NCAA Tournament Notebook: Who Is Rising in the 2024 & 2025 WNBA Draft?

The NCAA Tournament is in full swing, the Sweet 16 just a few days ahead after a respite this week. The best of the best competing in marquee games against one another is what it’s all about. While the top games should not take precedence over an entire body of work, they provide key data points and measuring stick opportunities. Stanford’s Kiki Iriafen has played at an All-American level all season, and dominated in the Cardinal’s round two matchup with Iowa State, highlighting her ability and potential on the big stage. Rickea Jackson continued to showcase why she’s a Top 3 pick.

Who else has made the most of March and what’s made them stand out?

2024 WNBA Draft

Helena Pueyo

While the Wildcats are no longer in the Tournament, Pueyo impressed the past few weeks as Arizona clawed their way into the field. In her 5th season in Tucson, this was Pueyo’s first year as a full time starter. She averaged just over 4 field goal attempts per game, always efficient and capable of spreading the floor, showcasing a high feel for the game and a strong ability as a playmaker.

Her volume didn’t increase much on a per minute basis early on, but since the start of February, Pueyo averaged 11.3 field goal attempts per game while maintaining high efficiency, averaging 14.5 points, 3.7 assists, and 5 combined steals and blocks while shooting 52.4 percent from the floor and 41 percent from three.

At 6 feet tall with a long wingspan, Pueyo is a phenomenal defender on and off the ball, as has long been showcased and highlighted. With her showing that she can handle more offense with increased confidence and equal efficacy, her viability as a prospect raises even more in my eyes. 

I think she’s best at guarding off-guards and being a menace off the ball, but the Wildcats’ matchup with Syracuse in the first round also highlighted her ability to stay in front of shifty guards, largely containing Dyaisha Fair when they matched up. That doesn’t necessarily reflect that she’ll be able to stay in front of the quickest lead guards at the next level, but her defensive dynamism and offensive proficiency should have her high on boards.

Leila Lacan

Lacan is one of my favorite prospects in the class, and someone who I feel has more upper pick prospects given how the class has shaken out. There’s always a sort of guessing game with overseas prospects; will they be ready to handle physicality full time? Will they come over? Will they get a real opportunity to develop? What does a player bring to solidify those opportunities?

Given how some of these teams are shaking out, I think betting on Leila early is more sensible now. If you’re not slated to be a team contending this season, I think it makes sense to bet on Lacan’s talent and upside, giving her a shot to perform and develop while recognizing that there’s going to be inconsistency, much like Seattle did this past season with Jade Melbourne (although I view Lacan as a better prospect at this stage than Melbourne was, for what it’s worth).

Lacan is such an interesting thinker of the game, great with angles and so poised. Handling strength and playing through contact has been inconsistent during French league play, which is understandable, but she’s shown even more in her ability to get into the paint since she returned from injury in late February.

She has some of that Marine Johannes swagger in her game, with the crafty passing, handle, and slick shot-making.

Continuing to iron out efficiency and growing into strength will be key, but her potential at 19 is mesmerizing. She has the upside to be one of the very best in the class.

2025 WNBA Draft

Aziaha James

James was key for the Wolfpack in the second round against Tennessee, finishing with 22 points and 7 assists without a turnover. She elevated her game late, lifting NC State when the offense died down as Tennessee tightened up. 

Aziaha was one of the most improved players in the country this season, alongside teammate and fellow 2025 prospect Saniya Rivers. She has great touch on her floater and a very crafty game inside the free throw line, adept and scoring in the lane and weaving through traffic. Her handle is wide-ranging and rhythmic, huge in setting up her ability to create space.

My biggest question and the largest one looming for her pro prospects is her jumper outside the free throw line. James shot 27% on jumpers from long mid-range (outside the free throw line and inside the arc) on medium volume, as well as 29% on above the break threes per InStat scouting. To fully unlock the impact of her scoring and playmaking, continuing to refine her shooting from distance will be key, and crucial to watch over the next year.

She brings so much to the table.

Talia von Oelhoffen

The Cardiac Beavers are a special team, with the air and feel of a group that just has it this season. Talia von Oelhoffen is a major reason why.

