The colleges that have produced the most WNBA players

When Aliyah Boston was chosen number one overall in the 2023 WNBA Draft, she gave South Carolina its second first overall selection in the draft after Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson was taken there in 2018. While the Gamecocks have been among the standout women’s college basketball programs of the last decade, winning national titles in 2017 and 2022, they have not yet accumulated enough talent at the next level to crack the list below. These are the ten programs that have produced the most WNBA draft picks.

1. Connecticut – 45 players drafted
Highest pick: Round 1, Pick 1 – five times, most recent: Breanna Stewart, 2016 WNBA Draft
Leading scorer: Diana Taurasi – 10,108 points over 19 seasons

It’s not only impressive that five members of the UConn women’s program have been drafted first overall in the WNBA draft, while no other school has more than two. What’s also remarkable is all five – Sue Bird (2002), Diana Taurasi (2004), Tina Charles (2010), Maya Moore (2011), and Breanna Stewart (2016) – have been WNBA All-Stars and all have been named to an All-WNBA Team.

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2. Tennessee – 43 players drafted
Highest pick: Round 1, Pick 1 – two times, most recent: Candace Parker, 2008 WNBA Draft
Leading scorer: Tamika Catchings – 7,380 points over 15 seasons

There’s no question that the Lady Vols have produced their share of WNBA legends, such as Candace Parker and Chamique Holdsclaw. However, as the program’s March Madness success has waned in the post-Pat Summitt era, so too has its ability to send players to the W. The school has produced just one top five pick in the last 10 WNBA Drafts, just as many as Princeton, Middle Tennessee State, and Northwestern.

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3. Stanford – 30 players drafted
Highest pick: Round 1, Pick 1 – two times, most recent: Chiney Ogwumike, 2014 WNBA Draft
Leading scorer: Nneka Ogwumike – 5,861 points over 12 seasons

A handful of schools have had multiple number one overall WNBA draft picks, but Stanford is the only one to develop two from the same household. After growing up outside of Houston, Chiney and Nnena Ogwumike both went on to play for the Cardinal. Nneka was selected first overall by the Los Angeles Sparks in 2012, and Chiney followed two years later when the Connecticut Sun nabbed her with the first pick.

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4. Duke – 25 players drafted
Highest pick: Round 1, Pick 1 – Lindsey Harding, 2007 WNBA Draft
Leading scorer: Alana Beard – 4,740 points over 14 seasons

Having advanced as far as the national championship game, Duke is the highest ranked program on this list to have not won an NCAA women’s basketball national championship. They fell to then-conference mate Maryland 78-75 (more on that program in a minute) in 2006 with future number one overall WNBA draft pick Lindsey Harding in tow after also having gotten to the doorstep in 1999 before falling to Purdue.

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T-5. Baylor – 24 players drafted
Highest pick: Round 1, Pick 1 – Brittney Griner, 2013 WNBA Draft
Leading scorer: Brittney Griner – 5,017 points over 10 seasons

Perhaps more than any other school in the top ten, Baylor’s ascendance in terms of a launchpad for pro prospects is a recent phenomenon. The school has been the home of 10 picks in the last five WNBA drafts. That’s the most in the country and makes them the only school to crack double digits during that time.

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T-5. Georgia – 24 players drafted
Highest pick: Round 1, Pick 2 – Kelly Miller, 2001 WNBA Draft
Leading scorer: Deanna Nolan – 3,971 points over 9 seasons

One impressive thing about Georgia showing up on this list is its ability to send players to the W without producing elite talent on a regular basis. No school in the top 10 has a lower average draft pick than Georgia at 21.2. Also, Georgia’s four top ten picks in the history of the draft are tied for the fewest on this list.

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7. LSU – 22 players drafted
Highest pick: Round 1, Pick 1 – Seimone Augustus, 2006 WNBA Draft
Leading scorer: Sylvia Fowles – 6,415 points over 15 seasons

Since the Washington Mystics took LaSondra Barrett with the tenth overall pick in 2012, LSU has not had a single player taken in the first round. You won’t catch any fans of the program crowing about that, though. The school just capped off a 34-2 season by winning its first national championship, and has two players in Angel Reese and Hailey Van Lith who stand a strong chance of having their names called in the first round of the 2024 WNBA Draft.

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T-8. Maryland – 21 players drafted
Highest pick: Round 1, Pick 2 – two times, most recent: Diamond Miller, 2023 WNBA Draft
Leading scorer: Kristi Toliver – 4,474 points over 14 seasons

For the Terrapins, first rounds tend to come in pairs. Diamond Miller and Abby Meyers were selected in the first round of the 2023 WNBA Draft, the program’s first first round selections since 2017, when another two players were taken, Shatori Walker-Kimbrough and Brionna Jones. The school also had multiple first round picks in 2008 and 2009, though strangely none in 2006 or 2007 when the school was fresh off winning the 2006 national championship.

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T-8. North Carolina – 21 players drafted
Highest pick: Round 1, Pick 5 – Nikki Teasley, 2002 WNBA Draft
Leading scorer: Camille Little – 3,551 points over 13 seasons

Long overshadowed by its storied men’s program, the UNC women’s team has carved out a significant legacy of its own right in terms of sending players to play professionally. Nine UNC players have been taken in the first round of the WNBA Draft, most recently Stephanie Watts, who went 10th overall to the Los Angeles Sparks in 2021. The school’s most prolific professional scorer, Camille Little, was a second rounder in 2007 who played for five teams over 13 years in the league.

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T-8. Rutgers – 21 players drafted
Highest pick: Round 1, Pick 2 – Cappie Pondexter, 2006 WNBA Draft
Leading scorer: Cappie Pondexter, 6,811 points over 13 seasons

It’s dubious that the success of women’s basketball programs in turning players into professionals played a role in the Big Ten’s decision to add two programs in 2014. That said, it’s notable that the only two Big Ten schools to make this list are – until a coterie of Pac-12 emigres joins in 2024 – the conference’s newest additions. Rutgers’ group of former players turned pros has an unquestionable leader in Cappie Pondexter. The second overall pick in 2006, Pondexter was a WNBA All-Star seven times and finished her career with nearly twice as many points as any other Rutgers product in league history.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 20th, 2023 at 11:39 am and is filed under Top 10 Lists. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.