Tag: aari mcdonald

2021 WNBA Mock Draft Version 1.0

Charli Collier - Texas women's basketball
~ Aneela Khan ~ Leave a comment

It’s that time of year again! The WNBA Draft is in three months, which means it’s time to start releasing my version of the WNBA Mock Drafts. This draft class is not as deep or strong as last year’s class and some players may or may not change their mind about staying an extra year so there’s a layer of uncertainty surrounding the draft this year. It’s not as clear cut as it was in previous years. With a ton of cancellations/postponements in the women’s college basketball season, a lot of coaches/GM’s can’t evaluate players as well as they would like, so it shall be interesting on how they draft players this year.

I have put explanations for the top 5 picks and left the rest in ranking form. Keep in mind, I will have three more versions of this draft before a final WNBA Mock Draft that will come out one week before the actual draft. As always, I look forward to reading your comments / disagreements on my WNBA Mock Draft, so comment away and let me know what you think of my first version of the WNBA Mock Draft.

2021 WNBA MOCK DRAFT VERSION 1.0

FIRST ROUND

  1. New York Liberty – Charli Collier – Texas

The New York Liberty have the first pick for the second straight year after they selected Sabrina Ionescu with the first pick last year. For the first overall pick, teams should select the best player available regardless of position. This year, that player is Charli Collier from Texas. She’s got a ton of potential to be really great and a future star player. She will not be as pro ready as Sabrina Ionescu or some other former No. 1 overall picks, but she is, in my opinion, the best player to be taken overall and the Liberty should pick her.

2. Dallas Wings – Aari McDonald – Arizona

The Dallas Wings are loaded with so many talented young players and are a team on the rise. They’ve got promising young stars in Bella Alarie, Arike Ogunbowale, Satou Sabally, just to name a few. As the team that will pick second, it’s hard to ignore the talent of Aari McDonald and is just too hard to pass up. Aari McDonald is a great scorer and has become better every year and has helped Arizona reach top 10 in the AP rankings and put Arizona on the map. Aari McDonald won’t be asked for a lot as the Wings already have a loaded roster, but she can help the bench and give them a good guard off the bench. She may or may not get minutes right away, but is absolutely deserving of the second overall pick.

3. Atlanta Dream – Rennia Davis – Tennessee

The Atlanta Dream have a mix of a ton of great veteran forwards in Elizabeth Williams, Glory Johnson as well as young forwards/centers in Monique Billings and Kalani Brown. However, they could still use some great back up off the bench and for the third overall pick, that belongs to Rennia Davis of Tennessee. She has gotten better over the years and has been a consistent and steady player for the Lady Vols this season. The Dream could always use some help in the center/forward position off the bench and Rennia Davis is the perfect player for it.

4. Indiana Fever – Dana Evans – Louisville

The Indiana Fever have some great young star guards in Kelsey Mitchell, Tiffany Mitchell, Julie Allemand and veteran star Erica Wheeler. However, they could use a point guard off the bench to help lead the bench and this where Dana Evans comes in. Dana Evans has been on a tear lately to help lead Louisville and she’s been the leading guard off some very promising young future star freshmen in Hailey Van Lith and Oliva Cochran. She’s been a great leader for them and she can help do the same for the Indiana Fever. She may or may not get minutes right away and she may struggle early as some rookies do, but she is a great fit for the Indiana Fever.

5. Dallas Wings (via the Washington Mystics) – Awak Kuier – Finland

The Dallas Wings already have the second pick and now are selecting fifth overall. Awak Kuier of Finland is just 19 years old and has already garnered so much attention overseas in international competition. She has just got some potential that it’s hard to see her not drafted top 5. She may or may not go earlier than fifth overall but if the Wings get lucky, they definitely should draft her despite being already loaded at the forward/center position. Since this season be filled with uncertainty, there’s a chance she may not show up at all and the Wings could have her next season. We just don’t know yet. But we do know that, there have been great international picks in the past (Liz Cambage and Lauren Jackson) come to mind and Awak Kuier seems to be another future great international draft pick.

