As time expired in the NCAA Women’s National Championship game, ESPN broadcaster Ryan Ruocco capped the call with a punchy line – “The final Paige in the Book of Bueckers is title No. 12 for UConn.”
Except for one thing. The Book of Bueckers isn’t a finished work just yet.
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Fast-approaching is Paige Bueckers’ promotion to the pros. The WNBA Draft is on Monday, April 14, at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.
As Ruocco noted, Bueckers did punctuate her collegiate basketball career last weekend by contributing 17 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists to UConn’s 82-59 win over South Carolina, which awarded the Huskies, and coach Geno Auriemma, their 12th national title in school history and first since 2016.
That performance in Tampa concluded Beuckers’ collegiate legend at the height of the basketball world. It’s likely not the last time she’ll be at the top with Monday nearing.
Next stop, Dallas?
April 6: Connecticut guard Paige Bueckers (5) celebrates with her teammates after the Huskies’ national championship victory against South Carolina at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
Where is Paige Bueckers projected to be selected in the 2025 WNBA Draft?
The Dallas Wings have the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft on Monday. The Wings are coming off a 9-31 season last summer.
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USA Today, The Athletic, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo and ESPN all have Bueckers, a 23-year-old combo guard, as the consensus top prospect and a soon-to-be Dallas Wing.
The Seattle Storm (No. 2), Washington Mystics (No. 3 and 4) and Golden State Valkyries (No. 5) – the league’s new expansion team – round out the order at the top of the draft.
Paige Bueckers stats at UConn
The 6-foot Bueckers averaged 19.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists on 53.4% shooting from the field and 41.9% from beyond the arc this past season.
Bueckers departs UConn as the program’s leader in career average (19.8 points), ranking third in all-time scoring with 2,439 points in 123 total games. She had the most points in the NCAA tournament of any Husky in school history with 477 in 22 games.
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She won back-to-back Big East Player of the Year awards after being sidelined for the entirety of her junior season in 2022-23 with an ACL injury.
When is the WNBA Draft?
The WNBA Draft is on Monday, April 14 at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.
Bueckers’ UConn teammate Azzi Fudd, another highly-regarded pro prospect, opted to return to the Huskies next season.
USC’s Kiki Iriafen, Notre Dame’s Sonia Citron, LSU’s Aneesah Morrow and Dominique Malonga, of France, are also projected to be top picks in the draft.
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: WNBA mock drafts have UConn’s Paige Bueckers as the projected top pick
