Where UConn’s Paige Bueckers lands in latest ESPN WNBA Mock Draft

The Big East Preseason Player of the Year returns to the court for the first time in over a year since recovering from her ACL tear. Considering that Bueckers sat out last season, it makes sense for the first overall slot to go to one of the best players from last season.

But mocking Bueckers to the Mercury is interesting because she would play with another former Husky and 2004 No. 1 draft pick, Diana Taurasi. The UConn legend spoke about the possibility of playing with the talented guard.

Bueckers has a record of being injury prone, before tearing her ACL she was limited to 17 games in the 2021-22 season due to injury. But head coach Geno Auriemma said that Bueckers looks better now than during her 2020-21 National Player of the Year campaign. If she can remain healthy, there’s no reason for Bueckers to slide once draft night rolls around.

That is, of course, if Bueckers decides to declare following the season’s end. The preseason AP All-American would have two more years of eligibility left, but Bueckers has not made her decision yet.

Edwards is slated to go No. 5 to the Dallas Wings, an organization with a history of drafting Huskies. It was just last year that the Wings selected Lou Lopez Senechal with–coincidentally–the fifth overall pick.

Dallas already has several bigs, but Edwards is versatile and will be a strong power forward. The 6-foot-3 senior led the Huskies in scoring (16.6) and finished second in rebounding (9.0) last season. Even when UConn faced a plethora of injuries last year, Edwards remained healthy through it all and was the Huskies’ steadying force.