American Conference/ Ben Solomon

Women's Basketball

Four American Players Projected To Be Picked In First Round of WNBA Draft

TOMORROW NIGHT...
dreams will come true for several women's basketball players from The American.#WNBAdraft

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UConn's Moriah Jefferson, Breanna Stewart, Morgan Tuck, and USF's Courtney Williams have all been invited to Thursday night's WNBA Draft at Mohegan Sun Arena and all four are projected to be taken in the first round.

Breanna Stewart is a favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the draft. Stewart led UConn to four consecutice NCAA Championship titles and was named the Final Four Most Outstanding Player all four years. On Dec. 9 Stewart became the only player in NCAA history to reach 300 career blocks and 300 career assists. She is also the seventh NCAA Division I women's player with 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 200 assists, 200 steals and 200 blocks.

On most draft boards Moriah Jefferson is seen as the No. 2 pick. Jefferson won four NCAA National Championships with UConn and was named the 2016 Dawn Staley Award Winner and 2016 Nancy Lieberman Award Winner. Jefferson became the sixth-ever Husky to be chosen as the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year when she earned the accolade on March 3. The Glenn Heights, Texas native has enjoyed a stellar senior campaign, averaging 12.6 points in 30.5 minutes per game.



The third Husky projected to go in the first round of this year's draft is senior Morgan Tuck who was a huge contributor in UConn's four straight National Championships. Tuck was a 2016 American Athletic Conference All-Conference First Team selection and was third on the Huskies in scoring (12.3) and third in The American in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.5), trailing teammates Jefferson and Stewart. Tuck also received the 2016 American Athletic Conference Sportsmanship Award.

USF's Courtney Williams earned WBCA All-America honors and was an AP All-America Honorable Mention. She was also a Wade Trophy Finalist and on the final ballot for the John R. Wooden Award. Williams was a unanimous American Athletic Conference First Team selection and earned a spot on the American Athletic Conference All-Tournament Team.

Williams ended her career shattering her own single-season points record with 763 points.