Golden Era Players Spark NCAA's Hot New Team: 2026 Prospects!

Part of the fun of the NCAA tournament is envisioning how the game’s brightest stars will play on the next level. What would Azzi Fudd look like playing for the Lynx? Could Lauren Betts add to the young star power in Washington?

Or could an LSU reunion of Flau’jae Johnson, Angel Reese and Hailey Van Lith push Chicago back to the top tier of the league? To help you watch the tournament with a WNBA slant, we’ve created a watch list of stars who could be playing in the W this summer. However, this is not a mock draft for several reasons.

The WNBA Draft will likely feature several international players who are not playing in the NCAA tournament, including Spanish players Awa Fam and Iyana Martin. And, with no collective bargaining agreement signed yet, the start of the WNBA season and the usual calendar that it follows is still in flux. The WNBA Draft is scheduled for April 13, a week after the NCAA title game.

Still, the expansion draft, which will feature two new teams in the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo, and free agency are up in the air. Almost every player who is not on a rookie contract still needs to be signed, and each team’s needs are still uncertain because they don’t know who is on the team or how much they’re being paid. With all that in mind, here are the top WNBA prospects to watch as March Madness unfolds.