The international side of recent WNBA drafts has been in greater focus in recent years with teams often opting against popular college prospects to select players that many of the fans of the league do not know as well. The 2025 draft class will certainly have their share of internationals picked, although this class is not as deep quite as 2024’s group while 2026’s group (assuming no change to the rules) could end up having both star power and depth. International players might not be picked as early as projected on a talent basis as availability concerns for each summer are a factor, but they continue to be good value in the second half of the draft.
While the next CBA could alter which players are available in the draft each year, especially for Canadian players, this upcoming draft will still have players born in 2005 outside of the United States who are not residing or have never exercised intercollegiate eligibility there count as internationals. Those players are only eligible for the 2025 draft unless they subsequently exercise intercollegiate eligibility in the United States, pending any rules changes. Our list will be as comprehensive as possible, including discussing players who are likely to be far off the draft radar right now, to discuss basketball in a number of countries. Positions, nationality in terms of current national team leanings, and current club teams with country indicated if it is not the first nationality listed are included for each player along with birthdate. The list is not ordered as a prospect ranking and is instead grouped for context.
Ajsa Sivka, SF, Slovenia, Tarbes Gespe Bigorre (France), November 23rd
Focusing on development for the past few years, Sivka had her first chance at significant first team minutes this season and the early returns have shown why she has stayed a top prospect in this class over the years even with mainly summer national team play to evaluate her. Rather than playing in a less competitive first division league, she made the move abroad early, heading to Tony Parker’s academy at Lyon as only the third most highly regarded prospect in her year. Her first chances at top level play came when she joined Schio in Italy and she had a good game at the last Nike Hoop Summit. Even though she had fantastic performances over the summers, including with the senior national team, this was a critical season for her to get more chances during the club season and Tarbes in France has historically proven to be a great place for younger players to develop as the club competes with teams that have much more resources. She has demonstrated consistent scoring ability, excellent shooting, and flashes of the playmaking that should allow her to play primarily on the wing and not just at the power forward position that fits with her height.
Lea Bartelme, PG, Slovenia, Celje, December 30th
In the past, players being drafted directly from Slovenia or any of the other countries that send teams to Adriatic competition was completely expected, but it has now been ten years since it last happened. With so many players moving to elsewhere in Europe or trying the college route, Bartelme certainly would have had other options ahead of her draft year, but Celje is set up for her run the team and score when needed, remaining the powerhouse in Slovenia while trying to defend their Adriatic crown. Her statistics are even more impressive this season after fantastic work last campaign and it is hard to see what else she could do to cement her case before the draft. The worry may continue to be whether this competition level is enough for her to be drafted as she is still trying to earn opportunities with the senior national team, but it would be completely reasonable for a team at the end of the draft to use a pick to secure her rights for the future given her status as the youngest realistic draft prospect in the class.
Dominique Malonga, C, France, Lyon-Villeurbanne, November 16th
Having gone viral for her dunking at a younger age, Malonga was finally given consistent opportunities at the first division level last season and started to prove the potential that was apparent for years. Born in Cameroon, Malonga participated on Team Africa at the first Jr. NBA Championship as a youngster, but opted for France’s U16 team as she put on a show in 2021 before getting a chance to make a few cameos with Lyon. Needing more minutes than Lyon could give her in the first team, she went on loan to Tarbes Gespe Bigorre last season, showing her growth in all areas of the game and her return to Lyon has given her an even bigger spotlight. She also helped France qualify for the Olympics, where she was able to play a few minutes, and the likelihood that she will miss time to play for them could drop her draft stock even with their adoption of a more accommodating policy for training camp attendance. She still has room to grow on both the offensive and defensive ends so some WNBA teams may prefer that she waits to try out the league, but she is still a top prospect after some of the surer college options.
