WNBA Draft 2019: Aces take Jackie Young No. 1, other prospects follow

Alexis Mansanarez

WNBA Draft 2019: Aces take Jackie Young No. 1, other prospects follow image

Jackie Young's draft stock rose over the course of the weekend.

After playing in the women's NCAA championship game Sunday and then declaring for the WNBA Draft a day later, many predictions had the Notre Dame junior as the top selection. 

The Las Vegas Aces sealed her fate Wednesday.

It was the third consecutive year the Aces had the No. 1 pick. Young joins a star-studded roster with former top picks Kelsey Plum and A’ja Wilson.

Young averaged 14.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 2018.

Young's teammates Arike Ogunbowale and Brianna Turner joined her as first-round picks. Ogunbowale, who hit the buzzer beaters in Notre Dame's 2018 semifinal and NCAA championship victories, was selected fifth overall by the Dallas Wings.

Turner joined the Atlanta Dream as the No. 11 pick, but was swiftly traded to the Phoenix Suns for pro Marie Gülich.

Notre Dame made history in the second round when its two remaining starters were picked, making this year's draft the first time five starters from one team were selected. Jessica Shepard was the 16th overall pick to the Minnesota Lynx and Marina Mabrey was selected No. 19 by the Los Angeles Sparks.

Two UConn players went in the first round. Katie Lou Samuelson was selected as the No. 4 pick by the Chicago Sky and Napheesa Collier was the sixth-overall pick by the Lynx.

Baylor center and 2019 NCAA champion Kalani Brown will start her WNBA career in Los Angeles. Brown, the daughter of longtime NBA journeyman P.J. Brown, was the seventh-overall pick.

"My parents always told me, 'you don't want to be known as P.J. Brown's daughter, make your own legacy, make your own path,'" Brown said.

Australian forward Ezi Magbegor went to the Seattle Storm, the 2018 WNBA champions, as the No. 12 pick to finish up the first round of the draft.

2019 WNBA Draft Results

First Round

1. Las Vegas Aces Jackie Young, Notre Dame
2. New York Liberty Asia Durr, Louisville
3. Indiana Fever Teaira McCowan, Mississippi State
4. Chicago Sky Katie Lou Samuelson, UConn
5. Dallas Wings Arike Ogunbowale, Notre Dame
6. Minnesota Lynx Napheesa Collier, UConn
7. Los Angeles Sparks Kalani Brown, Baylor
8. Phoenix Mercury Alanna Smith, Stanford
9. Connecticut Suns Kristine Anigwe, Cal
10. Washington Mystics Kiara Leslie , NC State
11. Atlanta Dream Brianna Turner, Notre Dame
12. Seattle Storm Ezi Magbegor, Australia

Second Round

13. Phoenix Sophie Cunningham, Missouri
14. New York Han Xu , China
15. Chicago Chloe Jackson, Baylor
16. Minnesota Jessica Shepard, Notre Dame
17. Dallas Megan Gustafson, Iowa
18. Minnesota Natisha Hiedeman, Marquette
19. Los Angeles Marina Mabrey, Notre Dame
20. Minnesota Cierra Dillard, University at Buffalo
21. Connecticut Bridget Carleton, Iowa State
22. Dallas Kennedy Burke, UCLA
23. Atlanta Maite Cazorla, Oregon
24. Seattle Anriel Howard, Mississippi State

Third Round

25. Indiana Paris Kea, North Carolina
26. New York  Megan Huff, Utah
27. Chicago Maria Conde, Spain
28. Indiana Caliya Robinson, Georgia
29. Dallas  Morgan Bertsch, UC Davis
30. Minnesota  Kenisha Bell, Minnesota
31. Los Angeles Angela Salvadores, Spain
32. Phoenix  Arica Carter, Louisville
33. Connecticut Regan Magarity, Virginia Tech
34. Washington  Sam Fuehring, Louisville
35. Atlanta  Li Yueru, China
36. Seattle  Macy Miller, South Dakota State

 

Alexis Mansanarez