WNBA Draft Roundup: Kelsey Plum projected as the No. 1 pick

WNBA Draft: Thursday, April 13, ESPN2, 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT

Draft Attendees || Draft Order || Around the Web || WNBA Bios of Draft Attendees

After a record-breaking season, Washington’s Kelsey Plum leads the 2017 WNBA Draft class as the player most likely to be picked first. Plum swept all of the college postseason national player of the year honors including the Wooden Award, the Naismith College Player of the Year, the Wade Trophy and the Honda Sport Award. She also won the Nancy Lieberman Award for the country’s top point guard and was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year.

Plum will be among the ten prospects attending the draft live in New York City Thursday evening. The other draft participants include three members of the national championship team: South Carolina center Alaina Coates plus Gamecock guards Kaela Davis and Allisha Gray.

The first round of the WNBA Draft will be televised live on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT while ESPNU will air coverage of the second and third rounds starting at 8 p.m. ET. Fans can also stream the draft live on WatchESPN and the ESPN app.

The league’s 21st season tips off in a month on Saturday, May 13 with three games. Team training camps open Sunday, April 23.

The San Antonio Stars hold the No. 1 overall pick in the draft after winning the WNBA Draft Lottery in September.  The Chicago Sky will select second, followed by two selections for the Dallas Wings, who have their own pick at No. 3 and acquired the No. 4 pick from the Los Angeles Sparks in a trade that sent guard Odyssey Sims to the Sparks on Feb. 17.

Draft Attendees

Name	College/University	Position	Height
Alaina Coates	South Carolina	Center	6-4
Nia Coffey	Northwestern	Forward	6-1
Kaela Davis	South Carolina	Guard	6-2
Allisha Gray	South Carolina	Guard	6-0
Alexis Jones	Baylor	Guard	5-9
Brionna Jones	Maryland	Center	6-3
Erica McCall	Stanford	Forward	6-3
Kelsey Plum	Washington	Guard	5-8
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough	Maryland	Guard	5-11
Sydney Wiese	Oregon State	Guard	5-11

Full Draft Order

First Round

1. San Antonio Stars
2. Chicago Sky (from Washington Mystics)
3. Dallas Wings
4. Dallas Wings (from Connecticut Sun via Los Angeles Sparks)
5. San Antonio Stars (from Phoenix Mercury)
6. Washington Mystics (from Seattle Storm)
7. Atlanta Dream
8. Connecticut Sun (from Indiana Fever)
9. Chicago Sky
10. Dallas Wings (from New York Liberty)
11. Los Angeles Sparks (from Los Angeles Sparks via Dallas Wings)
12. Minnesota Lynx

Second Round

1. Connecticut Sun (from San Antonio Stars via Phoenix Mercury)
2. New York Liberty (from Dallas Wings)
3. Seattle Storm (from Washington Mystics)
4. Connecticut Sun
5. Indiana Fever (from Phoenix Mercury)
6. Washington Mystics (from Seattle Storm)
7. Atlanta Dream
8. Indiana Fever
9. Chicago Sky
10. Indiana Fever (from New York Liberty via Atlanta Dream)
11. Dallas Wings (from Los Angeles Sparks)
12. Minnesota Lynx

Third Round

1. San Antonio Stars
2. Dallas Wings
3. Washington Mystics
4. Connecticut Sun
5. Phoenix Mercury
6. Seattle Storm
7. Atlanta Dream
8. Indiana Fever
9. Chicago Sky
10. New York Liberty
11. Los Angeles Sparks
12. Minnesota Lynx

Around the Web

• WNBA Draft 2017: Mock Draft Roundup (WNBA.com)
• Prospect Profiles (WNBA.com)
• Weak WNBA Draft has Sun focusing elsewhere; Saniya Chong projected for 3rd round (Hartford Courant)
• There are no easy decisions for Sun at WNBA Draft (The Day)
• Washington Mystics keep WNBA draft options open with their big moves already made (Washington Post)
• Stars may not align for Sky’s best-case WNBA draft (Chicago Tribune)
• Is Northwestern’s Nia Coffey the answer for Chicago’s No. 2 draft pick? (ESPN)
• Dallas Wings have three of first 10 picks (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
• WNBA draft set for Thursday; San Antonio holds No. 1 pick (AP)
• Lynx hoping to take player in WNBA draft they can develop (StarTribune)
• WNBA coaches and analysts answer five big questions heading into the draft (WNBA.com)
• After Kelsey Plum at No. 1, the rest of the WNBA draft is tough to predict (ESPN)
• Erica McCall ready for her big moment at WNBA Draft (Bakersfield.com)
• Experts, players speculate as ex-Syracuse basketball stars await WNBA fate (Syracuse.com)
• Adrienne Motley, Jennie Simms eye WNBA Draft (Daily Press)
• Florida State’s Leticia Romero projected to go in WNBA Draft (CBS Sports)
• Probable first-rounder Nia Coffey prepares for the WNBA Draft (Inside NU)
• As Makayla Epps, Evelyn Akhator await WNBA fate, Kentucky assistant coach Lin Dunn has been go-to resource (Herald-Leader)

