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We are less than 12 hours from the WNBA Draft, and it’s time to break things down Her Hoop Stats style. What on earth does that mean, you quite understandably may ask yourself. Well, it means we’re giving you one interesting stat for each of the 12 players projected to have their names called in the first round of tonight’s draft. We hope you enjoy, and please let us know in the comments below if you have any other fascinating statistical tidbits about these players.

The 12 players below and the order are based on recent mock drafts published by 14 WNBA observers. Across the Timeline compiled these mock drafts and calculated a composite score, essentially a way of averaging the various mock drafts. See Across the Timeline’s helpful work in this area for more details. All stats below exclude games against non-Division I opponents unless otherwise noted. 

Caitlin Clark has set nearly every collegiate record under the sun, so there are plenty of interesting stats to choose from. But how does one encompass the greatness of one of the greatest players in NCAA history in just one stat? You can’t, but this one inspired by Secret Base is nonetheless pretty wild. 

It’s well-documented that Clark led the country in points and assists this past season. But did you know that the difference between Clark and No. 2 on the assists list during the 2023-24 season is more than the difference between No. 2 and No. 75? Similarly, the gap between Clark and No. 2 on the scoring list is more than the gap between No. 2 and No. 39.   

The result is the scatterplot below, where each Division I player’s points and assists from last season are represented by a dot. Clark is in a different stratosphere.   

The three-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and 2024 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year is a game-changer when avoiding foul trouble. During the 2023-24 season, Stanford’s opponents shot 12.4 percentage points worse on shots at the rim (i.e., within 4.5 feet) when Brink was on the floor, per CBB Analytics.   

Jackson is one of the most improved high-volume shooters in college basketball. During the 2021-22 season with Mississippi State, she averaged 20.3 points per contest on 0.94 points per scoring attempt. After transferring to Tennessee for the 2022-23 season, Jackson averaged 19.2 points per game on 1.21 points per scoring attempt. Her season-over-season improvement of 0.27 points per scoring attempt was the highest in Division I that season among players attempting at least 10 field goals per game. 

While her shooting efficiency came down this past season, she still averaged over 20 points on a respectable 1.10 points per scoring attempt.  

The centerpiece of the nation’s best defense, it’s little wonder Kamilla Cardoso has won defensive player of the year honors in two conferences. Cardoso, who was also named this season’s WBCA Defensive Player of the Year, has three seasons where she finished in the nation’s top 50 in offensive rebounds per game and blocks per game. Over the last 15 seasons, only Aliyah Boston has recorded more such seasons (four). 

A veritable Swiss Army knife, Edwards was one of only two players last season to rank in the top 10 percent in the following categories: points per game, rebounds per game, field-goal percentage, steals per game, and blocks per game. 

Sheldon’s combination of offensive efficiency and defensive impact has her going in the top five of several observers’ mock draft boards. The Ohio State guard is one of only two players over the last 15 seasons to have compiled three seasons averaging 1.5+ steals per game and 15+ points per game on an effective field-goal percentage of at least 55 percent.   

Few players in recent memory have crashed the offensive boards and generated opportunities at the free-throw line like Angel Reese. The 2024 SEC Player of the Year is the only player over the last 15 seasons to rank in the country’s top two in offensive rebounds per game and free-throw attempts per game. In fact, she’s accomplished the feat twice. 

The graph below plots the offensive rebounds per game and free-throw attempts per game for every Division I player over the last three seasons. Simply put, Reese is in a league of her own when it comes to these two statistical categories.  

Pili was a paragon of efficiency following her transfer to Utah from USC after the 2021-22 season. In her two seasons with Utes, Pili averaged over 20 points per game on 61.3 percent shooting from inside the arc, 40.2 percent from beyond the arc, and 80.7 percent from the free-throw line. To give those numbers some context, only one player over the last 15 seasons has averaged 20+ points per game on 60/40/80 shooting splits in a single season (Eva Hodgson, minimum 100 shots from each location).   

Nyadiew Puoch fans call her The Block Doctor. Here’s why. 

Puoch’s length and athleticism have her in the first round of many observers’ mock draft boards. A candidate for both the WNBL’s Sixth Woman of the Year and Breakout Player of the Year awards during the 2022-23 season, Puoch stuffed the stat sheet last season in the NBL1 (a league just below the WNBL in Australian basketball hierarchy), averaging 24.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1.2 blocks.   

For an in-depth breakdown of Puoch’s game, check out Robert Mummery’s scouting report.  

Osborne is one of only three players (along with Caitlin Clark and Jaz Shelley) with at least 400 points, 150 rebounds, 100 assists, 50 steals and a free-throw percentage above 80 percent in each of the last two seasons. 

Mühl’s lockdown defense on two 3,000-point scorers – Syracuse’s Dyaisha Fair and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark – during the NCAA Tournament are Exhibits A and B for why the two-time Big East Player of the Year is projected to go in the first round. Mühl limited Fair and Clark to a combined 13-for-40 (32.5 percent) from the field; Clark’s 21 points were tied for her fewest all season. 

Slightly less heralded are Mühl’s contributions on the other end of the floor. Ok, maybe you’re aware that Mühl’s 686 career assists are the most in UConn history. But did you also know that she was one of only three players during the 2023-24 season to rank in the nation’s top three percent in assists per game, assist-to-turnover ratio, and effective field-goal percentage?    

Following a 2022-23 WNBL campaign that saw her take home Sixth Woman of the Year and WNBL Breakout Player of the Year honors, Borlase kept the momentum going in 2023-24 by earning All-WNBL First Team honors. The 5-foot-11 wing joined Jordin Canada, Jade Melbourne, and Sami Whitcomb as the only WNBL players last season to average more than 15 points and 1.5 steals. 

For an in-depth breakdown of Borlase’s game, check out Robert Mummery’s scouting report.  

Thanks for reading the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter. If you like our work, be sure to check out our stats site, our podcast, and our social media accounts on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.

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