The 2026 WNBA season is underway, and the “Caitlin Clark effect” continues to fuel record viewership and unprecedented attention around the league. At the same time, an influx of young talent is rapidly reshaping the WNBA, with rookies and second-year players already emerging as foundational pieces for playoff contenders.
From dynamic scorers to franchise-changing playmakers, the league’s next generation is arriving faster than ever. With fresh faces taking on major roles across the WNBA, the future of the sport looks brighter, deeper, and more competitive by the season.
So, who are the league’s brightest young stars? Here are the top 10 WNBA players under 24 right now.
1. Caitlin Clark
Since entering the WNBA in 2024, Caitlin Clark has helped push the league into a new era of visibility and popularity. Even with injuries limiting her to just 13 games last season, the Fever star averaged 16.5 points and 8.8 assists per game while earning her first All-Star selection.
Through two seasons, Clark has already earned a reputation as a premier playmaker and lethal long-range shooter, capable of changing a game with her vision and scoring range. Despite her absence for much of the year, Indiana still reached the playoffs as the No. 6 seed before falling to the Las Vegas Aces in the second round.
The Fever spent the offseason strengthening the roster around their centerpiece, and if Clark stays healthy, Indiana has the talent to make a legitimate postseason run in 2026.
2. Paige Bueckers
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, Paige Bueckers quickly established herself as one of the league’s rising stars during her rookie season. She became the only player in the WNBA to finish in the top 10 in points, assists, and steals, earning Second Team All-WNBA honors while finishing as the near-unanimous Rookie of the Year.
Bueckers averaged 19.2 points per game for the Dallas Wings, though Dallas improved by only one win despite her standout debut campaign. Still, the organization continued building around its young core this offseason by selecting Azzi Fudd with the top pick in the draft.
If Fudd transitions smoothly to the professional level alongside Bueckers, the Wings could take a significant step forward during the 2026 season.
3. Flau’jae Johnson
Flau’jae Johnson is flat-out fun to watch. The former LSU standout developed a reputation as a three-level scorer capable of heating up in spurts, helping lead the Tigers to a national championship in 2023 while notching multiple All-SEC honors during her four-year collegiate career.
Johnson finished at LSU with more than 2,000 career points and averaged 14.2 points per game during her final season in Baton Rouge. She was initially selected eighth overall by the Golden State Valkyries before eventually landing with the Seattle Storm following a draft-night trade.
Seattle’s roster features a strong mix of grizzled veterans and emerging talent, which should give Johnson the perfect opportunity to flourish early in her professional career. If her scoring ability translates quickly, she could rise as a legitimate Rookie of the Year contender.
4. Olivia Miles
Selected second overall by the Minnesota Lynx, Olivia Miles enters the WNBA after a lengthy and highly accomplished college career split between Notre Dame and TCU. During her four seasons with the Irish, Miles set school records for triple-doubles while also becoming the first freshman in NCAA women’s tournament history to record one.
Miles arrives in Minnesota with advanced on-court instincts, strong rebounding ability from the guard position, and the versatility to affect the game in multiple ways offensively. The major criticism is that defensive consistency remains an area for growth.
With Napheesa Collier sidelined to begin the season, Miles could step into a much larger role immediately. If she adjusts appropriately to the pace and physicality of the WNBA, Minnesota may have landed the most impactful rookie in this year’s class.
5. Sonia Citron
Drafted third overall by the Washington Mystics in 2025, Sonia Citron wasted little time showing why scouts were so high on her coming out of Notre Dame. She averaged 14.9 points per game as a rookie while knocking down 44.5% of her shots from beyond the arc, immediately giving Washington one of the most dangerous perimeter shooters in the league.
Citron thrives playing off movement and spacing, constantly hunting clean looks and punishing defenses that lose track of her for even a second. The self-creation piece of her game has room to grow, but when the ball starts swinging around the floor, few young wings look more comfortable firing in rhythm.
What makes her especially valuable, though, is that the shooting is only half the package. Citron can switch across multiple positions defensively and already looks like a foundational piece for the Mystics alongside Kiki Iriafen. Washington still has work to do as a roster overall, but the core pieces are beginning to make a lot more sense.
6. Dominique Malonga
Paige Bueckers may have headlined the 2025 draft, but Dominique Malonga went second overall to the Seattle Storm and will be fascinating to watch. The French phenom arrived in the WNBA with an impressive skillset after spending her entire pre-draft career overseas.
