TCU’s Olivia Miles should get drafted early after delaying start of her WNBA career

By Canadian Press on March 17, 2026.

Olivia Miles makes the types of nifty passes that can leave fans gasping in astonishment.

The stunning decision she made last year regarding her future produced a similar reaction.

Although she was predicted to go as early as the second overall pick in the WNBA draft, Miles opted to spend one more year playing college basketball. But rather than returning to Notre Dame for one more season, she transferred to TCU – the school that had just knocked her old team out of the NCAA Tournament.

Miles’ choice apparently hasn’t damaged her pro stock. The 5-foot-10 guard again is considered one of the top few prospects in the upcoming draft. Before she focuses on that, Miles is trying to advance beyond the Sweet 16 for the first time in her career.

TCU (29-5) is the No. 3 seed in the Sacramento 4 Regional and will host UC San Diego (24-8) in a first-round game Friday.

Miles reached regional semifinals with Notre Dame in 2022 and 2025, though she didn’t play in the Irish’s NCAA Tournament runs to Sweet 16s in 2023 or 2024 because of a knee injury. She knows how different it is to perform on this stage.

“It’s just an aspect of desperation,” Miles told reporters Sunday. “Your season’s on the line Your dream’s on the line with a group of people you really care about. That’s the difference between March and the regular season.”

Miles has averaged a career-high 19.6 points to go along with 6.9 rebounds and 6.4 assists while recording five triple-doubles. She’s of five finalists for the Nancy Lieberman Award, which goes annually to the top point guard in women’s college basketball.

She also was named the Big 12’s overall player of the year and its newcomer of the year.

Miles is one of the top prospects in the upcoming WNBA draft participating in this year’s NCAA Tournament. Here’s a look at some others (limited to one player per school):

Lauren Betts, UCLA

UCLA has a few likely WNBA draft picks on its roster, such as Kiki Rice, Gianna Kneepkens and Gabriela Jaquez.

Betts probably will get selected the earliest of any of them. The 6-7 center was named the national defensive player of the year last season while leading UCLA to a Final Four and becoming the first player in school history to have at least 600 points, 300 rebounds and 100 blocks in a season.

She’s averaging 16.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and a career-best 3.2 assists this season for a UCLA team that has won its last 25 games.

Azzi Fudd, UConn

Fudd has been exceptional since returning from a torn ACL that limited her to two games in the 2023-24 season. Fudd was the most outstanding player in the 2025 Final Four while helping UConn win a national title and has built on that momentum this season with the unbeaten Huskies.

Fudd is shooting 44.6% from 3-point range while making 3.1 3-pointers per game. Fudd also is shooting 48.9% overall and 95.1% on free-throw attempts while scoring a career-high 17.7 points per game.

Flau’jae Johnson, LSU

The 5-10 guard is just the sixth player in LSU history to score 2,000 career points for the Tigers. Johnson is shooting 40.2% from 3-point range this season.

Ta’Niya Latson, South Carolina

South Carolina has so many quality draft-eligible players that the challenge is predicting which of them will get taken first.

Raven Johnson and Madina Okot also figure to get drafted, but we’re guessing Ta’Niya Latson gets taken first. The 5-9 guard scored a Division I-leading 25.2 points per game last season at Florida State before accepting more of a supplementary role at South Carolina. She has 14.3 points, 3.5 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game this season while shooting a career-best 49.3%.

Cotie McMahon, Mississippi

After playing three seasons at Ohio State and earning first-team all-Big Ten honors each of her last two years there, McMahon has scored a career-high 19.9 points per game this season at Ole Miss. She also has 5.3 rebounds and 3 assists per game. The 6-footer is one of five finalists for the Cheryl Miller Award that goes annually to the top small forward in women’s college

Tonie Morgan, Kentucky

Morgan probably won’t get drafted as early as the other players on this list, but her passing ability should assure this 5-9 guard has a productive pro career.

In her first season at Kentucky after three years at Georgia Tech, Morgan has distributed 8.2 assists per game to rank second among all Division I players. She’s one of five finalists for the Nancy Lieberman Award.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Steve Megargee, The Associated Press