The WNBA is rising to national prominence and it’s all because of your favorite college ballers. On Monday, April 15th, 2024, the WNBA Draft took place at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in NYC (Cbssports.com). Fans gathered to watch in person and on screen, as the top collegiate and international athletes patiently waited to see which team they would be drafted to. 1.06 million of the viewers for the 2024 WNBA draft were women which is a 374% increase from past years. The draft also had a cap hit of around 3.1 million viewers (Sports.yahoo.com).
Caitlin Clark, the new face of the W has changed and inspired the lives of the old, the young, and the new viewers of the W. Chloe Moros, a student at Ramapo High School states, “I am glad Clark has brought so much media coverage to the W. I think it’s very well deserving as the WNBA has gotten little to no media coverage in previous years.” Being the new face of the W comes with much pressure and many responsibilities but Caitlin Clark is ready to tackle it all. Clark was drafted as the first pick to the Indiana Fever (Fever.wnba). Mr. Nangle, a teacher at Ramapo High School states, “Because of the kind of attention that Caitlin Clark has gotten in her senior collegiate season, more people will watch the WNBA that hadn’t before. So, it’s a good thing for women’s sports when they get that type of attention because it gets others to tune in and watch.” The Indiana Fever also got the first pick in the 2023 draft, Aalyiah Boston (olympics.com). The Fevers season opener will be held at the Mohegan Sun Arena versus the Connecticut Sun at 7:30 pm ET (fever.wnba).
The third and seventh overall picks have something in common after the draft. The two have officially gone from competitors to teammates! (sky.wnba) Kamilla Cardoso, who previously played for the University of South Carolina, and Angle Reese, who previously played for Louisiana State University, have been tough competitors even towards each other and are not ones to shy away from aggression. The two are now ecstatic they get to play together as Cardoso As one states, “She’s a great rebounder, and I’m a great rebounder, we’re both great finishers around the rim and we can also pass the ball. I think it’s going to be really exciting to watch us together” (Chicagotribune.com).
A special moment for one of the draftees occurred the night of the draft as well. Kate Martin, a previous Iowa Women’s Basketball player, headed to the draft just to support her former teammate/best friend Caitlin Clark. Sitting in the audience nothing was expected but to support her best friend entering the W. Except, the unexpected happened and Martin ended up being drafted to the Aces as the 18th pick in the second round (Ftw.usatoday.com) and officially made it to the final roster (Apnews.com).
Making it to the WNBA is a major accomplishment as there are only 144 roster spots among the 12 teams (Pressharold.com). The majority of the spots on the 12 teams will be taken by players who have already been on the team as well as the first-round picks. In the 2023 draft, only 19 of the picks were eligible to play in at least one game (Boston.com). Now that all of the roster spots have been decided, did your favorite draftee make it to the W?
