UCLA sets WNBA draft record with five first-round picks, six total selection

UCLA transformed a national title run into an unprecedented WNBA pipeline, sending five players into the first round and six overall in the same draft. Lauren Betts went No. 4 to the Washington Mystics, Gabriela Jaquez went No. 5 to the Chicago Sky, Kiki Rice went No. 6 to the Toronto Tempo, Angela Dugalic went No. 9 to the Washington Mystics, and Gianna Kneepkens went No. 15 to the Connecticut Sun. Charlisse Leger-Walker became the sixth UCLA player selected when the Connecticut Sun took her in the second round.

The sweep through the first round set two records at once. UCLA became the first school ever to produce five first-round picks in the WNBA draft, and the first to place six players in a single draft. The previous benchmark for first-round selections from one program was four, set by UConn in 2002 with Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Asjha Jones and Tamika Williams. Tennessee, Notre Dame and South Carolina each had five players drafted in a single year, but none matched UCLA’s concentration at the top of the board.

The timing made the feat more striking. UCLA won its first NCAA women’s basketball championship in program history on April 5, then watched its six graduates account for all 130 of the Bruins’ points in the Final Four. By the time the WNBA draft unfolded Monday night at The Shed at Hudson Yards in New York City, the Bruins had become the clearest example yet of how a dominant college season can feed directly into the professional game.

Cathy Engelbert announced the picks live on ESPN as Cori Close sat near her players, a tableau that captured how fully UCLA had converted recruiting, development and continuity into results. The Bruins had already been celebrated at Pauley Pavilion, appeared on Good Morning America and been honored in a campus championship celebration on April 8. One week after the title, the draft confirmed that UCLA was not just a one-year story, but a production line.

The broader significance reaches beyond Westwood. The WNBA is entering its 30th season, with the league set to tip off May 8, and the draft reflected a sport expanding in visibility, value and talent depth. In the NIL era, powerhouse programs are being rewarded not only for winning, but for retaining and showcasing elite players long enough to turn a roster into a professional-ready class. UCLA did all of that at once, and in the process set a standard that will be difficult for any school to match.