Thirty-six new players were called up to the WNBA in 2022, including 34 from the NCAA Division I programs. Kentucky’s Rhyne Howard started the party when he took first place in the Atlanta Dream as the Wildcats’ first pick in the league.
It was a historic night for many schools, including Jackson State. Ameshya Williams-Holliday of the Tigers was HBCU’s first pick in 20 years when she went with the 25th pick for Indiana Fever. Jazz Bond became the North Florida WNBA’s first pick when she was picked by the Dallas Wings in the third round.
DRAFT HISTORY: The 8 players who took first place in the WNBA draft right after reaching the NCAA title games
Major conferences led the way with several selections. With seven picks each, the SEC and ACC tied for most conferences.
Top cats 😼 @UKAthletics
Rhyne Howard joins an exclusive group of Wildcats to be named #1 overall‼️ pic.twitter.com/uKwCgCAHHn
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) April 11, 2022
Here is a complete breakdown of the conferences:
| Classification | Conference | # of choices |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ACC, SEC | 7 each |
| two | big ten | 4 |
| 3 | 12 big | 3 |
| 3 | Pac-12 | 3 |
| 3 | Grand Orient | 3 |
| 5 | A SUN | two |
While the SEC and ACC picks were spread across 11 teams combined, the Big 12 and Big East had just one team – Baylor and UConn. While both schools had three picks in total, the Bears led with the most picks in the first round.
Here’s a look at schools with multiple choices:
| NO. OF CHOICES | SCHOOL | ROUND(S) |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | baylor | 1st round: 2, 2nd round: 1 |
| 3 | UConn | 2nd round: 3 |
| two | Louisville | 1st round: 1, 2nd round: 1 |
| two | NC State | 2nd round: 2 |
| two | LSU | 2nd round: 1, 3rd round: 1 |
Here is the full 2022 WNBA draft:
| Choice | Team | Player | School/Country | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlanta dream | Rhyne Howard | kentucky | G |
| two | indian fever | at Lyssa Smith | baylor | F |
| 3 | Washington mystics | Shakira Austin | Ms | Ç |
| 4 | indian fever | Emily Engstler | Louisville | F |
| 5 | New York freedom | Nyara Sabal | Oregon | F |
| 6 | indian fever | Lexie Hull | Stanford | G |
| 7 | Dallas Wings | Veronica Burton | Northwest | G |
| 8 | Las Vegas Aces | Mya Hollingshed | Colorado | F |
| 9 | Los Angeles Sparks | Rae Burrell | Tennessee | G/F |
| 10 | indian fever | egbo queen | baylor | Ç |
| 11 | Las Vegas Aces | Kierstan’s bell | Florida gulf coast | G |
| 12 | Connecticut sun | Nia Clouden | Michigan State | G |
| second round | ||||
| 13 | Las Vegas Aces | Khayla pointer | LSU | G |
| 14 | Washington mystics | Christyn Williams | Connecticut | G |
| 15 | Atlanta dream | Naz Hillmon | Michigan | F |
| 16 | Los Angeles Sparks | Kianna Smith | Louisville | G |
| 17 | Seattle storm | Elissa Cunane | NC State | Ç |
| 18* | Seattle storm | Lorela Cubaj | Georgia technology | F |
| 19 | Los Angeles Sparks | Olivia Nelson-Ododa | Connecticut | F |
| 20 | indian fever | Destanni Henderson | South Carolina | G |
| 21 | Seattle storm | Evina Westbrook | Connecticut | G |
| 22 | Minnesota Lynx | Kayla Jones | NC State | F |
| 23 | Las Vegas Aces | Aisha Sheppard | Virginia Tech | G |
| 24 | Connecticut sun | Jordan Lewis | baylor | G |
| third round | ||||
| 25 | indian fever | Ameshya Williams-Holliday | Jackson State | F |
| 26 | Phoenix Mercury | Maya Dodson | Notre Dame | F |
| 27 | Los Angeles Sparks | Amy Atwell | hawaii | F |
| 28 | Minnesota Lynx | Hannah Sjerven | south dakota | Ç |
| 29 | New York freedom | Sika Kone | mali | F |
| 30 | Dallas Wings | Jasmine Dickey | Delaware | G/F |
| 31 | Dallas Wings | jazz bond | North Florida | F |
| 32 | Phoenix Mercury | Macee Williams | IUPUI | F |
| 33 | Seattle storm | jade melbourne | Australia | G |
| 34 | indian fever | Ali Patberg | indian | G |
| 35 | Las Vegas Aces | Faustine Aifuwa | LSU | Ç |
| 36 | Connecticut sun | Kiara Smith | Florida | G |
* Traded Cubaj’s draft rights to New York for New York’s 2023 second-round pick.
