By Vickie Sellers

– ESPN to Air Draft on Monday, April 15 at 7:30 p.m. ET,

Preceded by WNBA Countdown presented by Google at 7 p.m. ET –

 – Empire State Building Lighting Ceremony to Be Followed by Iconic WNBA “Orange Carpet” Event and Draft at Famed Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York –

 – Indiana Fever to Select First, Followed by Los Angeles Sparks and Chicago Sky –

NEW YORK, April 11, 2024 – Iowa guard Caitlin Clark, Stanford forward Cameron Brink, South Carolina center Kamilla Cardoso, Tennessee forward Rickea Jackson and LSU forward Angel Reese headline the list of 15 prospects who will attend the WNBA Draft 2024 presented by State Farm^® on Monday, April 15 at the famed Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in New York.

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert will announce the draft picks live on ESPN, with exclusive coverage beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET. The draft, along with a special edition of WNBA Countdown Presented by Google (ESPN, 7 p.m. ET), will also be available live on the ESPN App.

The top prospects will take part as the WNBA Draft 2024 presented by State Farm moves from Manhattan to the Brooklyn borough of New York City, where BAM has been the home to world-renowned productions in theatre, dance, music, opera, film and more for more than 160 years.

The other prospects who will be in attendance are guard Marquesha Davis (Mississippi), forward Aaliyah Edwards (Connecticut), guard Dyaisha Fair (Syracuse), center Elizabeth Kitley (Virginia Tech), guard Nika Mühl (Connecticut), guard Charisma Osborne (UCLA), forward Alissa Pili (Utah), forward-center Nyadiew Puoch (Australia), guard Jacy Sheldon (Ohio State), and guard Celeste Taylor (Ohio State).

As determined by the WNBA Draft Lottery 2024 presented by State Farm on Dec. 10, 2023, the Indiana Fever owns the top pick in the WNBA Draft 2024 presented by State Farm. Indiana also made the No. 1 selection in 2023 and chose forward-center Aliyah Boston (South Carolina), the unanimous Kia WNBA Rookie of the Year last season.

The Los Angeles Sparks will select second. The Chicago Sky have the third selection, followed by the Sparks again at No. 4.

The formal tip-off of the draft-night festivities will take place when the invited prospects showcase their personalities and unique fashion styles on the WNBA’s iconic “Orange Carpet.” Earlier that day, the prospects will visit the Empire State Building for a lighting ceremony to celebrate the draft.

WNBA social channels, the WNBA App and WNBA.com will be the destination point for fans seeking wall-to-wall coverage leading up to and through the WNBA Draft 2024 presented by State Farm. WNBA social and digital content will feature draftee storytelling, profiles of draft prospects, breaking news and a preview of draft night, as well as an array of short-form videos, analysis, written features, stats and highlights.

“Draft Central” on WNBA.com features the return of “Phenom Files,” where WNBA experts analyze the on-court skills of key prospects. “Draft Central” also includes draft profiles on all 12 WNBA teams, including the latest news surrounding each team, their transactions and projected picks. On the day of the WNBA Draft 2024 presented by State Farm, the WNBA App, WNBA social and “Draft Central” will feature live, up-to-the-minute updates, an interactive Draft Board and coverage of all draft-related events.

Here is a closer look at the prospects who will be attending the WNBA Draft 2024 presented by State Farm.

Cameron Brink (Stanford): Brink capped her Stanford career as the 2024 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award winner, the Pac-12 Player of the Year and, for the third time, the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. The 6-4 Brink, who won an NCAA championship (2021) and four Pac-12 titles (2021-24), is a three-time Associated Press All-America pick, including a First Team selection this year. Brink won the 2024 Lisa Leslie Award as the NCAA Division I’s best center after twice being a finalist for the Katrina McClain Award as the top power forward. She led all Division I players this season with 3.74 blocks per game, ranked fifth with 11.9 rebounds per game and averaged 17.4 points per game.

