March Madness star Paige Bueckers confirms she will enter WNBA draft

UConn’s Paige Bueckers, one of the rising superstars of women’s basketball, has confirmed that she will enter the 2025 WNBA Draft.

The 23-year-old is projected to follow in the footsteps of Caitlin Clark and be selected with the No 1 overall pick.

There had been some speculation that Bueckers would delay entering the WNBA until 2026 amid suggestions she didn’t want to play for the Dallas Wings.

The Wings hold the No 1 pick but Bueckers told ESPN on Friday that she will put her name in the draft. She has one year of college eligibility remaining.

Bueckers will join a league that enjoyed record-breaking success in 2024 thanks to new superstars such as Clark, Angel Reese and Cameron Brink.

But Napheesa Collier recently took issue with the treatment of Clark and the Indiana Fever – before the new season has even begun. 

She is projected to follow in the footsteps of Caitlin Clark and be selected with the No 1 pick

Last week it was announced that the Fever will have the biggest national-audience slate in league history. 

‘Obviously, people want to watch Caitlin play, and you have to put the people on TV that people want to see. But, at the same time, there are stars all over the league, and you want good basketball, as well,’ Collier said.

Bueckers will add yet more star power to the league but first she has unfinished business with the Huskies.

UConn, the No 2 seed in the Spokane 4 Region, faces No 3 Oklahoma in the Sweet 16 on Saturday.

This season, the guard leads the Huskies in scoring (19.2 points per game) and assists (4.8), adding 4.4 rebounds per game. She is shooting 41.1 percent from 3-point range and 90.2 percent from the free-throw line.