South Carolina stars invited to 2026 WNBA draft are all mocked as first-round picks

The 2026 WNBA Draft is just a few days away, scheduled for Monday, April 13th. On Thursday, a trio of former South Carolina Gamecock stars were invited to attend in seniors Raven Johnson, Ta'Niya Latson and Madina Okot. 

2026 marks the third time in WNBA draft history that three Gamecocks were invited to attend the annual event. Monday night's draft, set to take place in Hudson Yards in New York City, could see all three South Carolina stars go in the first round. Let's take a look at a few of the latest mock drafts, and where each projects these Gamecock stars to end up. 

Raven Johnson

Johnson seems pretty likely to land with the Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark. The Fever have the No. 10 overall pick in this year's draft. Both The Athletic and ESPN's latest mock drafts have Johnson landing in Indiana, where she'd be a great compliment defensively for Clark and Kelsey Mitchell. 

CBS Sports' mock draft has Johnson going even higher, landing at No. 6 overall to the WNBA's newest franchise in the Toronto Tempo. Owned by the likes of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment's Larry Tanenbaum, as well as tennis legend Serena Williams among others, Johnson could make the new franchise a contender as early as year one. 

Ta'Niya Latson

Guard Ta'Niya Latson's draft projections are a bit all over the place. Part of that could be due to her numbers drop-off after she transferred from Florida State to South Carolina, going from 25.2 points per game to just 14.1 this season with the Gamecocks. 

CBS Sports has Latson going No. 10 overall to the Fever to join Clark, where she would likely be a bench scorer. ESPN has her going No. 13 overall to the Atlanta Dream, teaming up with the team's newest member, Angel Reese. The Athletic, meanwhile, has her going the highest at No. 8 overall to the Golden State Valkyries, where she'd drastically improve their defense. 

Makina Okot

Although most South Carolina fans were hoping that Okot would get an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA, she is headed to the WNBA instead. 

ESPN and The Athletic have Okot going No. 15 overall to the Connecticut Sun, which will be moving to Houston after next season. CBS' mock draft has her landing at No. 13 to the Atlanta Dream to team up with Reese.

If all three stars are selected in the first round, it'll mark the third time in school history that Dawn Staley has produced three first-rounders. The Gamecocks did so in both 2017 and 2023, after winning the national championship.