WNBA Draft 2016: Complete 1st-Round Results and Players to Watch

It was only a matter of time before it was made official: Breanna Stewart went No. 1 overall to the Seattle Storm during Thursday’s WNBA draft.

The leader of the national championship-winning Connecticut Huskies was taken with the top pick, and she will be the next in line of great players to play for Seattle. Plus, it gives point guard Sue Bird some help before she retires.

Following Stewart were her two teammates at UConn, with Moriah Jefferson taken by the San Antonio Stars and Morgan Tuck staying in the state she played college ball, going to the Connecticut Sun with the third pick.

The first round was quick and went about as expected, especially with the first five picks. Here's how the first round played out, and the players you should watch for next year.

1	Seattle Storm	Breanna Stewart	UConn	F
2	San Antonio Stars	Moriah Jefferson	UConn	G
3	Connecticut Sun	Morgan Tuck	UConn	F
4	Connecticut Sun	Rachel Banham	Minnesota	G
5	Dallas Wings	Aerial Powers	Michigan State	F
6	Connecticut Sun (via L.A.)	Jonquel Jones	George Washington	C
7	Washington Mystics	Kahleah Cooper	Rutgers	G
8	Phoenix Mercury	Courtney Williams	South Florida	G
9	Indiana Fever	Tiffany Mitchell	South Carolina	G
10	Chicago Sky	Imani Boyette	Texas	C
11	Atlanta Dream	Bria Holmes	West Virginia	G
12	New York Liberty	Adut Bulgak	Florida State	C

Aerial Powers—Dallas Wings

In my mock draft written Wednesday, I believed Powers would help Dallas make a deep playoff push.

The Wings made that happen, as they obviously feel the same. Powers was taken with the fifth pick and will be in Dallas along with Skylar Diggins.

Powers averaged 22 points and 9.2 rebounds last season. Not only was she a consistent force from inside the three-point line for Michigan State, but her presence in the paint was impeccable. That's what Dallas hopes she can bring to a team who made the playoffs without Diggins last year.

Dallas drafting Powers was also a huge moment for the Michigan State women's program, as the team tweeted on Thursday:

Courtney Paris led Dallas last year with 9.3 rebounds per game, while the next highest was Karima Christmas with five per contest. The Wings' plan is to win by rebounding and getting more scoring in the paint.

Dallas addressed both of those needs in a huge way on Thursday, and she'll be a cornerstone to usher in a new era for the Wings.

Rachel Banham—Connecticut Sun

The state of Connecticut came away winners Thursday.

Not only were the first three picks all UConn stars, but the Connecticut Sun were on the clock at No. 4. One pick after taking Tuck, they drafted Minnesota star scorer Rachel Banham.

Banham was the one who scored 60 points in a February game over Northwestern. She was already considered one of the best scorers in this class, but that game put her on the basketball map.

So much so, it even got the attention of Kobe Bryant:

The Sun could certainly use more scoring punch after last year. Kelsey Bone led Connecticut with 15 points per game last year, while Alex Bentley also scored 14.7 per contest. Adding someone like Banham, along with Tuck and sixth pick Jonquel Jones, is a quality trio that's going to make Connecticut a powerhouse in two years.

The Sun have fallen once before, but they'll soon be on the rise again.