Marine Dursus, SG, France, Angers, August 25th
Even though teams generally do not typically carry a full twelve senior team players, France’s top division is a tough place for a younger player to break through due its depth compared to pretty much every other country. Like many top French prospects, Dursus attended France’s federal training program and was one of their top players in the second division until her graduation. She then signed with Angers in the top division and has gradually earned more time with them as a backup. This is now her second season with them and playing in European competition has given her the chance to shine, especially getting chances to shoot from the outside. She is probably still on the fringes of draft consideration, but whether she is able to up her scoring consistency for the rest of the season bears watching as well as whether improved playmaking can allow her to play at either guard spot in the future.
Annika Soltau, PF, Germany, Baden (Switzerland), March 25th
Not expected to be part of this draft class at this time last year, Soltau was set to be a big recruiting coup for Washington for this season. She had a solid performance at the last Nike Hoop Summit, increasing interest in what she could do at the college level. Instead of following through with her signature, she made the decision over the summer to play in Spain for Gernika. She ended up not getting the minutes or opportunities that were expected and she left the team after a few months. After becoming a free agent, she signed with Baden in Switzerland, which will give her all the minutes that she can handle, but the lower level of competition will make it harder to measure her recent development. The move might give her the opportunity to demonstrate the full range of her skills though as she has long envisioned herself to be a small forward at the highest levels. Since this will be her one chance in the draft, a team is likely to use a pick on her in the second half of the draft in the hopes that she gets on a path to maximize her potential.
Anastasiia Olairi Kosu, PF, Russia, Ekaterinburg, April 21st
Three years ago, Russia and Belarus were cut off from the worldwide basketball ecosystem after the invasion of Ukraine and there is no sign that the decision will be reversed anytime soon. As a result, it has been very difficult to assess the development of a player who had several fantastic tournaments as a youngster. Kosu’s emergence came in 2019 when she was 14 and leading Russia’s U16 team to win the European championship. She only played lower division club basketball the following season, but the pandemic wiped out the first chance to see her on the global stage in 2020. She started getting first team opportunities with Dynamo Kursk the following season and was able to deliver some fantastic performances playing up to the U19 level at the World Cup in 2021.
With Brittney Griner’s detainment discouraging most American women from signing in Russia and the financial sanctions placed on the country limiting some of the easy spending of the past, the league has dropped in level and she has joined Ekaterinburg, which is still the strongest team with three players with WNBA experience on their roster. While she has put up solid statistics, it is still difficult to see how that will translate to a higher level if she even has a desire to leave the country in the near future. There was also some hope when she made her debut that there was still a little bit of growth in her future that would allow her to stay at the power forward instead of possibly needing to downshift to small forward at the highest levels, but that did not appear to happen. This year will be her one chance in the draft though so teams in the second half of the draft will have to decide if picking her is a worthwhile move for the future.
Dominika Ullmann, SG, Poland, Uniwersytet Marii Curie-Sklodowskiej Lublin, November 28th
Some countries devote a significant portion of their basketball infrastructure towards developing younger players for the future. Poland has tried a few different sets of roster rules in recent years to balance that priority with keeping teams competitive when they face teams across Europe. One of the players who has benefitted from protected minutes for younger players in recent season, Ullmann has had a handful of scoring outbursts in her two years at the top level with Lublin, including strong games against tough opposition. While she will get plenty of chances over the rest of the season, she is not likely to move out of the fringes of draft consideration at this point and will be more of a name to watch in the future, especially if she improves her playmaking.
Karolina Ulan, SF, Poland, Gdynia, January 6th
One of the reasons that we try to be as comprehensive in these articles each year is that there are plenty of cases of players who were not considered notable prospects in the year that they turn twenty, but would warrant serious consideration even just one year later. Six of the fourteen players who entered the WNBA through the international route were never drafted and the other eight players were picked 12th, 12th, 16th, 22nd, 29th, 33rd, 33rd, and 35th, not counting the player who went undrafted as an international, but later went to college and got drafted after five seasons there. Before this season, Ulan had not made an appearance in Poland’s top division yet even though she had strong performances at the youth national team level. While she is still making the step up, Gdynia has given her increasing minutes in league play as she has been a solid addition to their roster. After this season, her development will continue to be monitored for a bigger role in Europe or beyond.