6. Phoenix Mercury – Michaela Onyen

7. Dallas Wings – Arella Guirantes –

8. Chicago Sky – Destiny Slocum –

9. Minnesota Lynx – N’dea Jones-

10. Los Angeles Sparks – Janelle Bailey –

11. Seattle Storm – Chelsea Dungee –

12. Las Vegas Aces – Kiana Williams –

SECOND ROUND

  1. Dallas Wings – Ciera Johnson – Texas A&M
  2. Indiana Fever – Jenna Staiti – Georgia
  3. Atlanta Dream – Aaliyah Wilson – Texas A&M
  4. Dallas Wings – Natasha Mack – Oklahoma State
  5. New York Liberty – Kysre Gondrezick – West Virginia
  6. Connecticut Sun – Jaelynn Penn – Indiana
  7. Chicago Sky – Erin Boley – Oregon
  8. Connecticut Sun – Chloe Bibby – Maryland
  9. Indiana Fever – Destiny Pitts – Texas A&M
  10. Los Angeles Sparks – Hailey Brown – Michigan
  11. Seattle Storm – Ali Patberg – Indiana
  12. Las Vegas Aces – Kristin Scott – Iowa State

THIRD ROUND

  1. New York Liberty – Kayla Jones – Louisville
  2. Indiana Fever – Didi Richards- Baylor
  3. Atlanta Dream – Que Morrison – Georgia
  4. Dallas Wings – Jenn Wirth – Gonzaga
  5. New York Liberty – Nancy Mulkey – Rice
  6. Connecticut – Bethy Mununga – South Florida
  7. Chicago Sky – Lindsey Pulliam – Northwestern
  8. Phoenix Mercury – Jasmine Walker – Alabama
  9. Minnesota Lynx – Lauren Heard – TCU
  10. Los Angeles Sparks – Moon Ursin – Baylor
  11. Seattle Storm – Jill Townsend – Gonzaga
  12. Las Vegas Aces – Lexi Gordon – Texas Tech

Women’s College Basketball Players Rankings – Class by Class! Week 3

Brynna Maxwell of Utah Women's Basketball.
~ Aneela Khan ~ 3 Comments

Another week has gone by and more games were either cancelled or postponed. Some teams did not play this week and some teams finally played a game! (Connecticut). A couple of teams were upset this week and it is going to be an interesting season, that’s for sure. Listed below are the top 36 seniors, the top 27 juniors, the top 18 sophomores and the top 9 freshmen for the week of December 7th to December 13th. You can view last week’s rankings here. Have questions or if it is your first time viewing these rankings, read the FAQ page first.

SENIORS

  1. Aari McDonald – Arizona
  2. Chelsea Dungee – Arkansas
  3. Dana Evans – Louisville
  4. DiJonai Carrington – Baylor
  5. Selena Lott – Marquette
  6. Michaela Onyenwere – UCLA
  7. Lindsey Pulliam – Northwestern
  8. Chelsey Perry – UT Martin
  9. Kayla Jones – NC State
  10. Lauren Heard – TCU
  11. Vivian Gray – Texas Tech
  12. Jenna Staiti – Georgia
  13. Amber Ramirez – Arkansas
  14. Aaliyah Wilson – Texas A&M
  15. Kiara “Kiki” Smith – Florida
  16. Chloe Lamb – South Dakota
  17. Tina Stephens – Kansas
  18. Gina Conti – Wake Forest
  19. Tiana Mangakahia – Syracuse
  20. Jenn Wirth – Gonzaga
  21. Moon Ursin – Baylor
  22. Kiana Williams – Stanford
  23. Natalie Chou – UCLA
  24. Blanca Millan – Maine
  25. Braxtin Miller – Ohio State
  26. Elle Ruffridge – Missouri State
  27. Deja Church – DePaul
  28. LeAnne Wirth – Gonzaga
  29. Lore Devos – Colorado State
  30. Brooke Bjelko – Bryant
  31. Cierra Walker – Gonzaga
  32. Sierra Campisano – Cal Poly
  33. Mallory McGwire – Boise State
  34. Carol-Anne Obusek – UNC Wilmington
  35. Dora Goles – Idaho State
  36. Tiyah Johnson – Troy

