When Can Paige Bueckers Appear in WNBA Draft?

Before grounded by injury, Paige Beuckers stunned all with her playmaking skills during the NCAA Championship 2020-21. She was a point guard for Hopkins High School who accepted a scholarship offer from the University of Connecticut because of the conducive environment in the campus for women’s sports.

In addition to getting a chance to be mentored under head coach Geno Auriemma, Beuckers knew that she would be able to become a core team player as the then-point guard Crystal Dangerfield was leaving after graduation. Her freshman year was not only extraordinary but something more magical.

How has Beuckers performed so far?

Beuckers became the first player in the entire college’s history to have three consecutive 30-point games. For her contributions, Beuckers was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. She also won all the national awards she was eligible for and thus became the first freshman to win any high level award.

Overall, the Big East Player of the Year 2021 averaged a whopping 18 points per game with a decent 4.5 rebounds per match and 5.1 assists per contest. Her finesse had all fans waiting for her to switch to the big stage. But was Beuckers eligible for the draft?

What’s the eligibility criteria for the WNBA?

The WNBA operates on different rules than the NBA. While the NBA lets any male player who has completed 19 years during the year of the draft declare himself, its women counterpart dictates the players to be 22 years old during the year of the draft. Most women basketball players thus have to finish their four years in college before entering the eligibility criteria.

Another rule states that a player who has graduated from a four-year college program either prior to the draft or within three months post the draft can participate. A lot of women basketball players graduate within three years but begin graduate programs to stay for a fourth year.

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The rule is a little tweaked for international players who can apply to the draft if they turn 20 during the calendar year of the draft.

When can Beuckers be drafted?

The UConn point guard was eligible to be drafted during the WNBA 2023 as she turned 22 on October 20. However, the Naismith College Player of the Year 2021 decided to stick to her college and declared that her goal for the 2022-23 season would be to win the National Championship. Her significance can be gauged from the fact that the 2022-23 was the first season since 2008 when the UConn failed to make it to the Final Four. Though they finished the regular season with a record of 31-6, the UConn lost to the Ohio State in the Sweet 16 of the tournament.

The Minnesota-born was given an additional year of college eligibility and announced that she would return to the 2023-24 season for her college team and chose not to declare for the WNBA 2023 draft despite her peers – Aliyah Boston – making themselves available for the next level. Bueckers announced in August 2023 that she had been cleared by the medical team to play her trade once again on the basketball court. She was already declared fit to do other activities except play the game 2 months earlier.

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With a steely resolve and getting her last chance to win the coveted NCAA Championship title, maybe the 2021 USBWA National Player of the Year can fulfill her desire and then appear for the 2024 WNBA draft if she decides to, or once again stay with her college through the 2025-26 since she has two reserve years – one for being redshirted and another for being impacted by the pandemic as per CT Insider.