The Dallas Wings hold the No. 1 pick in Monday’s WNBA Draft, and the pre-draft conversation has taken a significant turn in the final stretch. After weeks of uncertainty at the top of the board, ESPN’s latest mock draft has made its clearest statement yet. A TCU point guard who bet on herself one final college season may be about to reap the reward.
Why ESPN Projects Olivia Miles to the Dallas Wings at No. 1
ESPN’s Michael Voepel moved TCU’s Olivia Miles to the top of the board in the outlet’s latest mock draft. It’s a notable shift after projecting UConn’s Azzi Fudd at No. 1 in its two previous editions. The reasoning centers on a senior season that left little room for doubt.
Miles averaged a career-best 19.6 points per game as the Horned Frogs went 32-6 and won the Big 12 regular-season title. She recorded six triple-doubles on the year, including one in the first round of the NCAA tournament, and connected on 73 3-pointers between her time at Notre Dame and her lone season at TCU.
“Her court vision is excellent,” Voepel wrote. “With that kind of offensive arsenal, Miles could work well with Bueckers, (and Arike Ogunbowale, if she stays in Dallas).”
The NCAA tournament only added to her case. Miles averaged 19.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 9.0 assists as TCU advanced to the Elite Eight before falling to South Carolina. The stat line that caught evaluators’ attention across the league.
Multiple WNBA personnel not associated with the Wings, per Dallas Hoops Journal, view Dallas as best suited to take either Miles or UCLA center Lauren Betts, with Fudd viewed as a better fit elsewhere on the board.
The backstory adds another layer to the moment. Miles had been draft-eligible, by age, a year ago. She was projected as a lottery pick before choosing to transfer to TCU for one final college season. That decision, essentially a calculated investment in her own development, appears to have paid off.
If selected No. 1 overall, she would become the highest-drafted player in TCU history, surpassing Sandora Irvin, who went third overall to the Phoenix Mercury back in 2005.
How Olivia Miles Fits Alongside Paige Bueckers in Dallas
The fit question surrounding Miles has always centered on Paige Bueckers, Dallas’s reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year. Both are ball-dominant guards who operate best with the ball in their hands, and pairing two high-usage creators in the same backcourt carries obvious risk.
ESPN addressed it directly, noting that Miles’s vision, shooting, and playmaking mean the two “might also complement each other” rather than create redundancy. Ogunbowale’s free agency status adds another variable here. If she returns to Dallas, the Wings would suddenly have three elite offensive weapons in the backcourt, raising questions about spacing and shot distribution that the coaching staff would need to manage carefully.
Fudd, who ESPN now projects to fall to the Seattle Storm at No. 3, and Awa Fam, the 19-year-old center projected to the Minnesota Lynx at No. 2, round out the top of the board. The draft tips off Monday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
