The W tips off its 30th season tonight, and the rookie story is loaded before the first jump ball goes up. The 2026 WNBA Draft sent UConn’s Azzi Fudd to the Dallas Wings at No. 1, reuniting her with reigning Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers. TCU triple-double machine Olivia Miles went to the Minnesota Lynx at No. 2, Spain’s Awa Fam to the Seattle Storm at No. 3, and UCLA national champion Lauren Betts to the Washington Mystics at No. 4. True that Caitlin Clark in 2024 and Bueckers in 2025 set a high bar, but this class clearly has more than one standout. Especially when looking at who’s positioned to win Rookie of the Year. Even if ROY is off the table, several 2026 rookies have the opportunity to earn meaningful minutes early in their careers. Here are the top rookies looking at a possible award-winning season.
Azzi Fudd, G, Dallas Wings (No. 1)
Fudd lands in Dallas to share the backcourt with the player she recently shared a national championship locker room with. Fudd started all 39 games as a graduate student in 2025-26, averaged a career-high 17.3 points on 48.1% shooting from the field and 44.7% from three, and led the entire country with 117 made threes. Her rookie salary under the new CBA is $500,000, nearly seven times what Bueckers earned as the 2025 No. 1 pick ($78,831).
The fit is obvious: Dallas shot just 30.4% from three as a team last season, and Fudd is a career 42.2% three-point shooter by herself. The ROY catch is also obvious, usage gets split with Bueckers, who herself averaged 19.6 points last season. Two scorers, one ball. I’m sure they’ll find a way to work it out.
Olivia Miles, G, Minnesota Lynx (No. 2)
Miles is the pick that gets sharper the longer you stare at it. In 2025, she passed up the WNBA to finish her collegiate eligibility at TCU, where she swept Big 12 Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. She averaged 19.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 6.5 assists per game in her one season at TCU after transferring from Notre Dame.
She now plugs into a young Minnesota team that will be without former UConn standout Napheesa Collier until early June after undergoing ankle surgery in March. Miles will not be given the keys entirely, but there is clearly an opening for more minutes. If she wins the starting job out of camp and the Lynx hand her real ball-handling responsibility while their MVP runner-up rehabs, her stat lines could get loud quickly along with her ROY odds.
Awa Fam, C, Seattle Storm (No. 3)
The Storm went international with the No. 3 pick and grabbed a 19-year-old who signed a pro contract at 15. Fam appeared in 39 games across the 2025-26 EuroLeague and Liga Femenina Endesa seasons for Valencia Basket, averaging 8.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 0.6 blocks per game.
She’s versatile at 6’4” with a 6’8” wingspan, can play frontcourt and backcourt positions, and delivers more than her box score stats. Fam arrives in a Seattle frontcourt that just added Stefanie Dolson and still has 2025 All-Rookie pick Dominique Malonga. The Storm gutted last year’s roster and committed to a development arc, which means Fam has time. It also means May-through-September minutes are not guaranteed in a contender’s rotation. The path to ROY exists, but Seattle’s timeline may not cooperate.
Lauren Betts, C, Washington Mystics (No. 4)
Betts walked off the floor as an NCAA champion with multiple awards and into the W eight days later. Her 2025-26 senior line at UCLA was 17.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.1 blocks per game on 58.2% shooting over 37 games. She was named the 2026 NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player after recording 14 points and 11 rebounds in the title game and was just named the Honda Sport Award winner for basketball.
Washington also drafted her UCLA teammate Angela Dugalić at No. 9. The Mystics already returned 2025 All-Rookie picks Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen, making the two national champion catalysts even more interesting. Betts joins a young, improving frontcourt with a chance for major minutes from Game 1. If she gets on the floor early, those +600 to +700 ROY odds will not last long.
Flau’jae Johnson, G, Seattle Storm (No. 8, via trade)
Johnson’s draft night was a sprint. The Golden State Valkyries selected her at No. 8 and immediately traded her draft rights to Seattle in exchange for the rights to TCU’s Marta Suárez (the No. 16 pick) and a 2028 second-round pick. This was a salary cap juggling move on Golden State’s part and the Storm benefits.
Johnson’s final LSU season stats include 14.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.3 steals per game while starting all 35 games. She was named to the AP and USBWA Third Team All-America lists, picked up her second straight All-SEC First Team nod, and was a finalist for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award given to the top shooting guard. Real rookie minutes, real rookie numbers, and at +750, real value.
Gabriela Jaquez and Kiki Rice: The Other UCLA Rookie Story
Five UCLA players went in the first round, the most ever by a single school in a WNBA draft. That group is Lauren Betts (No. 4), Gabriela Jaquez (No. 5, Chicago Sky), Kiki Rice (No. 6, Toronto Tempo), Angela Dugalić (No. 9, Washington Mystics), and Gianna Kneepkens (No. 15, Connecticut Sun). Charlisse Leger-Walker added a sixth Bruin in the second round at No. 18.
Jaquez was the statistical headliner of UCLA’s national title game with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. Rice becomes the Toronto Tempo’s first-ever draft pick, a polished lead guard for a brand-new franchise that could not have asked for a better day-one identity player. Neither cracks the ROY favorites tier, but both should play immediate rotation minutes. Rice in particular has a path to a legitimate rookie stat line on an expansion team that needs her to handle the ball.
The Betting Board: Where the Sportsbooks Land
Currently, the Rookie of the Year market reads like a four-horse race with one clear chalk and three live tickets. Per DraftKings Sportsbook, Olivia Miles is the favorite at +260, Azzi Fudd sits second at +300, Awa Fam is third at +500, and Lauren Betts +700. BetMGM lists Fudd +250 and Miles +260 as essentially a coin flip, followed by Fam +550 and Betts at +600.
Fudd is listed among the favorites for a reason. If her NCAA career and UConn grooming are not enough, she is walking onto a team that needs her exact skill set. Miles is the next logical pick today. The Lynx without Collier for the season’s first month is the cleanest runway any rookie point guard could ask for, and count on Miles to take advantage of the opportunity. Look for the two to push each other all season. Matchups will be fun to watch.
Betts is a solid frontcourt bet, and Johnson is the steal-of-the-class lottery ticket on a Seattle team that genuinely needs her production and should give her opportunities early. If I’m putting one ticket down, though, it’s going to be Miles at +280 on DraftKings.
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