JUNIORS

  1. Elissa Cunane – NC State
  2. Charli Collier – Texas
  3. Ashley Joens – Iowa State
  4. Naz Hillmon – Michigan
  5. Sonya Morris – DePaul
  6. Nia Clouden – Michigan State
  7. Dorka Juhasz – Ohio State
  8. Taylor Mikesell – Oregon
  9. Sam Haiby – Nebraska
  10. Veronica Burton – Northwestern
  11. Brooke Moore – Purdue
  12. Sydney Wilson – Missouri State
  13. Lotta-Maj Lahtinen – Georgia Tech
  14. Olivia Nelson-Ododa – Connecticut
  15. Leigha Brown – Michigan
  16. Cate Reese – Arizona
  17. Sydney Manning – Missouri State
  18. Lexi Held – DePaul
  19. Kianna Smith – Louisville
  20. Rhyne Howard – Kentucky
  21. Rae Burrell – Tennessee
  22. Christyn Williams – Connecticut
  23. NaLyssa Smith – Baylor
  24. Alexis Morris – Texas A&M
  25. Blair Green – Kentucky
  26. Sydney Wood – Northwestern
  27. Ty Battle – Delaware

SOPHOMORES

  1. Brynna Maxwell – Utah
  2. Charisma Osborne – UCLA
  3. Maddy Siegrist – Villanova
  4. Ayoka Lee – Kansas State
  5. Cayla King – Virginia Tech
  6. Koi Love – Vanderbilt
  7. Alyza Winston – Michigan State
  8. Jacy Sheldon – Ohio State
  9. Shaylee Gonzales – BYU
  10. Dre’una Edwards – Kentucky
  11. Molly Davis – Central Michigan
  12. Francesca Belibi – Stanford
  13. Hannah Jump – Stanford
  14. Jakia Brown-Turner – NC State
  15. Michelle Sidor – Michigan
  16. Karisma Ortiz – Texas
  17. Sydney Taylor – UMass
  18. Caitlyn Harper – California Baptist

FRESHMEN

  1. Caitlin Clark – Iowa
  2. Te-Hina Paopao – Oregon
  3. Paige Bueckers – Connecticut
  4. Madison Scott – Ole Miss
  5. Hailey Van Lith – Louisville
  6. Olivia Cochran – Louisville
  7. Cameron Brink – Stanford
  8. Kamilla Cardoso – Syracuse
  9. JerKaila Jordan – Tulane

Women’s College Basketball Player Rankings – Class by Class! Week 13

emma guy boston college
~ Aneela Khan ~ 1 Comment

This week was once again filled with a lot of upsets which means the familiar faces that usually make the rankings list were not on it this week. Some teams like Oregon and South Carolina remained steady and there are some surprise colleges that played well this week such as Boston College. It was also SuperBowl weekend which means fewer teams played this week.

Listed below are the top 36 seniors, the top 27 juniors, the top 18 sophomores and the top 9 freshmen for the week of January 27th to February 2nd. First time viewing these rankings or have questions, please read the FAQ page. Click here to view the previous week.

SENIORS

  1. Sabrina Ionescu – Oregon
  2. Lauren Cox – Baylor
  3. Emma Guy – Boston College
  4. Ciara Duffy – South Dakota
  5. Crystal Dangerfield – UConn
  6. Kaila Charles – Maryland
  7. Brittany Brewer – Texas Tech
  8. Ruthy Hebard – Oregon
  9. Dominique Oden – Purdue
  10. Bella Alarie – Princeton
  11. Becca Hittner – Drake
  12. Kristen Spolyar – Butler
  13. Shadeen Samuels – Seton Hall
  14. Mikiah Herbert Harrigan – South Carolina
  15. Jordan Danberry – Mississippi State
  16. Mikayla Pivec – Oregon State
  17. Nicki Ekhomu – Florida State
  18. Jazmine Jones – Louisville
  19. Chante Stonewall – DePaul
  20. Nasrin Ulel – FGCU
  21. Roxy Barahman – Yale
  22. Bailey Greenberg – Drexel
  23. Sara Rhine – Drake
  24. Tagyn Larson – South Dakota State
  25. Jayla Scaife – Dayton
  26. Stella Johnson – Rider
  27. Fallyn Freije – Montana
  28. DJ Williams – Coastal Carolina
  29. Nneka Ezeigbo – Robert Morris
  30. Hayley Barber – Campbell
  31. Katie Toole – UC Davis
  32. Sarah Myers – Samford
  33. Ericka Mattingly – UMKC
  34. Kayla Robinson – Troy
  35. Alexes Bryant – Texas A&M – Corpus Christi
  36. Molly Glick – Northern Kentucky