WNBA.com Bios of Draft Attendees
^{(from wnba.com)}

Kelsey Plum set the NCAA women’s record for career points (3,527) and points in a season (1,109 in 2016-17).  She ranks second all-time – male or female – in NCAA history for career points, behind Pete Maravich’s 3,667.  Plum was an All-America First Team selection in her junior and senior seasons, All-Pac-12 each of her four years at Washington, 2017 Naismith College Player of the Year, and winner of the 2017 Wade Trophy as the NCAA Division I Player of the Year.  She also finished her career as the NCAA women’s all-time leader for free throws made (912), breaking a 33-year-old record.

Alaina Coates was an All-SEC First Team selection as a junior and senior and an All-SEC Second Team selection as a freshman and sophomore.  She was named to the SEC All-Defensive Team as a sophomore in 2015 and as a senior in 2017.  Coates helped South Carolina to four straight SEC regular-season titles and a Final Four appearance in 2015.  She is also South Carolina’s career leader in field goal percentage (62.0) and defensive rebounds (642).

Kaela Davis spent two seasons at Georgia Tech before transferring to South Carolina, where she sat out the 2015-16 season before playing the 2016-17 season as a fourth-year junior for the Gamecocks.  She subsequently renounced her remaining season of college eligibility to enter the WNBA Draft 2017 presented by State Farm.  She was named the Stockton Regional Most Outstanding Player en route to the 2017 Final Four.  Davis earned All-ACC Second Team honors in her first season at Georgia Tech, followed by All-ACC First Team honors in her second and final season with the Yellow Jackets.

Allisha Gray excelled in South Carolina’s run to the national title, averaging 16.5 points on 56.8 percent shooting along with 8.3 rebounds in the tournament.  She was selected to the 2017 NCAA Women’s All-Final Four Team and the Stockton Regional All-Tournament Team.  Gray spent two seasons at North Carolina before transferring to South Carolina.  Like Davis, Gray also renounced her remaining season of college eligibility to enter the WNBA Draft 2017 presented by State Farm.

Baylor’s Alexis Jones made the All-Big 12 First Team as a junior and senior after spending two years at Duke.  She also was an AP All-America honorable mention selection as a senior.  After sitting out the 2014-15 season as a transfer, the Texas native was named the 2015-16 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and the Big 12 Championship Most Outstanding Player.  On Jan. 29, 2017, Jones recorded a triple-double (24 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists) against Oklahoma, joining Brittney Griner as the only Bears to record a triple-double in program history.  She also was named ACC Freshman of the Year at Duke and earned ACC Tournament MVP honors that season.

Shatori Walker-Kimbrough was selected to the All-Big Ten First Team as a sophomore, junior and senior.  She also earned an All-America Third Team selection as a senior and was an AP All-America honorable mention selection as a sophomore.  In 2016, Walker-Kimbrough led the NCAA and set the Big Ten record for three-point field goal percentage (54.5).  As a junior, she scored 41 points (on 17-of-21 shooting) against Purdue, the second highest single-game points total in program history.

Oregon State’s Sydney Wiese was a four-time All-Pac-12 selection.  She finished her career as the Pac-12’s all-time leader for three-pointers made (373).  She was an AP All-America Third Team selection as a senior and an AP All-America honorable mention selection as a junior.  In 2016, she played a pivotal role in the Beavers’ first Pac-12 Tournament title and first march to the Final Four in program history.

A four-time All-Big Ten First Team selection, Nia Coffey became the first player in Northwestern history to earn the honor in three consecutive seasons.  She set a school record by scoring in double figures in 66 straight games, a mark she set from Jan. 22, 2015, to Jan. 14, 2017.  Coffey also became the first Northwestern player with 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds and just the fifth Big Ten player to tally 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.  She was an AP All-America honorable mention selection as a senior.

Erica McCall, a two-time All-Pac-12 selection, is one of only four players at Stanford with at least 1,300 points, 900 rebounds and 190 blocks, joining Jayne Appel, Chiney Ogwumike and Val Whiting.  As a senior, she was an AP All-America honorable mention selection and the Pac-12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player.

Maryland’s Brionna Jones, who helped the Terrapins to Final Four appearances in 2014 and 2015, led the nation in field goal percentage as a junior (66.5) and senior (69.8).  In 2016-17, she was an AP All-America First Team selection after leading the Big Ten in double-doubles with 25.  As a junior, Jones was an AP All-America honorable mention selection.