(New York) Thursday night A’Ja Wilson the 2018 National Consensus player of the year was the number one overall draft pick in the WNBA Draft.
The #1 moment for the #1 overall pick, @_ajawilson22! pic.twitter.com/hnLICPbS6D
— WNBA (@WNBA) April 12, 2018
Selected by the Las Vegas Aces , the 6’5″ Forward from Hopkins, South Carolina also became the first player from the University of South Carolina to be selected number one in the draft. Last season Wilson led the Gamecocks to 29 wins against 7 losses and a spot in NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.
During the 2017-18 season at South Carolina Wilson averaged 22.9 points ,12 rebounds and blocked 3 shots per game. Those numbers should make an immediate impact in the league helping the Aces (formerly the San Antonio Stars) who finished last season with only 8 wins against 26 losses last season. She will be a big favorite when it comes to Fantasy WNBA and may be a good wnba optimizer for the teams.
The @OhioState_WBB star @Kelz_Hoop stays in the Midwest… @IndianaFever bound at No. 2!#WNBADraft pic.twitter.com/EHDeoCJAvz
— WNBA (@WNBA) April 12, 2018
The second overall pick in the 2018 draft was Ohio State Guard Kelsey Mitchell ; a 5’8″ Guard from Cincinnati, Ohio who was first team All Big 10 for four straight years and a three time Big 10 Player of the Year. Mitchell will be pretty close to home with her new team the Indiana Fever, who finished last season with a record of 9 wins against 25 losses. The Chicago Sky followed Indiana with two selections picking former Tennessee Volunteer Diamond DeShields and Uconn Forward Gabby Williams at numbers three and four. The Seattle Storm closed out the top five selections taking UCLA Guard Jordin Canada.
The #WNBADraft 2018 Round 1 results! pic.twitter.com/wzM9bCEDlf
— WNBA (@WNBA) April 13, 2018
Thursday night’s draft was packed with excitement as current NBA Stars reached out to the future WNBA stars with congratulatory messages adding more highlights to the festivities.
“No words, honestly…”@UConnWBB‘s @AzuraStevens modeled her game after @KDTrey5. After getting selected No. 6 to the @DallasWings, she got a message straight from her idol. #WatchMeWork pic.twitter.com/2bYXs8xcfq
— WNBA (@WNBA) April 13, 2018
2018 WNBA Draft Results :
First Round
1. Las Vegas Aces: A’ja Wilson, C, South Carolina
2. Indiana Fever: Kelsey Mitchell, G, Ohio State
3. Chicago Sky: Diamond DeShields, SG, Tennessee
4. Chicago Sky: Gabby Williams, SF, UConn
5. Seattle Storm: Jordin Canada, PG, UCLA
6. Dallas Wings: Azura Stevens, PF, UConn
7. Washington Mystics: Ariel Atkins, SG, Texas
8. Indiana Fever: Victoria Vivians, SG, Mississippi State
9. Connecticut Sun: Lexie Brown, PG, Duke
10. New York Liberty: Kia Nurse, SG, UConn
11. Los Angeles Sparks: Maria Vadeeva, C, Russia
12. Phoenix Mercury: Marie Gulich, C, Oregon State
Second Round
13. Las Vegas Aces: Jaime Nared, G/F, Tennessee
14. Indiana Fever: Stephanie Mavunga, F, Ohio State
15. Atlanta Dream: Monique Billings, F, UCLA
16. Atlanta Dream: Kristy Wallace, G, Baylor
17. Minnesota Lynx: Ji-Su Park, C, South Korea
18. Dallas Wings: Loryn Goodwin, PG, Oklahoma State
19. Washington Mystics: Myisha Hines-Allen, SF, Louisville
20. Phoenix Mercury: Tyler Scaife, SG, Rutgers
21. Phoenix Mercury: Raisa Musina, PF, Russia
22. New York Liberty: Mercedes Russell, C, Tennessee
23. Los Angeles Sparks: Shakayla Thomas, SF, Florida State
24. Minnesota Lynx: Kahlia Lawrence, PG, Mercer
Third Round
25. Las Vegas Aces: Raigyne Louis, SG, LSU
26. Phoenix Mercury: Imani Wright, SG, Florida State
27. Atlanta Dream: Mackenzie Engram, PF, Georgia
28. Chicago Sky: Amarah Coleman, SG, DePaul
29. Seattle Storm: Teana Muldrow, SF, West Virginia
30. Dallas Wings: Natalie Butler, C, George Mason
31. Washington Mystics: Rebecca Greenwell, SG, Duke
32. Las Vegas Aces: Jill Barta, SG, Gonzaga
33. Connecticut Sun: Mikayla Cowling, PF, Cal
34. New York Liberty: Leslie Robinson, SF, Princeton
35. Los Angeles Sparks: Julia Reisingerova, C, Czech Republic
36. Minnesota Lynx: Carlie Wagner, SG, Minnesota
Follow Trevin A Jones on Twitter : @UMTSportsreport