2018 WNBA Draft Diary: Pick-by-pick updates, analysis, news

The 2018 WNBA Draft kicks off Thursday evening at 7 PM ET from Nike New York Headquarters. The first round will be aired on ESPN 2; the second and third rounds will be aired on ESPNU beginning at 8 PM ET. This post will serve as a running diary throughout the evening, offering commentary, analysis and updates on all WNBA Draft happenings from all three rounds.

Our first news on draft day came via the Connecticut Sun, who acquired Bria Holmes in a trade with the Atlanta Dream. Atlanta received the No. 15 overall pick in the 2018 draft and Connecticut’s 2019 second round pick in the deal. Though Holmes will miss the upcoming 2018 season due to pregnancy, she’s a promising player capable of contributing to a contender on the rise immediately upon her return. Read more on the trade here.

The Las Vegas Aces will be on the clock with the first overall pick. There has been little if any debate over what head coach and president of basketball operations Bill Laimbeer should do with the pick. The Aces have long been projected to select South Carolina’s A’ja Wilson. The Indiana Fever hold the No. 2 and No. 8 overall picks tonight, and the Chicago Sky also hold two first round picks (No. 3 and No. 4).

You can view Howard Megdal’s latest WNBA Draft Big Board here. Also, I released my mock draft Thursday morning, which can be viewed in the second half of this post.

High Post Hoops has several staffers on site at the draft reporting and interviewing the draftees throughout the evening. Be sure to also follow High Post Hoops on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Here is the 2018 WNBA Draft order in full:

First Round

1. Las Vegas — A’ja Wilson, F, South Carolina
2. Indiana — Kelsey Mitchell, G, Ohio State
3. Chicago (via Atlanta) — Diamond DeShields, G/F, Cukurova/Tennessee
4. Chicago — Gabby Williams, F, UConn
5. Seattle — Jordin Canada, G, UCLA
6. Dallas — Azura Stevens, F, UConn
7. Washington — Ariel Atkins, G, Texas
8. Indiana — Victoria Vivians, G/F, Mississippi State
9. Connecticut — Lexie Brown, G, Duke 
10. New York — Kia Nurse, G, UConn
11. Los Angeles — Maria Vadeeva, F/C, Russia
12. Phoenix — Marie Gulich, C, Oregon State

Second Round

1. Las Vegas — Jaime Nared, F, Tennessee
2. Indiana — Stephanie Mavunga, F/C, Ohio State
3. Atlanta (via Connecticut) — Monique Billings, F, UCLA
4. Atlanta (via Chicago) — Kristy Wallace, G, Baylor
5. Las Vegas (from Minnesota via Seattle) — Ji-Su Park, C, South Korea
6. Dallas — Loryn Goodwin, G, Oklahoma State
7. Washington — Myisha Hines-Allen, F, Louisville
8. Phoenix — Tyler Scaife, G, Rutgets
9. Phoenix (via Connecticut) — Raisa Musina, F, Russia
10. New York — Mercedes Russell, C, Tennessee
11. Los Angeles — Shakayla Thomas, F, Florida State
12. Las Vegas (via Minnesota) — Kahlia Lawrence, G, Mercer

Third Round

1. Las Vegas — Raigyne Louis, G, LSU
2. Phoenix (from Indiana via Las Vegas) — Imani Wright, G, Florida State
3. Atlanta — Mackenzie Engram, F, Georgia
4. Chicago — Amarah Coleman, G, DePaul
5. Seattle — Teana Muldrow, F, West Virginia
6. Dallas — Natalie Butler, C, George Mason
7. Washington — Rebecca Greenwell, G, Duke
8. Minnesota (from Las Vegas via Phoenix) — Jill Barta, F, Gonzaga
9. Connecticut — Mikayla Cowling, F, Cal
10. New York — Leslie Robinson, F, Princeton
11. Los Angeles — Julie Reisingerova, F, Czech Republic
12. Minnesota — Carlie Wagner, G, Minnesota

Note: New slides will be added to this post throughout the night as each pick occurs. Refresh your browser or re-open the link to this post to be sure you don’t miss a beat.