Which college has had the most No. 1 picks in the WNBA Draft history?

April 15 marks the 2024 WNBA Draft and it can arguably be considered one of the most highly anticipated drafts in WNBA history. Tickets to the show sold out in just 15 minutes.

Per the WNBA, this is the first time fans can be in attendance for the WNBA Draft since 2016. That was the year UConn sensation Breanna ‘Stewy’ Stewart was drafted with the No. 1 overall selection by the Seattle Storm.

This year’s draft will include women’s college basketball superstar Caitlin Clark who is projected to go No. 1 overall. Clark recently broke the overall women’s and men’s scoring record, passing Pete ‘Pistol Pete’ Maravich’s mark of 3,667. She currently holds the NCAA D1 record of 3,771 points and was recently named the Big Ten Player of the Year for the third consecutive year. Although she has declared for the draft, she's not done yet.

With women's college basketball taking the world by storm this season, which college has produced the most No. 1 draft picks in WNBA Draft history?

UConn has produced the most No. 1 overall picks in WNBA Draft history

The UConn Huskies have had the most No. 1 overall draft picks in WNBA history with five, per the NCAA website.

UConn head coach Geno Auriemma has earned Hall of Fame accolades while leading the Huskies to 11 NCAA Championships, 22 Final Fours, six perfect seasons and 57 conference championships. Under Auriemma’s leadership, the Huskies have dominated women’s basketball including multiple undefeated regular seasons and at least two separate runs of winning the NCAA tournament multiple times in a row (2001-2004 and 2012-2016).

UConn No. 1 overall draft picks

• (2002) Sue Bird - Seattle Storm
• (2004) Diana Taurasi Phoenix - Mercury
• (2010) Tina Charles - Connecticut Sun
• (2011) Maya Moore - Minnesota Lynx
• (2016) Breanna Stewart - Seattle Storm

Post college, these women were extremely successful professionals as well in the W. Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, and Maya Moore are all in the conversation of greatest WNBA players of all time. Bird won four WNBA championships, Taurasi won three WNBA championships and Moore is a four-time WNBA champion.

It was recently announced that the Minnesota Lynx would retire Moore’s jersey on Aug. 24 in Minneapolis as they host the Indiana Fever. It’s no secret that Caitlin Clark is projected to go to the Indiana Fever, who have the No. 1 pick for the second consecutive year. Moore is also Clark’s favorite player of all time.

UConn players are continuing to make noise to this day. Breanna Stewart went toe-to-toe with the defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces last season for the title but ultimately fell short. She recorded a double-double in Game 4 of the Finals, including 14 rebounds.

UConn has produced some phenomenal talent but it doesn’t stop there.

UConn has also produced the most first-round picks in WNBA Draft history

Yup, UConn also has the most overall first-round draft picks with 27. First-round picks include WNBA champions Swin Cash (2002 Draft - Detroit Shock), Renee Montgomery (2009 Draft - Minnesota Lynx), Jennifer Rizzotti (1999 Draft - Houston Comets), and more. 

The current Lady Huskies include star players like Paige Bueckers and Aaliyah Edwards. While Bueckers has declared that she’s staying in college another year, Edwards along with a few more UConn players could be heading to the 2024 WNBA Draft.