JUNIORS

  1. Aari McDonald – Arizona
  2. Satou Sabally – Oregon
  3. Megan Walker – UConn
  4. Lauren Heard – TCU
  5. Rennia Davis – Tennessee
  6. Janelle Bailey – North Carolina
  7. Lindsey Pulliam – Northwestern
  8. Amber Ramirez – Arkansas
  9. Dana Evans – Louisville
  10. Khayla Pointer – LSU
  11. Aleah Goodman – Oregon State
  12. Kysre Gondrezick – West Virginia
  13. Kiana Williams – Stanford
  14. Temi Carda – Creighton
  15. DiDi Richards – Baylor
  16. Selena Lott – Marquette
  17. Jaelynn Penn – Indiana
  18. Kayla Jones – NC State
  19. Kayla Wells – Texas A&M
  20. Nancy Mulkey – Rice
  21. Jill Townsend – Gonzaga
  22. Brice Calip – Missouri State
  23. Macee Williams – IUPUI
  24. India Pagan – Stony Brook
  25. Aly Gamez – Fresno State
  26. Chelsey Perry – UT Martin
  27. Dayzsha Rogan – Jackson State

SOPHOMORES

  1. Naz Hillmon – Michigan
  2. Elissa Cunane – NC State
  3. Lexie Hull – Stanford
  4. Cate Reese – Arizona
  5. Christyn Williams – UConn
  6. Taylor Soule – Boston College
  7. Queen Egbo – Baylor
  8. Marissa Mackins – Temple
  9. Amari Young – Old Dominion
  10. Olivia Nelson-Ododa – UConn
  11. Jessika Carter – Mississippi State
  12. Taylor Mikesell – Maryland
  13. Shakira Austin – Maryland
  14. Destanni Henderson – South Carolina
  15. Kiana Williams – Bethune-Cookman
  16. Kendall Currence – Northeastern
  17. Nicole Johnson – Lafayette
  18. Laren Vanarsdale – Hampton

FRESHMEN

  1. Jasmine Powell – Minnesota
  2. Molly Davis – Central Michigan
  3. Zia Cooke – South Carolina
  4. Lavender Briggs – Florida
  5. Aislynn Hayes – Middle Tennessee
  6. Aliyah Boston – South Carolina
  7. Rickea Jackson – Mississippi State
  8. Jakia Brown-Turner – NC State
  9. Charisma Osborne – UCLA

Women’s College Basketball Player Rankings – Class by Class! Week 8

~ Aneela Khan ~ 1 Comment

As the end of the year winds down, we are now heading out of the non conference part of the schedule and into the conference part of the schedule. Some leagues have already begun conference play and conference play is usually a big indicator of which teams will qualify for the NCAA tournament in March. We are now also halfway through these rankings, which means we are now getting a feel of who the top players in the first half of the season are and what teams really stand out. This past week, coming off the Christmas break, some top teams did not play while a large majority of others did but only over the weekend. Which means that some of the top players usually listed in the rankings are not ranked this week.

If you have questions or are a first time reader to these rankings, I highly suggest reading the FAQ page for common questions. Click here to see the previous week’s rankings.

Listed below are the top 36 seniors, the top 27 juniors, the top 18 sophomores and the top 9 freshmen for the week of Dec. 23rd to Dec. 29th.

