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Way-Too-Early 2027 WNBA Mock Draft Has a Franchise-Changer at No. 1
The conversation around the 2026 WNBA draft was defined by the uncertainty at the top, with as many as four prospects projected No. 1 in the weeks leading up to the draft.
However, that won't be the case in 2027. The class already has a clear headliner in USC's JuJu Watkins, a true franchise-changing talent.
Beyond Watkins, this group is loaded in the backcourt. If you're looking for a dynamic wing creator or a guard who can completely disrupt a game defensively, you'll find plenty of options here. Though the frontcourt depth is likely the worst since 2021.
This board is based on our projected draft order. Team fit isn't heavily factored in, and all comparisons are stylistic rather than career projections.
1. Portland Fire: JuJu Watkins, USC
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Position: SG/SF, Size: 6'1", Age: 20
Pro Comp: Maya Moore
Two-way players like JuJu Watkins don't come around often. She's one of the greatest WNBA draft prospects of all time, with the profile of a perennial MVP candidate and an All-Defensive candidate.
Watkins is an explosive athlete with a tight handle, elite deceleration and balance into pull-ups and the ability to get to the rim whenever she wants. She processes the game at a high level, too, consistently turning the advantages she creates into easy looks for others.
It's also almost unheard of for a high-usage perimeter creator to be this good on defense. Watkins is the best help defender in the country with an unbelievable ability to cover ground and time shots as a weakside rim protector.
The next step for her is efficiency. She carried a massive load through her first two seasons at USC, facing the most aggressive defensive coverages in the sport. That should change next season with more talent around. Watkins is set up to see cleaner looks—-both off the catch and off the dribble—than she's had at any point in her college career.
She still has two years of eligibility after missing the 2025-26 season with a torn ACL and could wait until 2028, but she's more than ready to make the jump.
2. Houston Comets: Madison Booker, Texas
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Position: SF, Size: 6'1", Age: 20
Pro Comp: Seimone Augustus
Madison Booker can get to her spot in the mid-range from just about anywhere, off just about any action. She combines that with elite athleticism in every direction, impressive body control as a finisher and real defensive upside.
Last season, she knocked down more pull-up mid-range jumpers than any prospect in the last 15 years outside of Paige Bueckers, per Synergy. She hit 47.4 percent of her pull-ups and 53.1 percent off screens.
The swing skill is the three-point shot. Booker's mid-range game is undeniable, but her upside hinges on whether she can become a consistent shooter on higher volume. Right now, the shot tends to flatten out from three—something you often see with premier mid-range scorers.
There's still room in the modern WNBA for high-volume mid-range creators, but for Booker to drive winning, the 3-point rate and decision-making will have to improve.
3. Toronto Tempo: Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame
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Position: PG/SG, Size: 5'6", Age: 21
Pro Comp: Jordin Canada with a scoring mentality
Hannah Hidalgo is without question the best guard defensive prospect we've ever seen. She can blow up any action at the point of attack and is even more dangerous as an off-ball defender.
At least on-ball, you know where she is. When Hidalgo's off the ball, you likely won't have a chance to react quick enough. Her hand eye coordination, lateral quickness and motor are all historic.
The bigger question is how her offense translates. The margin for error for a small guard is already thin, and so much of what she does efficiently comes in transition. Hidalgo will need to grow as a shooter and get stronger so she can add more velocity as a passer and play through contact.
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4. Washington Mystics: Mikaylah Williams, LSU
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Position: SF, Size: 6'0", Age: 20
Pro Comp: Supercharged Marina Mabrey
Another elite scorer, Mikaylah Williams is the most versatile shot-maker in the country. Last season, she shot 48.2 percent on pull-up twos, 45.3 percent on catch-and-shoot threes and 36.4 percent on pull-up threes.
Williams also brings real playmaking value out of ball screens. Not many wings can consistently hit cross-court skip passes the way she does.
