The 2025 WNBA Draft is hours away and while the selection of UConn’s Paige Bueckers as the No. 1 overall pick to the Dallas Wings may already be set in stone, there’s plenty of other speculation and drama to go around.
LSU star Hailey Van Lith, who has been a fixture among WNBA mock drafts for months, was excluded in the latest update from Meghan L. Hall of For The Win.
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“Hold on to your hats, party people. The final player selected in the first round isn’t Hailey Van Lith as many mocks across the internet have surmised. It’s *checks notes* South Carolina guard Te-Hina Paopao?!”
TCU Horned Frogs guard Hailey Van Lith (10).Amy Kontras-Imagn Images
A former teammate of Angel Reese at LSU during the 2023-24 season, Lith was the Big 12 Player and Newcomer of the Year in 2025 and a first-team All-Big 12.
Lith transferred to TCU for her senior season, and in 38 games, she averaged 15.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.3 steals.
Hall’s first-round mock has Bueckers to the Wings at No. 1 followed by France’s Dominique Molonga to Seattle, Notre Dame’s Sonia Citron to Washington, USC’s Kiki Iriafen to Washington, Maryland’s Shyanne Sellers to Golden State, NC State’s Saniya Rivers to Washington, LSU’s Aneesah Morrow to Connecticut, NC State’s Aziaha James to Connecticut, Kentucky’s Georgia Amoore to Los Angeles, South Carolina’s Sania Feagin to Chicago, Alabama’s Sarah Ashlee Barker to Chicago and South Carolina’s Te-Hina Paopao to Dallas.
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The WNBA Draft consists of three rounds with 13 picks in each round; however, the Las Vegas Aces forfeited their first-round pick at No. 10 overall for “violating league rules regarding impermissible player benefits,” per NBA Communications.
Related: WNBA Franchise Announces $80 Million Investment on Thursday
