WNBA Draft winners and losers: UCLA seniors, Cathy Engelbert, Azzi Fudd

Here is our best attempt to sort through the winners and losers of the 2026 WNBA Draft. Winner: UCLA This was a given heading into the draft, and the Bruins delivered. Six players were selected among the first 18 picks, as UCLA set a record for first-rounders (five) from one school and total draftees (six) from the same program.

It was a banner night for the program just eight days after winning a national championship, another celebration of what the Bruins have accomplished in building their program. The last two UCLA selections — Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker — played only one season in Los Angeles and essentially served as walking advertisements for coach Cori Close as she and her staff work the transfer portal. The Bruins’ glow extends to those who even pass through the program on their way to the WNBA, a useful reminder for rising seniors who are making their decisions about where to play next season.

Loser: Whoever didn’t invite Charlisse Leger-Walker The theme of UCLA’s season was the joy the Bruins derived from playing with and for each other. To exclude one of their six players from the experience of being invited to the draft, and all the goodies that come along with that, is a misunderstanding of why UCLA was so good. It’s not as if Leger-Walker’s prospects were significantly worse than her teammates’; she was taken three picks after Kneepkens and before another green room invitee.

It doesn’t appear that there was room for only 15 tables at The Shed. The WNBA could have easily made room for Leger-Walker, and if the group became too Bruins-heavy, that is an accurate reflection of their season and the caliber of that team. Winner: Azzi Fudd The No.