Five Bruins invited to 2026 WNBA Draft

UCLA center Lauren Betts (51) defends during a NCAA basketball game between UCLA and Southern University on Sunday, November 23, 2025 at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, CA. LOS ANGELES - Fresh off a national championship , five Bruins have booked flights to New York to be there in person to hear their names called on Draft Day. Lauren Betts, Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez, Gianna Kneepkens and Angela Dugalic have all been invited to attend the 2026 WNBA Draft, where the next phases of their careers are set to begin.

The draft will be begin at 4 pm PDT on April 13, with the festivities kicking off with a special “Orange Carpet” event, where the invited athletes will have a chance to show off their personalities and introduce themselves to the WNBA world, per a release. Natty Champ in the building 🤩 2026 #WNBADraft presented by @StateStreetETFs SPY pic. twitter.

com/A3UhNEOVnj — WNBA (@WNBA) April 10, 2026 Charlisse Leger-Walker was the only one of UCLA’s six seniors that was not invited to the event, although Leger-Walker is still projected to be a high second round pick after a graduate season where she acted as the field general for UCLA’s championship-winning squad and averaged 8. 6 points, 5. 6 assists and four rebounds per game.

A team of seniors The greatest strength of the Bruins this season has been their wealth of experience due to the entire starting five plus their best option off the bench in Dugalic all being seniors or above. Winning the National Championship ➡️ WNBA Draft Gabriela Jaquez, Gianna Kneepkens, and Angela Dugalić touch down in New York ahead of the 2026 #WNBADraft ! Presented by @StateStreetETFs SPY pic.