Julia Jeziorna, SF, Poland, Polkowice, December 6th
An interesting story to follow for the rest of the season when it comes to young players in Europe is what kinds of stats Jeziorna can put up in the six or so games that Polkowice is scheduled to play. She had moved to the league runners up for this season to take up many of the mandatory youth minutes. Disaster struck for the longtime powerhouse, which had survived the departure of a wealthy owner in recent years only to lose approximately $500,000 in funding from the municipality for this season. Unable to pay salaries, almost all of the players opted to depart for other opportunities, but Jeziorna has stayed for now and is the biggest name in a squad that has been backfilled from the reserve team. She responded with 23 points in their last game and will get all the shots she can handle when they finish out their campaign and that is the kind of opportunity that could help her in the future.
Jovana Jevtovic, C, Serbia, Darazsak (Hungary), September 4th
Hungary is another league that has mechanisms in place to guarantee playing time for young players, but Jevtovic has gotten an even bigger opportunity this season. She had been splitting time last season, getting as many minutes of garbage time that were available with historic powerhouse Sopron while practicing against stronger players and supplementing that with games in the second division. With the league expanding back out after a year with two fewer teams, Daraszak was able to join the competition and offer their youngsters opportunities against stronger opponents even though they were losing every game. Jevtovic has taken on the responsibility of being their leading scorer and gained invaluable experience for either returning to Sopron in the future or showcasing her ability to other more competitive teams.
Carlotta Zanardi, SG, Italy, Schio, March 15th
For top young prospects, where to spend critical years of development is often a difficult decision. Choosing between staying with a top team, which would have better resources and facilities and the chance to practice against top players, has to be weighed against getting as many minutes as possible, including by dropping to a lower division. A number of players are also choosing the college route to play against people their age during those years. Zanardi opted to challenge herself with a move to league powerhouse Schio this season after coming through the youth system at Brixia, including averaging double figures in scoring in the last two seasons at the top division level. As expected, that has meant mainly getting minutes when games are already decided, but she has been solid when given the chance, leaving her further on the fringes of draft consideration instead of putting up monster numbers on a team lower in the standings. She has been one of Italy’s better players at the youth national team level and has been given a chance to play for the senior national team now.
Post-College Players
Only seven players have ever been drafted fitting this description, players who have left college and played elsewhere before being available for a WNBA draft, leaving them available in a future draft, but Maria Conde being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the Expansion Draft did serve as a reminder that players can be picked well after they leave college. The reduction of players who played during the 2020-21 college season that did not count towards eligibility, but still have eligibility beyond the 2024-25 season should at least decrease confusion about whether some players have declared already.
The next CBA could also change draft rules enough that how this section works could change. For now, players who were born in 2003 and already left college in the United States as well as any players who were born in either 2002 or 2004 or later, but first exercised their intercollegiate eligibility at any time in 2021, would be considered part of this group. Players who could have declared for the 2024 draft, but did not and played professional basketball afterwards would also be in this draft, but a final list of players who declared for that draft was never released.
Claudia Soriano, PG, Spain, Northeastern, Ensino Lugo
A Spanish youth team player, Soriano opted to play for Northeastern to start her college career in 2021 after a season in the country’s third division with Almeda where she showed some scoring prowess. She had an excellent season, including being named CAA Rookie of the Year, but decided to head back to Spain to start her professional career. Her first destination was Ferrol in the second division and she helped them finish in first place to secure a spot in the top division. She had another solid campaign with them last season, helping them reach the playoffs. After a strong end to the season, she moved to Lugo this season to play for Ensino, an established team that was able to give her more minutes and playmaking responsibility. That timeline puts her in the upcoming draft class, although probably with a little less notoriety than she would have had if she continued on the college path, and Spain’s national team recognized her progress with a callup for this final EuroBasket qualifying window.
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