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The Washington Mystics selected former Iowa forward Lucy Olsen with the No. 23 pick of the 2025 WNBA Draft after Olsen produced a successful 2025 campaign with the Hawkeyes.
Olsen spent the first three seasons of her NCAA career at Villanova. And while she didn’t score at the same rate at Iowa that she did at Villanova, she proved that she’s a more versatile playmaker and facilitator while playing against consistently elite competition with the Hawkeyes, which surely helped her draft chances.
Of course, the Hawkeyes have a rich pedigree of developing players for the WNBA. This is made apparent by them having two players (Caitlin Clark and Kate Martin) get selected in the 2024 WNBA Draft.
During an April 30 interview with Brenden Potts of World Exposure Report, Olsen revealed advice that Martin and Clark have given her ahead of her first season of professional basketball.
“[They said to] keep working hard,” Olsen said of Clark and Martin’s advice. “You never know what your path is going to be, but if you want it, and you keep working for it, you’ll get the opportunity.”
Caitlin and Kate gave Lucy advice for the WNBA🥹🥹 https://t.co/LUkoWzotzB pic.twitter.com/EA0B3mAsJk
— rachel (@HawkeyeMuse1) April 30, 2025
Given that Clark was the 2024 draft’s No. 1 overall pick, the opportunity she received to succeed doesn’t really match that of Olsen. However, Martin was the 2024 draft’s No. 18 overall pick and worked her way to making the Las Vegas Aces roster last season.
Therefore, Martin has provided a clear blueprint for how Olsen can make the Washington Mystics roster as a rookie.