SENIORS

  1. Kaila Charles – Maryland
  2. Nausia Woolfolk – Florida State
  3. Japreece Dean – UCLA
  4. Jazmine Jones – Louisville
  5. Nicki Ekhomu – Florida State
  6. Beatrice Mompremier – Miami
  7. Chante Stonewall – DePaul
  8. Davion Wingate – Florida Gulf Coast
  9. Nasrin Ulel – Florida Gulf Coast
  10. Mikayla Pivec – Oregon State
  11. Alexis Tolefree – Arkansas
  12. Charity Savage – Middle Tennessee
  13. Jordan Danberry – Mississippi State
  14. Bella Alarie – Princeton
  15. Sara Rhine – Drake
  16. Katie Campbell – Gonzaga
  17. Abbie Wolf – Northwestern
  18. Amber Melgoza – Washington
  19. Ayana Mitchell – LSU
  20. Brittany Brewer – Texas Tech
  21. Jaylyn Agnew – Creighton
  22. Nadia Fingall – Stanford
  23. Barbara Johnson – Seton Hall
  24. Jaelyn Brown – California
  25. Kat Tudor – Oregon State
  26. Stephanie Jones – Maryland
  27. Jackie Benitez – James Madison
  28. Camryn Buhr – Lehigh
  29. Jade Phillips – Charlotte
  30. Alexus Willey – UNC Greensboro
  31. Mariah Miller – Cleveland State
  32. Breanna Wright – Abilene Christian
  33. Lashann Higgs – Texas
  34. Alex Lewis – Seton Hall
  35. Dominique Oden – Purdue
  36. Roxy Barahman – Yale

JUNIORS

  1. Aari McDonald – Arizona
  2. Michaela Onyenwere – UCLA
  3. Chennedy Carter – Texas A&M
  4. Destiny Slocum – Oregon State
  5. N’dea Jones – Texas A&M
  6. Mykea Gray – Miami
  7. Ali Patberg – Indiana
  8. Lexi Gordon – Texas Tech
  9. Ellen Andrews – Yale
  10. Kate Cain – Nebraska
  11. Jill Townsend – Gonzaga
  12. Lorela Cubaj – Georgia Tech
  13. Tekia Mack – Rutgers
  14. Kai Crutchfield – NC State
  15. Ciera Johnson – Texas A&M
  16. A’Tyanna Gaulden – Arkansas
  17. Temi Carda – Creighton
  18. Kiara Smith – Florida
  19. Jenna Staiti – Georgia
  20. Hannah Sjerven – South Dakota
  21. Qadashah Hoppie – St. John’s
  22. India Pagan – Stony Brook
  23. Jenn Wirth – Gonzaga
  24. Kayla Jones – NC State
  25. Lauryn Miller – UCLA
  26. Hanna Hall – Buffalo
  27. Deja Church – DePaul

SOPHOMORES

  1. Cate Reese – Arizona
  2. Charli Collier – Texas
  3. Elizabeth Balogun – Louisville
  4. Lexi Held – DePaul
  5. Jessika Carter – Mississippi State
  6. Rae Burrell – Tennessee
  7. Aja Blount – Coastal Carolina
  8. Eva Hodgson – William & Mary
  9. Grace Berger – Indiana
  10. Elissa Cunane – NC State
  11. Lexie Hull – Stanford
  12. Jordyn Cambridge – Vanderbilt
  13. Kayana Traylor – Purdue
  14. Megan Abrams – Alabama
  15. Shakira Austin – Maryland
  16. Maggie Connolly – Princeton
  17. Joanne Allen-Taylor – Texas
  18. Taylor Sutton – Middle Tennessee

FRESHMEN

  1. Haley Jones – Stanford
  2. Taylor Jones – Oregon State
  3. Jordan Horston – Tennessee
  4. Sara Scalia – Minnesota
  5. Mackenzie Holmes – Indiana
  6. Haley Cavinder – Fresno State
  7. Jaylyn Sherrod – Colorado
  8. Molly Davis – Central Michigan
  9. Aliyah Matharu – Mississippi State