Why is Flau’jae Johnson delaying her WNBA career and returning to LSU?

LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson isn’t joining the WNBA yet. Instead, she’ll return to LSU, leaving a very loud question about her decision to stay another year: why?In the weeks before the 2025 WNBA Draft, the projections about the incoming class were seemingly going according to plan. UConn guard Paige Bueckers was expected to go No. 1 overall, and guard Olivia Miles would likely land around pick No.2 or perhaps No. 3 overall. But days before the marquee event in New York, Miles seemingly broke the WNBA draft by forgoing the pros, eventually finding a new home at TCU.

While the news sent shockwaves through basketball spaces, she wasn’t the only top prospect choosing to stay in college and virtually upend the 2025 draft board. Johnson was also quietly on that list, and while she remained mostly mum about her decision (only sharing a cryptic social media post and briefly speaking about it on her podcast), she recently cleared the air with Annie Costabile of Front Office Sports.

“Yes, I’m coming back to LSU,” Johnson said. “This is my last year. I definitely want to win, but it’s also like I wanna make sure that I’m being developed to be the player that I want to be in the WNBA … I want to be as prepared as possible.”

When peeling back the layers of Johnson’s decision, it isn’t as shocking as it seems. There were signs before now that Johnson could return to college. She wasn’t playing her best before LSU’s NCAA tournament run and was also dealing with shin inflammation. Moreover, she shared with Front Office Sports that continued development before the professional level is important to her.

“It’s going to be me, allowing Coach Mulkey to coach the hell out of me,” Johnson explained. “Just so everybody else falls in line. I’m going to have to be the one to take that to show an example ― this is the standard here. I’m ready to do that. I wasn’t ready to do that in my previous years. Now, I know what it takes.”

Front Office Sports revealed that Johnson’s decision was also impacted by the WNBA’s impending collective bargaining agreement (CBA), slated for 2026. The new CBA is expected to bring, among many things, higher salaries, better benefits and resources for current players and anyone entering the league. The LSU guard previously spoke about how the hurdles the WNBA currently faces could impact her in the future, which likely adds a bit more context to the delay.

“You go to college, and you’re treated like a pro,” Johnson said in 2024. “Then, you go to the pros and you’re treated not like a professional. In that way, I say the league can be better …  I think just the conditions for the players ― living arrangements, travel arrangements ― that’s very important to the athlete.”

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Why Flau’jae Johnson returned to LSU instead of going to WNBA?