There are real questions on and off the ball defensively, and her average burst makes it harder for her to consistently get downhill. Still, the scoring talent is real, and the passing gives her some real upside beyond just getting buckets.
5. Chicago Sky: MiLaysia Fulwiley, LSU
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Position: SG, Size: 5'10", Age: 20
Pro Comp: Brittney Sykes
If MiLaysia Fulwiley finally learns how to play with pace and use her left hand, there's a chance she could be the No. 2 prospect in the class. But it's even more likely her processing doesn't improve and she's just as streaky as a jump shooter, which keeps teams from drafting her this high.
Fulwiley's athleticism and creativity with the ball has always been one-of-one. She's a magician in the open court and her defensive playmaking is almost unfathomable at her size.
Fulwiley is only the second player in NCAA history to record a 6 percent steal rate and 6 percent block rate in the same season. The other was 6'2" Sarah Strong, per Stathead.
If Fulwiley ever figures it out, she's a superstar. If she doesn't, she's likely the ultimate bench spark plug. The only person that can stop her is herself.
6. Seattle Storm: Tessa Johnson, South Carolina
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Position: SG, Size: 5'11", Age: 21
Pro Comp: Allie Quigley
With Azzi Fudd and Gianna Kneepkens out of eligibility, Tessa Johnson is easily the best off-ball shooter in college basketball.
She's knocked down 50 percent of her spot-up threes on 187 attempts across her first three seasons. Defenses have to respect her at all times, and she punishes that by attacking hard closeouts to flow into her mid-range game.
There are limitations to what she can do as a pull-up 3-point shooter and driver, but the shooting is elite. Defensively, she projects somewhere between Fudd and Kneepkens.
7. Dallas Wings: S'Mya Nichols, Kansas
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Position: SG, Size: 6'0", Age: 21
Pro Comp: Aerial Powers with better feel
S'Mya Nichols is a dynamic pick-and-roll guard who's constantly looking to get downhill. She's got a solid first step, but it's her ability to pace shift that really gets defenders off balance, and they end up fouling her a ton.
Nichols' 79.9 percent free-throw rate is higher than any high-usage creator drafted over the last 15 years. She's a good passer, too, consistently drawing two to the ball and making the right read out of it.
The questions come off the ball. What does she look like if she's not the primary ball-handler? The shot has been solid but low volume, and the defense is still pretty inconsistent.
Nichols also hasn't played many top SEC and Big Ten opponents yet in her college career.
8. Golden State Valkyries: Chloe Kitts, South Carolina
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Position: PF, Size: 6'2", Age: 21
Pro Comp: Naz Hillmon
Chloe Kitts is an easy bet to have a long WNBA career as a solid role player. She's effective on both ends, with her team defense, rebounding, passing and play-finishing all projecting from average to above average.
Kitts has one year of eligibility remaining after missing the entire season with a torn ACL she suffered in October.
9. Los Angeles Sparks: Oluchi Okananwa, Maryland
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Position: SG, Size: 5'10", Age: 22
Pro Comp: DiJonai Carrington
Oluchi Okananwa plays basketball like Sonic the Hedgehog. She's the fastest player on the floor, is constantly moving on both ends, guards anyone and crashes the glass way like she's a big.
She's a dangerous transition scorer and a much-improved finisher in the half court. With an explosive first step, she slips through even the smallest openings, and her ability to contort, readjust and finish off gathers is elite.
The decision-making can get erratic, and she hasn't proven to be a consistent shooter over an extended stretch. But if those areas come along, it'll be hard to keep her off the floor.
10. Minnesota Lynx: Ashlyn Watkins, South Carolina
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Position: C, Size: 6'3", Age: 19
Pro Comp: Natasha Mack
Ashlyn Watkins is the best rim protector in the class and a 99th percentile athlete with a rare mix of length, speed and vertical athleticism.
The upside has always been there with Watkins, but her minimal offensive development and questions about her consistency make her an unknown early in the process.
