Paige Bueckers was selected 1st overall in the WNBA draft Monday night by the Dallas Wings. Bueckers was born in Edina, Minnesota and graduated from Hopkins High School. She played college basketball at Connecticut. She wasn’t the first Minnesotan to be selected 1st overall in a professional draft.

Joe Mauer was selected 1st overall by the Minnesota Twins in 2000. The St. Paul native and Cretin-Derham Hall graduate went on to play 15 Major League Seasons with the Twins as a catcher and then a 1st baseman. He was inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame in 2024 and recently had a statue of his likeness erected outside Target Field.

Erik Johnson was selected 1st overall by the St. Louis Blues in 2006. The Bloomington, Minnesota native has played 17 NHL seasons as a defensemen. The 37-year old is a current member of the Colorado Avalanche. Johnson played 1 season of college hockey for the University of Minnesota. St. Paul’s Kyle Okposo was selected 7th overall by the New York Islanders in 2006 before Bloomington’s Peter Mueller went 8th overall to Phoenix.

Taylor Heise was selected first overall by the Minnesota PWHL hockey team in 2023. They later became the Minnesota Frost. Heise is a 25-year old from Lake City, Minnesota.

Minnesota had many natives drafted high in professional drafts including Hibbing native Kevin McHale, who was selected 3rd overall in the 1980 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics. Minneapolis native Larry Fitzgerald was chosen 3rd overall in the 2004 NFL draft by the Arizona Cardinals. Trey Lance was picked 3rd overall by the San Francisco 49ers in 2021. He was born in Marshall, Minnesota. Lindsay Whalen was picked 4th overall in the 2004 WNBA draft by Connecticut. She is a Hutchinson native. Rachel Banham was picked 4th overall by Connecticut in 2016. She is a Minneapolis native and Lakeville North High School graduate. Banham is a current member of the Minnesota Lynx.