3 potential WNBA draft prospects who weren’t invited to draft night

The WNBA has announced that 16 players will be invited to attend Monday’s draft in person in New York City, and the list is mostly unsurprising:

Still, a number of players who could be drafted in the first round were left off. Here are three prospects who weren’t invited to attend:

Sedona Prince was a projected first-round pick on ESPN’s March mock draft, though she fell off in the latest iteration, published Friday. Prince, a 6’7 center, averaged 17.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 3 blocks for TCU this past season. But, her career has been marred by controversy, as the 24-year-old was accused of assault by multiple women who she used to date.

Prince spent six years in college and showed she could thrive as a more traditional center. But, whether WNBA teams choose to overlook her off-court issues remains to be seen.

Rayah Marshall was a project first-round pick on The Athletic’s mock draft, but also wasn’t invited to Monday’s draft. The 6’4 center averaged 10.4 points and 9.5 rebounds in four seasons at USC, and could hear her name called on Draft Night even if she’s not physically in the building.

Marshall had a relatively quiet senior season — but saved one of her best performances for last, when she posted 23 points and 15 rebounds in a loss to UConn in the Elite 8.

Harmoni Turner had a superb Ivy League career and is fresh off an elite senior season that saw her average 22.5 points, 3.4 assists, and 2.8 steals per game. The 5’10 guard didn’t play in one of the country’s biggest conferences but showcased her ability to compete with the best of them. Turner very well could be selected in the first round, and if she slides into the second, she could become a rare second-round impact player.

Harvard won the Ivy League championship, and Turner was a massive reason why, exploding for 44 points in a win against Princeton and following that up with a 24-point outing against Colombia.

Players who weren’t invited to attend the draft could very well still be selected; and many will go in the second round. And, there are plenty of examples of players who have gone on to have WNBA careers despite not being officially invited to the draft, like Kate Martin — a 2024 second-round pick — and Lexie Hull, who was surprisingly drafted sixth overall in the 2022 WNBA.