– ESPN2 to Televise First Round Live on April 14 at 7 p.m. ET –
NEW YORK, April 12, 2016 – Connecticut’s Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck, who this year became the first NCAA basketball players – male or female – to win four consecutive Division I championships, highlight the list of 12 prospects scheduled to attend WNBA Draft 2016 presented by State Farm on Thursday, April 14 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
ESPN2 will provide coverage and analysis of the first round beginning at 7 p.m. ET, and ESPNU will air coverage of the second and third rounds starting at 8 p.m. ET. In addition, the draft will be available through WatchESPN, which is accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and connected devices to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider. WNBA Draft 2016 presented by State Farm comes one month before tip-off of the WNBA’s historic 20th season, which opens on Saturday, May 14.
The Seattle Storm holds the top pick in the draft for the second consecutive year and the fourth time in franchise history after winning the WNBA Draft Lottery presented by State Farm last Sept. 24. The San Antonio Stars will select second, followed by two selections for the Connecticut Sun, which has its own pick at No. 3 and a pick acquired from the Atlanta Dream at No. 4. The fifth pick belongs to the Dallas Wings.
Last year, the Storm used the No. 1 overall pick to select Jewell Loyd, who went on to be named WNBA Rookie of the Year presented by Samsung and headlined the 2015 WNBA All-Rookie Team.
The draft, hosted by Mohegan Sun Arena for the third year in a row, is open to the public. Sun season-ticket holders will be admitted free of charge and have access to priority seating as well as a special opportunity to meet the Sun’s draft picks in attendance. Fans who are not season-ticket holders will be admitted with the donation of a canned food item at the door, which will benefit the New London Community Meal Center.
Stewart is the only player ever to be named the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player four times. No other women’s player has won the award more than twice, and only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did it three times on the men’s side. Stewart is also just the sixth women’s player to earn Associated Press All-America First Team honors three times. She was widely recognized as the nation’s top player, winning the Naismith Trophy, AP Player of the Year Award and Ann Meyers Drysdale Award in each of the past three seasons, and the Wooden Award in 2014-15 and 2015-16.                                                Â
Jefferson was a consensus All-America First Team selection for the 2015-16 season and the WBCA Defensive Player of the Year. She won the Nancy Lieberman Award as the nation’s top point guard in each of the past two seasons and earned the 2016 Dawn Staley Award as the most outstanding collegiate guard in the country. Jefferson also surpassed Diana Taurasi as the Huskies’ all-time leader in assists (659).
Tuck was selected to the AP All-America Second Team and the All-American Athletic Conference First Team in 2015-16, helping UConn finish the season 38-0. She scored a team-high 21 points in the Huskies’ victory over Oregon State in the national semifinal.
Also participating in the telecast of WNBA Draft 2016 presented by State Farm are guards Rachel Banham (Minnesota), Tiffany Mitchell (South Carolina), Courtney Walker (Texas A&M) and Courtney Williams (South Florida); forwards Kahleah Copper (Rutgers), Jonquel Jones (George Washington), Aerial Powers (Michigan State) and Talia Walton (Washington); and center Imani Boyette (Texas).
The current order for first round of the WNBA Draft 2016 presented by State Farm is as follows:
First Round
- Seattle (10-24)
- San Antonio (8-26)
- Connecticut (15-9)
- Connecticut from Atlanta (15-19) ( Williams, 2/3/16)
- Dallas from Los Angeles (14-20) (E. Phillips, R. Williams 3/1/16)
- Los Angeles from Dallas (18-16) (E. Phillips, R. Williams 3/1/16)
- Washington (18-16)
- Phoenix (20-14)
- Indiana (20-14)
- Chicago (21-13)
- Atlanta from Minnesota (22-12) (S. Fowles, E. DeSouza, D. Dantas, R. Gray, 7/26/15)
- New York (23-11)