILMORE 2. BTS - (L to R) Adam Sandler as Happy Gilmore and Rory McIlroy as himself on the set of Happy Gilmore2.
July 26, 2025

‘Cool As Hell’: How ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ Hooked Golf’s Top Stars

The process was “cool as hell,” Adam Sandler tells FOS.
Leo Messi
exclusive

MLS Commissioner Don Garber Defends Messi Suspension

Messi was punished for skipping the MLS All-Star Game.
McLaurin
August 1, 2025

Terry McLaurin Asks Out of Washington Amid Contract Standoff

McLaurin is in the final year of a three-year, $68 million contract. 
August 1, 2025

Micah Parsons Requests Trade From Cowboys As Contract Talks Stall

The defensive end has been seeking a new contract.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
July 31, 2025

Mikal Bridges Takes $6M Discount to Help Knicks Avoid Second Apron

Bridges agreed to a four-year, $150 million extension Thursday.
Apr 25, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) looks on against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first half during game three of first round for the 2024 NBA Playoffs at Target Center.
July 31, 2025

Luka Dončić Eligible to Sign $229M Extension Saturday

Dončić can sign a four-year, $229 million extension on Aug. 2.
July 29, 2025

Gabby Williams: ‘Unrivaled Saved the WNBA’s Butt’

Unrivaled was cofounded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart.
Jul 24, 2025; Washington, D.C., USA; Venus Williams (USA) waves to the crowd after her match against Magdalena Frech (POL)(not pictured) in a women's singles match on day four of the Mubadala Citi DC Open at Rock Creek Park Tennis Center.
July 29, 2025

Venus Williams Returns to U.S. Open Ahead of New Mixed Doubles Format

The number of doubles teams at the US Open has been cut to 16 from 32.