Priya Cooper / Asst. Sports Editor

On April 15, 2024, the 28th annual Women’s NBA draft was held in Brooklyn, New York at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The event was sold out for the first time in years and drafted 36 female athletes into the professional league. 

  Caitlin Clark, a point guard from the University of Iowa played a huge role in elevating the popularity and attention to the draft. Cameron Brink from Stanford, Aalliyah Edwards from UConn and Angel Reese from LSU were also very popular players, coming off this season who made a debut in the first round of picks. 

   Clark is currently a senior at Iowa, earning her bachelor’s degree in marketing, and was the most anticipated prospect in league history. She was the No. 1 pick in the entire draft, chosen by the Indiana Fever. Clark recently competed in the Women’s Division 1 NCAA tournament and helped lead her team to the final round of March Madness, before losing the championship to South Carolina. 

  Clark’s performances have not only earned her individual achievements but have also generated considerable buzz around women’s basketball. Her ability to draw attention to the sport through her style of play has helped raise the profile of women’s basketball and attract new fans to the game. 

  Indiana  Fever  finished their season ranked 10th in the 2023 season, and since the announcement of Clark’s commitment, the Instagram account of Indiana Fever has nearly doubled in following. Clark has created positive publicity and attraction toward women’s sports and the WNBA in general, as it is often overshadowed by the NBA. 

  This week Clark sat down with ESPN sports telecaster Holly Rowe to discuss WNBA expectations through ESPN. 

     “My    expectation    is    to  be one of the best players in the world one day… I think I wouldn’t expect anything less than that. That’s just kind of how I go about my business. And I think if I didn’t expect that people around me would be like, you’re selling yourself short, because that’s how much they believe in me, but also, they know how much work I put in and I think, just enjoy it.”

     In addition to Clark, a lot of fan favorites throughout the NCAA tournament were signed to incredible teams this past week.  Aliyah Boston, an alumni for the University of South Carolina, was also chosen by the Indiana Fever as the No. 1 pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft and will be playing with Clark this season. Second pick in the draft was Cameron Brink, selected by the Los Angeles Sparks. Brink is known for being one of the top defensive players in the nation. Third pick was Kamilla Cardoso from the University of South Carolina, selected by Chicago Sky. Cardoso became pivotal after the graduation of Aliyah Boston and excelled at getting more efficient despite the extra minutes and leading the Gamecocks to the national championship this year. 

  Fourth pick was  Rickea Jackson who formerly played for Tennessee and also signed to the Sparks with Brink. Fifth was Jacey Sheldon from Ohio State chosen by the Dallas Wings. The remaining players of the first draft were (6) Aaliyah Edwards to Washington Mystics, (7) Angel Reese to Chicago Sky, (8) Alissa Pili to Lynx, (9) Carla Leite to the Dallas Wings, (10) Leila Lacan to Connecticut Sun, (11) Marquesha Davis to New York Liberty and (12) Nyadiew Puoch to Atlanta Dream.  

    The   rising   enthusiasm  around women’s basketball and sports as a whole continues, as new seasons begin and will feature  these players, as they start their professional careers. 

The WNBA welcomed 36 players through the 2024 draft. Photo courtesy of @wnba/Instagram