What if every college player had instant draft eligibility?

The 2025 WNBA Draft is inching closer and closer. if you want an idea of what the first round will look like, I put together a first round mock draft last month.

But unlike the NBA, where players can be one-and-done and declare after their freshman season for the NBA Draft, women’s players don’t have that option. Players must be four years out of high school OR three years out and meet the league’s age requirement. That means a number of players you’ll watch during March Madness won’t be draft-eligible — like Plater of the Year favorites Juju Watkins and Hannah Hidalgo.

But hear me out: what if they were? What if every current college player was eligible for next month’s WNBA Draft?

Here’s what the first round 2025 WNBA Draft could look like if every college player was eligible to be drafted. And just for fun, we’re giving the Aces back their forfeited first-round pick so we can have 13 players on the list instead of 12.

1. Dallas Wings – JuJu Watkins – USC

In reality, the Dallas Wings will be thrilled to draft UConn’s Paige Bueckers in this spot, but in a universe where everyone was eligible, JuJu Watkins would be the runaway top choice.

The USC star is a three-level scorer who also happens to be very good on the defensive end as well, where she’s ranked in the top 100 nationally in both steals and blocks in each of her first two collegiate seasons. Offensively, she could finish just a bit more consistently, but she’s the No. 2 scorer in the country for a reason.

2. Seattle Storm – Paige Bueckers – UConn

Paige Bueckers has been destined to be the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA Draft since high school. The only thing that could stop her would be a hypothetical rule change allowing JuJu Watkins to declare this year.

Bueckers is skilled shooter and passer who has the size to be a plus defender, but she also carries with her a fairly lengthy injury history that could be a bit of a concern.

3. Washington Mystics – Lauren Betts – UCLA

While guards go at No. 1 and No. 2, UCLA big Lauren Betts goes off the board third. The WNBA is becoming more of a perimeter league, but it’s still very important to have good players up front. Betts is averaging 19.6 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game this year for the Bruins, providing crucial two-way production for a team with championship aspirations.

4. Washington Mystics – Sarah Strong – UConn

Freshman Sarah Strong looks to be the next great UConn Husky after averaging 16.0 points, 8.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.4 steals and 1.6 blocks per game in her first season in Storrs. She has the strength to finish inside, but also enough touch on her shots to slip outside and knock down 3s, as she made 1.4 per game on 36.5 percent shooting this past season.

5. Golden State Valkyries – Hannah Hidalgo – Notre Dame

Three current Notre Dame players will be represented in this article. Two will be in the 2025 WNBA Draft and are expected to be lottery selections, but it’s the other one who goes as the first Irish player off the board in this exercise.

Hannah Hidalgo is a baller. She ranks fifth in the nation in scoring despite playing on a loaded roster, and she’s knocking down 40.7 percent of her 3-point attempts. Hidalgo also ranks fourth in the nation in steals per game. Her assists are down this year because Olivia Miles is back from injury, but she ranked 26th in the country in assists per game as a freshman, showcasing her playmaking skills.

6. Washington Mystics – Olivia Miles – Notre Dame

Olivia Miles is the best pure point guard prospect in this women’s college basketball, and this past season she upped her scoring enough that she’s essentally the consensus No. 2 prospect behind Bueckers in the 2025 draft class. Miles is an elite passer who finally figured out her long-range shooting. She’ll be a mainstay in the WNBA.

7. New York Liberty – Flau’Jae Johnson – LSU

With Angel Reese in the WNBA now, Flau’Jae Johnson got an opportunity to be LSU’s centerpiece this year. She responded with huge numbers, averaging 18.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game.

The versatile forward could improve her finishing — she ranks right around the Division I average in rim field goal percentage — but is a lethal midrange scorer and has the athleticism to run up and down the floor in transition.

8. Connecticut Sun – Joyce Edwards – South Carolina

Joyce Edwards started just one game as a freshman at South Carolina this year, but she led the team in scoring at 13.2 points per game. After Ashlyn Watkins went down with a torn ACL, Edwards stepped up and proved why she’s the future of South Carolina women’s basketball.

9. Los Angeles Sparks – Sonia Citron – Notre Dame

Ranking Sonia Citron over some of the pure scorers below might surprise you, but Citron is a do-it-all wing who could be one of the league’s best 3-and-D wings. Maybe she doesn’t have the ability to take over a game with her scoring, but she’ll be a Swiss army knife that a team can use in virtually every conceivable way.

10. Las Vegas Aces – Ta’Niya Latson – Florida State

FSU’s Ta’Niya Latson knows how to score. Her 24.9 points per game led the nation this season, and she’s great at slashing her way inside. One knock on her game is that she just doesn’t take as many threes as a ball-dominant guard probably should, but she makes up for that with her overall efficiency. Latson’s age makes her eligible for the 2025 WNBA Draft, but it’d be surprising to see her actually declare at this point.

11. Chicago Sky – Mikayla Blakes – Vanderbilt

If we redid this exercise a year from now, Mikayla Blakes would probably have the most chance to either rocket up the list or drop off entirely. The freshman averaged 23.2 points per game this season and looks like a scoring machine, plus she added 2.3 steals per game, but we probably need to see another season of her scoring at a high level — coupled with a drop in turnovers — to really solify her spot as a top prospect.

12. Minnesota Lynx – Madison Booker – Texas

Madison Booker is a fascinating prospect. The Longhorns wing has size and can get buckets everywhere on the floor, but her 3-point volume is fairly low for a wing, even though she shot 43.9% from 3 this season. There’s something DeWanna Bonner-esque about Booker’s game.

13. Dallas Wings – Audi Crooks – Iowa State

I was really torn between Audi Crooks and UCLA’s Kiki Rice here, but I ultimately went with Crooks because she’s such a unique player.

The Iowa State center is just absolutely unstoppable inside. Crooks shot 72.6 percent at the rim this season, an absurd 15.4 percentage points above the Division I average. She also shot over 50 percent on non-rim paint attempts. Crooks has really good touch and can bully defenders on the interior. She has some limitations on the defense end, but having an automatic bucket at the five will make you ignore some of the defensive concerns.