Kamilla Cardoso (South Carolina): Cardoso, a 6-7 center, won two national championships (2022 and 2024) and made three Final Four appearances (also in 2023) with South Carolina. She was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2024 Final Four after recording 22 points and 11 rebounds against North Carolina State in the semifinals and 15 points and 17 rebounds against Iowa in the championship game. A native of Montes Claros, Brazil, Cardoso was an AP All-America Second Team choice and an All-SEC First Team and SEC All-Defensive Team honoree this season after leading the conference in field goal percentage (59.4) and blocks per game (2.48) and pacing the Gamecocks with 14.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. Cardoso was a finalist for the 2024 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year and Lisa Leslie awards.

Caitlin Clark (Iowa): The consensus Division I Player of the Year for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, Clark joined Chamique Holdsclaw, Seimone Augustus, Maya Moore, Brittney Griner and Breanna Stewart as the only players to be named the AP Player of the Year multiple times. Clark also earned her third consecutive Big Ten Player of the Year honor this season. The 6-foot guard is the NCAA men’s and women’s all-time leading scorer (3,951 points), eclipsing Pete Maravich (3,667) and Kelsey Plum (3,527), respectively. She also surpassed Lynette Woodard (3,649), the top scorer in AIAW history. In her four seasons at Iowa, Clark led Division I in scoring in all but her junior season. This season, she became the only men’s or women’s player in NCAA history to score 1,000 points in back-to-back seasons and the first Division I player to lead her conference in scoring and assists in four straight seasons.

Marquesha Davis (Mississippi): The 6-0 guard from Springdale, Ark., was an All-SEC First Team selection this season, when she led Mississippi with a career-high 14.0 points per game and contributed 4.7 rebounds per game. Davis transferred from Arkansas to Ole Miss in January 2022 and helped the Rebels to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. She scored at least 20 points in eight games this season and became the first Rebel since Shakira Austin in 2020-21 to record three straight games of at least 20 points.

Aaliyah Edwards (UConn): Edwards, a 6-3 forward from Kingston, Ontario, Canada, helped UConn to three NCAA Final Four appearances, including the 2022 championship game. A finalist for the Katrina McClain Award in 2022-23 and 2023-24, Edwards averaged career highs of 17.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game this season. She was an AP All-America Third Team choice in 2022-23 and an All-Big East First Team selection in each of her final two seasons. The MVP of the 2019 Basketball Without Borders Global camp, Edwards was the youngest member of the Canada Women’s National Team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Dyaisha Fair (Syracuse): A 5-5 guard from Rochester, N.Y., Fair scored the third-most points in NCAA Division I women’s history (3,403), behind only Caitlin Clark (3,951) and Kelsey Plum (3,527). Fair was an AP All-America Third Team choice this season, when she ranked eighth in Division I with 22.3 points per game and contributed 4.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists. She finished second in ACC Player of the Year voting and earned her second straight selection to the All-ACC First Team. Prior to her two-year stint at Syracuse, Fair excelled over three seasons at Buffalo.

Rickea Jackson (Tennessee): Jackson was a finalist for the Cheryl Miller Award as Division I’s best small forward, an All-SEC First Team selection by coaches and an AP All-America Honorable Mention pick at Tennessee in both 2022-23 and 2023-24 after transferring from Mississippi State. The 6-2 forward from Detroit averaged 19.6 points per game over her two seasons with the Lady Vols, good for fourth in program history behind third-ranked Chamique Holdsclaw (20.4) and just ahead of Candace Parker (19.4). This season, Jackson paced the SEC in scoring (20.2 ppg) and registered a career-best 8.2 rebounds per game.

Elizabeth Kitley (Virginia Tech): Kitley, who led the ACC this season in points per game (22.8) and rebounds per game (11.4), earned three ACC Player of the Year awards (2022-24), four All-ACC First Team selections (2021-24) and three ACC All-Defensive Team honors (2022-24). The 6-6 center from Greensboro, N.C., was a finalist for the Lisa Leslie Award in each of her last four seasons and a semifinalist for both the Naismith Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors in her final two. She led the Hokies to the 2023 NCAA Final Four and finished as the career program leader in points, rebounds, blocks and double-doubles.