Depth and composure is what sets this team apart, and von Oelhoffen’s growth as an all around player has been a fulcrum of this team’s success. She’s a clutch shot-maker as she’s proven all year, adept playing out of pick and roll and the two player game. Her playmaking has set her apart, the lead initiator of Oregon State’s offense, a good passer in transition, smart and quick in the halfcourt, and capable of manipulating the defense with her eyes and handle. There’s room to keep growing her scoring efficiency, but it’s worth noting how often she’s tasked with taking shots in the waning seconds of a possession.

Her defensive versatility and baseline has seen the biggest jump this season, in my opinion. She guards any and everyone, often Scott Rueck’s answer to the most difficult offensive matchups, and she responds incredibly well each game. 

Talia has an incredibly strong base and uses her active hands and quick feet to guard up and down across lineups. Her screen navigation has really improved. She can hold her own in isolation and she’s active off the ball. She is absolutely a pro, and someone who has continued to elevate her status as a likely first round pick in my eyes for the 2025 WNBA Draft.

Sonia Citron

Notre Dame’s Citron has been a vital part of the Irish’s run to the Sweet 16, thriving in spite of a plethora of injuries across the roster. I’ve long been a fan of Citron as a player and draft prospect, and her past month has only supplemented her case as a pro.

After dealing with a knee injury that sidelined her for a significant stretch of the season, it took time for Citron to settle back in. She was still productive and impactful, but didn’t move fully like herself with a knee brace on. However, she’s back to herself over the past month, comfortable on court again, and moving fluidly. She’s a dynamic defender, showcasing her ability to guard a variety of positions and archetypes over the past few weeks with quick feet, a big wingspan, and legitimate size at 6’1.

Citron’s an excellent cutter, quality secondary ball-handler, has upped her volume on her three-point shot, and continues to assert herself as a scorer out of ball screens. She does great work out of Notre Dame’s Iverson series in the halfcourt, reads the floor well, and has fit in incredibly well playing off of and with Hannah Hidalgo.

Her versatility is incredibly intriguing at the next level, as she’s not just versatile in theory, but effectively versatile on both ends. I’m still putting together my primer for the 2025 WNBA Draft, but Citron is currently slated as an upper lottery pick.

Updated 2024 WNBA Mock Draft

***I made adjustments to this after publishing. I didn't love how it looked looking back on it. A reminder that this is not a projection of what I think will happen, just an exercise in trying to understand fit and development. It's not perfect by any stretch!***

1. Indiana: Caitlin Clark, 6', Iowa
2. Los Angeles: Cameron Brink, 6'4, Stanford
3. Chicago: Rickea Jackson, 6'2, Tennessee
4. Los Angeles: Georgia Amoore, 5'6, Virginia Tech
5. Dallas: Jacy Sheldon, 5'10, Ohio State
6. Washington: Aaliyah Edwards, 6'3, UConn
7. Minnesota: Leila Lacan, 5'11, Angers (French League)
8. Chicago: Kamilla Cardoso, 6'7, South Carolina
9. Dallas: Nyadiew Puoch, 6'3, Southside (WNBL)
10. Connecticut: Angel Reese, 6'3, LSU
11. New York: Celeste Taylor, 5'11, Ohio State
12. Atlanta: Isobel Borlase, 5'11, Adelaide (WNBL)
13. Chicago: Helena Pueyo, 6', Arizona
14. Seattle: Charisma Osborne, 5'9, UCLA
15. Indiana: Jaida Patrick, 5'10, Miami
16. Las Vegas: Esmery Martinez, 6'2, Arizona
17. New York: Jaz Shelley, 5'9, Nebraska
18. Las Vegas: Kiki Jefferson, 6'1, Louisville
19. Connecticut: McKenzie Forbes, 6', USC
20. Atlanta: Charlisse Leger-Walker, 5'10, Washington State
21. Washington: Carla Leite, 5'9, Tarbes (French League)
22. Connecticut: Alissa Pili, 6', Utah
23. New York: Matilde Villa, 5'7, Reyer Venezia (Italian League)
24. Las Vegas: Jakia Brown-Turner, 6', Maryland