The WNBA’s Dallas Wings introduced their six-member 2023 Draft class to the media through press conferences this week.
The class consists of four first-round picks, a second-round pick, and a third-round pick, all selected with one goal — adding shooting.
“If you followed our draft process, you’ve heard me talk about the themes to what we were trying to accomplish,” Wings President and CEO Greg Bibb told the media Monday. “One of those was obviously shooting the basketball, and I think, positionally, every player we drafted in this class of six shoots the ball exceptionally well.”
The Wings used the third overall pick in the WNBA Draft to select Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist, the country’s leading scorer and the all-time leading scorer in the Big East with even more career points than UConn legends Maya Moore and Diana Taurasi.
“Obviously, her offensive prowess is well known and well documented — leading scorer in the nation this past year — but I think there are other parts of her game that were the most impressive aspects of her overall game to me,” Bibb said. “She’s a consummate leader. Not only does she finish at the rim, but she finishes the game, and she plays the game the right way, and I think she makes the players around her better. ”
“[Siegrist] is someone who can score from multiple areas on the court,” Wings head coach Latricia Trammell said. “I think about this season, she scored 20 points in eight possessions out of different offensive sets. That’s pretty impressive; not too many people can say that.”
With the fifth overall pick, Dallas selected UConn’s Lou Lopez Senechal, who averaged 15.5 points per game in her only season with the Huskies after transferring from Fairfield.
“We had a priority coming into this draft, and that was to add shooters, and I think, with Lou, not only did we get arguably the best shooter in the country available in the draft, but also a player that can do so much more,” Bibb said. “Watching her make the transition to UConn and the Big East and be as productive, as effective as she was, I’m convinced she’ll have that similar kind of jump in time here in the WNBA.”
“This is a young lady that loves the game, that wants to respect the game of basketball, and is a culture person,” Trammell added. “…I’m ecstatic that Lou is part of our Dallas Wings organization.”
Dallas also traded for Iowa State center Stephanie Soares, who was selected fourth overall by the Washington Mystics. Soares is recovering from a left ACL injury and will miss the upcoming season, but the Wings expect her to be a key contributor down the road.
“[Soares is] 6-foot-6 and plays like a guard,” Trammell said. “She can knock down the three, she’s a rim protector, she can be aggressive at the point of attack, she can play with her back to the basket, [and] she can put the ball on the deck and get to the rim.”
“This is a young lady that’s going to make an immediate impact in our league,” Trammell continued. “I know we have, what, a year before she actually arrives, and she’s going to be ready.”
The Wings also spent the 11th overall pick on Maryland’s Abby Meyers, drafted Iowa State’s Ashley Joens 19th overall, and used a third-round pick on Illinois State’s Paige Robinson.
All six players were elite scorers at the collegiate level, which fit the theme of what the Wings wanted to accomplish through the draft.
However, it was not just shooting that drew the Wings to each of these players. Bibb says their size, versatility, and personalities also played a role in their selections.
“If you look at the six athletes we selected, all of them have great size for the positions they play,” he explained. “…Each of the athletes that we selected has the ability to do different things on a basketball court and play different positions. … Each of these players is a great player and a better person.”
“I think all the players we drafted demonstrate great leadership, great ability to be a teammate, and are great people,” Bibb concluded. “Whether they play five minutes a game or 35 minutes a game, they’re going to be additive to what we’re doing, and they’re going to contribute to the success of the Dallas Wings.”