11. Phoenix Mercury: Daniele Paunksnyte, Lithuania
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Position: PG/SG, Size: 5'10", Age: 18
Pro Comp: Layshia Clarendon
Daniele Paunksnyte is our early top international prospect in the 2027 class. Just days after turning 18 last summer, she scored a U20 EuroBasket record 43 points against Israel. She led Lithuania to their highest finish ever with a loss to Spain in the championship game.
Paunksnyte is at her best in pick-and-roll where she's incredibly dangerous as a pull-up scorer, finisher and passer. She controls the pace in ball screens and can toggle between creating for herself and finding her teammates.
To this point, Paunksnyte is mostly unproven against top European competition. She averaged 6.4 points on 36.8% shooting in 16.4 minutes in Lithuania's first division this year.
12. Indiana Fever: Clara Strack, Kentucky
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Position: C, Size: 6'5", Age: 20
Pro Comp: Ruth Riley
Clara Strack is 6'5", a good rim protector and has an unblockable post fadeaway. There are plenty of similarities between her and Elizabeth Kitley, who thrived under Kenny Brooks at Virginia Tech, but Strack's defensive upside gives us more confidence in her translation to the next level.
The biggest questions are whether she can make more accurate passes, hit free-throws consistently and extend her range to the three-point line. She's shot just 24.4 percent on 172 catch-and-shoot threes over the last two seasons.
13. Chicago Sky: Kymora Johnson, Virginia Transfer
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Position: PG, Size: 5'7", Age: 20
Pro Comp: Te-Hina Paopao
Kymora Johnson led Virginia to its first Sweet 16 since 2000, averaging 20.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists over a five-game run. But after head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton was fired following an internal investigation that revealed a toxic team culture, Johnson entered the transfer portal.
She's at her best in ball screens, with a strong feel for pacing, angles and setting up rollers as a passer. As a scorer, no player in this class attempts more pull-up threes than Johnson, and she's hit 35.5 percent of them over the last two seasons. She's even better off the catch, too, with deep range and the ability to shoot off movement.
But the weaknesses are what they are. At 5'7", she's undersized, projects as a negative defender at the WNBA level, lacks top-end explosiveness and can be inconsistent creating her own shot.
In a league that needs more reliable backup point guards, Johnson has a chance to carve out a role.
14. Chicago Sky: Talaysia Cooper, Tennessee
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Position: SG/SF, Size: 6'0", Age: 21
Pro Comp: Shenise Johnson
Talaysia Cooper is transferring to Ole Miss after two seasons at Tennessee, where she broke out, averaging 16 points per game. The outline of a WNBA player is there as an athletic, two-way wing.
But for as explosive as Cooper is, her 11.4 percent free-throw rate would rank among the lowest of any player ever drafted.
She did improve as a shooter this past season, though much of that was inconsistent on a game-to-game basis. Still, at 6'0" with her athleticism, defensive playmaking and willingness to shoot threes, there's something to work with.
15. New York Liberty: Zhang Ziyu, China
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Position: C, Size: 7'3", Age: 18
Pro Comp: Even Taller Teaira McCowan
If you've never heard of Zhang Ziyu or seen her play, here's the deal: that 7'3" listing isn't a typo. She's the tallest player in women's basketball history, and, as you'd expect, almost no one can stop her from scoring.
Two years ago, Ziyu dominated the FIBA U18 Asia Cup, winning MVP while averaging 35.0 points and 12.8 rebounds per game—often towering nearly a foot and a half over everyone else on the court. More recently, she put up 20 points and 11 rebounds against Emma Meesseman and the Belgium national team.
So why isn't she a surefire top-3 pick, or even higher? The concern is athleticism. Ziyu struggles to move, and it shows defensively. Despite her size, she's a liability in ball screens, doesn't block shots at all and any center is going to obliterate her in transition.
Regardless, a 7'3" prospect with this production is going to intrigue teams enough to hear her name called in the first round. At minimum, she's the most unstoppable sidelines out of bounds scorer the sport has ever seen, offering some unique situational value.
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