Nika Mühl (UConn): A 5-11 guard, Mühl was named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year in 2021-22 and 2022-23. In her four-year career, she helped UConn reach the Final Four three times, including the 2021-22 season when the Huskies met South Carolina in the National Championship Game. Mühl led the BIG EAST in assists per game in 2022-23 (7.9) and 2023-24 (6.5), earning All-BIG EAST Second Team honors both times. A native of Zagreb, Croatia, she set UConn records for assists in a season (284 in 2022-23) and in a game (15 vs. N.C. State on Nov. 20, 2022).

Charisma Osborne (UCLA): Osborne was a finalist for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award as the nation’s top shooting guard this season, when she averaged 13.9 points per game and helped UCLA reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. After leading the Bruins in scoring in 2021-22 (16.4 ppg) and 2022-23 (15.9 ppg), the 5-9 guard from Moreno Valley, Calif., recorded career bests of 4.0 assists per game and 58 total steals this season. Osborne is UCLA’s career points leader in the NCAA era (2,276) and holds the program mark for three-point shots made (282). A four-time All-Pac-12 selection, Osborne followed Sabrina Ionescu as the second guard in the conference’s history to record at least 2,000 points and 800 rebounds.

Alissa Pili (Utah): Pili, a 6-2 forward from Anchorage, Alaska, registered a breakout season in 2022-23 – her first at Utah after three seasons with USC – when she was an AP All-America Second Team choice and earned Pac-12 Player of the Year and Most Improved Player honors after leading the conference in points per game (20.7) and field goal percentage (59.0). This season, Pili was an AP All-America Third Team honoree, an All-Pac-12 selection and a finalist for the Katrina McClain Award when she ranked second in the Pac-12 with 21.2 points per game and shot 55.0 percent from the field.

Nyadiew Puoch (Australia): A 6-3 forward-center from Cranbourne East, Australia, Puoch has excelled in the Australian professional women’s basketball league, the WNBL. In 2023, her debut season in that league, Puoch was nominated for the WNBL’s Sixth Woman of the Year and Breakout Player of the Year awards. In her second season with the Southside Flyers, she helped that team win the league’s 2024 Grand Final while playing alongside former WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson. Puoch averaged 6.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. She also was part of the Australian Under 19 team that won the silver medal at the 2021 World Cup in Hungary.

Angel Reese (LSU): Reese led the Tigers to the 2023 national title as the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player and was named the 2023 Sporting News Athlete of Year, BET Sportswoman of Year and ESPN Breakthrough Athlete of Year. This season, the 6-3 forward from Baltimore paced the SEC in scoring (18.6 ppg) and rebounding (13.4 rpg) for the second straight year, becoming the first player to do so since 1990. She led the nation with 5.5 offensive rebounds per game and ranked second with 13.4 rebounds per game. The 2024 SEC Player of the Year is a three-time AP All-America selection, including First Team honors in 2023 and Second Team recognition this season. Reese, who posted an NCAA-record 34 double-doubles in 2022-23, was a three-time finalist for the Katrina McClain Award.

Jacy Sheldon (Ohio State): A 5-10 guard from Dublin, Ohio, Sheldon was an AP All-America Second Team pick this season after ranking third in the Big Ten with a team-leading 17.8 points per game. She also was a finalist for the 2024 Nancy Lieberman Award as Division I’s top point guard and a semifinalist for the Naismith Player of the Year honor and the Dawn Staley Award as the nation’s top guard. An All-Big Ten First Team choice in her final two seasons, Sheldon paced the Buckeyes in scoring in 2020-21 (16.7 ppg) and 2021-22 (19.7 ppg). A year ago, Sheldon vaulted the Buckeyes into the NCAA Sweet 16 with a last-second shot to beat North Carolina and then helped Ohio State reach the Elite Eight for the first time in 30 years.

Celeste Taylor (Ohio State): Taylor was a finalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year honor this season with Ohio State and in 2022-23 with Duke. The 5-11 guard also was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year this season by the conference’s coaches, a year after earning ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors. The 5-11 guard from Valley Stream, N.Y., led the Big Ten in steals per game (2.5) this season and averaged 10.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. In 2023, she set a Duke NCAA Tournament record with 10 steals against Colorado.

Below summarizes the players invited to attend the WNBA Draft 2024 presented by State Farm.

COURTESY WNBA COMMUNICATIONS