When a player dominates at the collegiate level, conventional wisdom would say that they're ready for increased competition and compensation at the professional level.
However, the WNBA has limitations on college players declaring for the draft. League rules state that while an international player must only be 20 years old, a college player must either graduate or be turning 22 years old during the year of the draft.
This means that some of the best players in college basketball this season may or may not be eligible to take their talents to the WNBA this summer. A player like Flau'jae Johnson has been prominent for the LSU Tigers for several seasons now, but there is some confusion about whether or not she'll be a professional next year.
When is Flau’Jae Johnson eligible for the WNBA Draft?
Johnson will turn 22 years old in November, which means that she is eligible for the 2025 WNBA Draft on April 14. However, she has not announced whether she intends to forego her final year of college eligibility.
The college game has changed in the era of Name, Image and Likeness. Now that college players can be paid while remaining amateurs, they are opting to stay in school for longer.
This has been especially powerful for female athletes, as the salaries in women's professional sports have not quite caught up to what some of these athletes are getting paid in college. Johnson's NIL valuation projects that she made an astounding $1.5 million this year at LSU, whereas the top contract in the WNBA this year was Jackie Young's $252,000.
While she has not decided either way, Johnson appears to be leaning toward staying in college. She has not appeared in any WNBA mock drafts, which means that the experts are not expecting her to declare.
Johnson, if she returns, will be arguably the best player in women's college basketball once again next season. She is currently averaging 18.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game for Kim Mulkey's squad, and her numbers should only go up with another year of experience under her belt.