5 players who skipped the 2025 WNBA Draft, but could be top prospects in 2026

The 2025 WNBA Draft is just weeks away, and with March Madness winding down, eligible players are deciding whether or not to declare for the pros. With the extra year of COVID eligibility still lingering for some, plus redshirt years from injuries, there are many college seniors that are deciding to come back to college instead of heading to the WNBA.

There are many reasons for a player to decide to stay in college one more year. There’s personal readiness, draft stock (and the chance to raise it), and of course, the conversation about money. The WNBA CBA is expiring after the 2025 season, and so any rookie who waits until 2026 will end up signing under the new deal. For a lot of the NCAA’s top players, that increase won’t really matter (since they make a more significant portion of their total income from endorsement deals) but it is still a unique aspect facing this year’s players as they make their personal decisions.

The WNBA is also changing a lot in the span of this next year. The league has already grown from 12 to 13 teams with the Golden State Valkyries entering this year. In 2026, the Toronto Tempo and Portland (yet to be named) team will also enter. That just means more roster spots available for players overall a year from now.

All of those reasons and more could have been why the following players chose to go back to school, so with that in mind, let’s take a look into 5 of the biggest prospects primed to declare for the draft in 2026, one year from now.

Olivia Miles, transfer portal — prev. Notre Dame, next team TBD

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A week ago, mock drafts everywhere had Olivia Miles out of Notre Dame as the WNBA’s No. 2 overall draft prospect (behind Paige Bueckers). Miles, a senior point guard, averaged 15.4 points, 5.8 assists, 5.6 rebounds, 1.4 steals this season while shooting 48.3% from the field and 40.6% from three-point range. She returned to Notre Dame this season after sitting out the 2023-2024 season recovering from an ACL injury (the same injury Juju Watkins recently suffered).

Notre Dame lost to TCU in the Sweet Sixteen of March Madness, and just days later Shams Charania of ESPN broke the news that Miles would not be declaring for the 2025 WNBA Draft. She would be using her remaining year of NCAA eligibility — but would be leaving Notre Dame. While the news of her deciding to not enter the draft was shocking, the fact that she entered the transfer portal was even more unexpected.

Now, Miles will be a top prospect for the 2026 WNBA Draft. Perhaps not the No. 2 prospect again, but it really depends on how well she is able to play next year, wherever she goes. She averaged 14.2 points, 6 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.4 steals at Notre Dame, displaying the strong playmaking IQ that led her to have three triple-doubles this season.

The first was in Notre Dame’s first game of the season, when she scored 20 points to go with 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Mercyhurst. Then, on Dec. 22, Miles put up 18 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against Loyola Maryland, and the very next game against Virginia, Miles had 11 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists.

Azzi Fudd, UConn

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Coming into college in 2021 as the No. 1 recruit in her class, Fudd was described as a lethal three-point shooter and the perfect backcourt partner to Paige Bueckers. She showed flashes of that through her first two seasons, but was often injured. She missed her entire junior season due to an ACL injury (similar to Bueckers, and now Watkins).

This season as a redshirt junior, Fudd has started to develop into the player she was expected to become. She averaged 13.3 points per game while shooting 44.1% from three. Her best games were a 34-point showing against St. John’s, immediately followed by a 28-point game to help UConn secure a big win over South Carolina. She also scored 27 points in UConn’s first round game against Arkansas State.

Despite being eligible to enter the WNBA Draft now, Fudd announced that she was going to stay at UConn for another season. She wants to work on her game more, understandably given the time she has missed over her career in college.

Flau’Jae Johnson, LSU

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The most recent of these players to announce she’s returning for another year in college, Flau’Jae Johnson out of LSU seems to be holding off on the WNBA as well. Sabreena Merchant of the Athletic reported Thursday afternoon that Johnson would not be declaring for the draft. The Tigers are already losing Aneesah Morrow to the draft, and Last-Tear Poa and Sa’Myah Smith have already entered the transfer portal.

LSU lost to UCLA in the Elite Eight despite a 28-point performance from Johnson, and she averaged 18.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists during her junior season. Her athleticism and length allows her to score crafty baskets, and she can defend the ball as well.

No matter if she stays at LSU or transfers out for her fourth season, she will end up a high pick in next year’s draft.

Lauren Betts, UCLA (prev. Stanford)

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Another junior eligible to be drafted this season, Lauren Betts decided to stay another year at UCLA. She has unique reasoning as well — she wants to play one season with her sister Sienna Betts. The younger Betts is the No. 2 recruit coming out of high school this season and will be joining Lauren at UCLA.

As the saying goes “you can’t teach height,” and Betts’ 6’7 frame comes with perks. She is dominant and physical in the post, able to hold her own while drawing fouls offensively. She defends the rim on the other side of the ball, and can block the basketball with incredible strength.

She averaged 20 points per game this season, and led UCLA to a Big-10 Tournament Championship. She also averaged 9.6 rebounds and 3 blocks on her way to becoming a Naismith Player of the Year Finalist.

Ta’Niya Latson, transfer portal — prev. Florida State, next team TBD

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Ta’Niya Latson led the country in points per game this season with an average of 25.2, but Florida State finished the season with a record of 24-9, not able to get the ACC Championship game or make it to Regionals in March Madness.

Latson announced shortly after the transfer portal opened that she would be entering it, quite possibly to head somewhere she can get a little more national notoriety in her senior season. If she keeps up the level of play we saw in her junior season, she will likely be a lottery pick in the 2026 WNBA draft.