Now that the 2026 WNBA Expansion Draft is in the rearview mirror, focus can shift to the regular draft. The other draft, or the draft draft, if you will. The 2026 WNBA Draft is April 13 the Minnesota Lynx hold the honors of making the second overall selection in Monday’s proceedings.
The organization coming off a season in which they finished with the best regular season record doesn’t often find itself in such a position come draft night, but thanks to some diabolical dealings on previous draft nights (remember when the Lynx traded out of the No. 7 pick in 2024 and everyone freaked out???) that’s exactly where they find themselves — in possession of the second shiniest piece of draft capital in this pivotal offseason. As the timeless genius Big Daddy Kane once said, “Destruction from the exterminator, but in a calm manner, cause I’m a smooth operator.” If there’s a more suitable 80’s rap hit that explains the Lynx I have yet to hear it.
Now that the college season has reached its conclusion (Congrats UCLA!), it’s the perfect time to conduct the first ever Hitting the Hardwood WNBA Mock Draft! Well, it’s actually far from the perfect time since free agency still needs to take place and it’s rather silly to project team needs when on paper every team still needs literally everything, but we like to be a little silly here at HTH so we’re going to do it anyways.
Here’s a pre-free agency look at how the top five could play out with some additional thoughts on how each could fit into the Lynx plans if Cheryl Reeve and company call their name at No. 2.
No. 1: Dallas Wings—Awa Fam, C, Valencia (Spain)
Fam’s name has surged from intriguing prospect to almost a consensus No. 1 in the mock draft community (for whatever that’s worth). While the 19-year-old has enough promise to make any GM get lost in their own day dreams, she showed in last month’s World Cup Qualifying that she’s ready to play right now. This is a pick for today as much as it is for tomorrow and instantly makes the Wings one of the most exciting young teams with a half a dozen players on rookie scale contracts.
If they pass on Fam, I expect assistant coaches and legendary post players Rebekkah Brunson and Janel McCarville will be doing backflips through the Lynx draft room.
No. 2: Minnesota Lynx—Azzi Fudd, F, UConn
The moment you’ve all been waiting for (probably, non-Lynx fans are welcome at Hitting the Hardwood, too) and the Lynx add another member to its absolutely stacked history of UConn draftees. The nine previous Huskies drafted by Minnesota in chronological order: Svetlana Abrosimova (‘01), Tamika Williams (‘02), Charde Houston (‘08), Renee Montgomery (‘09), Maya Moore (‘11), Napheesa Collier (‘19), Crystal Dangerfield (‘20), Dorka Juhász (‘23), and Aubrey Griffin (‘25). Beyond her alma mater, Fudd brings elite three-point shooting and defense, which Reeve will always happily take more of, but especially so in the wake of Bridget Carleton’s departure.
Anything other than a championship will count as falling short for the Lynx in 2026, and in my opinion, Fudd is the most championship ready player of the whole class.
No. 3: Seattle Storm—Olivia Miles, PG, TCU
Miles is a tempting selection for the Lynx as well, on any given night her passing ability falls somewhere between the levels of ‘brilliant,’ and ‘truly majestic.’ It’s fun to imagine her conducting the offense, getting the ball to anyone and everyone, and learning from Lindsay Whalen (this is me hedging, Lynx fans). There are enough questions around her defensive game for Fudd to be the pick for me, so she lasts just one more spot and heads to Seattle where she’ll make a scary good dynamic duo with Domonique Molonga.
No. 4: Washington Mystics—Lauren Betts, C, UCLA
The Shakira Austin era in Washington appears to be nearing its end and Betts would be a fun piece to pair with the Mystics’ sensational 2025 rookies Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen. Obligatory mention of how Betts could fit in with the Lynx in case she ends up as the No. 2 pick (again, hedging, my friends): she would give Minnesota some muscle down low for when opposing teams try to play bully ball. ‘Frontcourt depth’ isn’t the splashiest thing to invest in with a No. 2 overall pick, but the privilege of being the Lynx is they don’t need to find a franchise savior. The questions on her offensive ceiling are legitimate, but even if the rest of the Lynx’s frontcourt comes back, they could still use the additional rim protection. I don’t expect to hear her name called at No. 2, but I wouldn’t be totally shocked either. As it stands for these purposes, I think the capital is a great landing spot for her.
No. 5: Chicago Sky—Kiki Rice, PG, UCLA
Who knows what the Sky are doing? Do the Sky even know what the Sky are doing? Someone needs to find out and that’s why I’m giving them the ever-steady point guard from UCLA. Chicago suffered from inconsistent guard play all season last year and Rice is a great fit to fill those minutes. There are no gaping holes in her game and her experience feeding the ball to the bigs on the Bruins will translate well to running with Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso. She doesn’t have the same sizzle to her game as Miles, but is a better defender and already a reliable shooter.
The Lynx won’t be done after No. 2, but pending a trade they’ll have a long wait between picks, and won’t be on the clock again until the final pick of the evening at No. 45 overall. No matter how free agency unfolds, the player going with the last pick in the draft will have a difficult path towards making the team out of training camp, but never say never. The Lynx selected Griffin with the penultimate pick in last year’s draft. Injuries prevented her from seeing any game action, but she still got to immerse herself in Lynx basketball for a full season and will be able to build off that experience as she aims for a spot in this year’s camp.
The WNBA Draft will take place at The Shed at Hudson Yards in New York on Monday, April 13. ESPN’s coverage starts at 6:30 pm ET. The Lynx will be hosting a draft party at Target Center.