In the latest episode of Locked on Women’s Basketball, co-hosts Hunter Cruse and Joshua Welch discuss their process for evaluating WNBA Draft prospects and the strength of this season’s freshman class.
Joshua shares some of what he’s looking for in a prospect:
“There’s players that you think about ahead of time that obviously their game stands out, like [South Carolina’s] Aliyah Boston, [Stanford’s] Haley Jones [and Maryland’s] Diamond Miller … As far as other players that might not be on everyone’s draft board, it’s a mix of games I watch throughout the season and what jumps off on the stat sheet. Particularly I look at their per-40 stats rather than per game because games, it can really differ how many minutes they get to really produce.”
Joshua and Hunter also discuss the freshmen who have impressed them, including Florida State guard Ta’Niya Latson, Ohio State forward Cotie McMahon, and Minnesota’s Mara Braun and Mallory Heyer. Here’s Joshua on Latson:
“What I’ve seen in film so far has just been incredible. I see instant lottery pick. If there were more [WNBA] teams and roster expansion to the point where players could leave early, I would want her in the W after this season, just [from] what I’ve seen so far from her. And her athleticism and her compete level is just off the charts.”
(Editor’s note: There would also need to be a change to WNBA Draft rules to allow college players to be drafted after a single season.)
To learn even more about the WNBA Draft, the NCAA season and so much else in women’s basketball, subscribe to the Locked on Women’s Basketball podcast!