Malonga first grabbed global attention during the Paris Olympics, where she helped France capture silver while also becoming the first French woman to dunk in an official game. At 6-foot-6, she already brings rare length and explosiveness to the floor, but what really turns heads is how fluid she looks operating away from the basket. That combination has already sparked lofty comparisons to fellow French unicorn Victor Wembanyama.
There remains rawness to her game, especially when it comes to handling the physical grind of battling veteran post players night after night. But Malonga is only 19, and Seattle is in a position where patience is a luxury, not a necessity. Should the physical development come along as expected, Malonga’s combination of size and mobility will create major problems for opposing defenses.
7. Azzi Fudd
The Dallas Wings wasted no time making Fudd the top selection in this year’s draft. After spending five seasons at UConn and helping deliver a national championship in 2025, Fudd arrived in Dallas carrying a reputation as a shot-maker capable of bending defenses the moment she steps across half court.
Her final season in Storrs was arguably her best, as she averaged a career-high 17.3 points per game while drilling 44.7% of her attempts from beyond the arc. But labeling Fudd as just a shooter undersells her impact. She moves effortlessly without the ball, embarrases defenders that lose focus for even a second, and creates the kind of spacing that changes the geometry of an offense.
Pairing her with Paige Bueckers gives Dallas a backcourt loaded with feel, shot creation, and perimeter firepower. The biggest question is durability. Injuries interrupted portions of Fudd’s college career, including significant ACL and MCL issues earlier in her time at UConn. If she can finally put together a healthy full season, the Wings suddenly become one of the more entertaining offenses in the league.
8. Aliyah Boston
When the Indiana Fever selected Aliyah Boston first overall in 2023 and followed it a year later by drafting Caitlin Clark, the vision was obvious: build around two franchise cornerstones and let the rest come together later. The talent is undeniable, though the on-court fit has occasionally looked clunky as both players continue learning how to maximize each other’s strengths.
Boston has quietly been an extremely reliable interior player since arriving from South Carolina, averaging 14.4 points per game for her career while consistently ranking among the WNBA’s better rebounders. Around the basket, she plays with patience and touch, using footwork and positioning rather than simply overpowering defenders.
What often gets overlooked, though, is her passing ability. Boston averaged 3.7 assists per game last season, the highest mark among centers in the league, giving Indiana another initiator alongside Clark. There are still matchups where longer, quicker frontcourts can bother her physically, but if the Fever fully unlock the Clark-Boston connection, Indiana’s offense could become a nightmare to defend in a playoff series.
9. Kiki Rice
UCLA’s breakthrough national championship run in 2026 ended with a flood of Bruins entering the WNBA, including Kiki Rice, who went sixth to the Toronto Tempo. Rice saved some of her best basketball for that title push, averaging a career-high 14.9 points per game while steadying UCLA’s offense with her poise and decision-making in big moments.
Toronto’s expansion season is almost guaranteed to come with growing pains, but it also gives Rice something many rookies never receive right away: room to experiment, make mistakes, and immediately take ownership of a team. She does not play with a flashy style, yet there is a calmness to her game that coaches tend to trust quickly.
Rice has long carried a reputation as one of the hardest workers in women’s basketball, and the Tempo are clearly betting that mentality can help shape the identity of the franchise from day one. Expansion teams rarely become contenders overnight, but Rice is exactly the kind of player organizations want setting the tone early.
10. Angel Reese
Since coming into the league in 2024, Angel Reese has turned rebounding into an event of its own. Few players attack the glass with the same relentlessness, and the nightly double-doubles have become routine. Last season with the Chicago Sky, Reese averaged 14.7 points and 12.6 rebounds per game while continuing to show more playmaking feel than many expected, chipping in 3.7 assists per night as well.
Her move to the Atlanta Dream this offseason feels significant for both sides. Atlanta adds an emotional tone-setter who thrives on energy and physicality, while Reese gets a chance to reset in a different environment after plenty of turbulence in Chicago.
The offensive game is certainly a work in progress. Reese can overpower opponents on the boards, but finishing efficiently around the rim and converting second-chance opportunities more consistently are areas she must sharpen. The good news for Atlanta is she does not have to carry the offense every night alongside established scorers like Allisha Gray. If the efficiency catches up to the motor and rebounding instincts, Reese could take a major step forward in her third season.
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