by (Unasville, Conn) – The WNBA Draft 2015 presented by State Farm will be held on Thursday, April 16, at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. ESPN2 will provide coverage and analysis of the first round beginning at 7 p.m. ET, and ESPN3 will air the second and third rounds beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
Last year, the excitement generated by the WNBA’s newest additions made the 2014 Draft the second-most-viewed draft in league history, behind only the 2004 Draft that aired on ESPN. Chiney Ogwumike, selected No. 1 overall by the Sun, went on to earn the WNBA Rookie of the Year presented by Samsung. Indian Country’s Shoni Schimmel (Umatilla) was picked 8th overall by the Atlanta Dream and went on to become the first ever Rookie ever to be named MVP in the WNBA All-Star game in Phoenix. She also broke the all-star game most points record by scoring 29 points for the East All-Stars and was the first ever Rookie named a starter by votes from the fans.
Last season, in 2014, draftsite.com mock draft predictions had projected that Shoni would be the 9th pick in the draft but she end up being selected eighth by the Atlanta Dream. This year in 2015, draftsite.com’s mock draft is projecting that younger sister Jude Schimmel will be selected in the late third round of this year’s 2015 WNBA Draft. While these mock draft’s are always correct or an exact science, they do have a pretty good track record with the top 15 players.
Jude finished her season with the Louisville Cardinals as part of a senior class that is winningest in Louisville women’s basketball history (112-31). Among those wins, include a NCAA Women’s National Runner-up trophy in 2013 and 4 straight NCAA tournament appearances.
In her four years at Louisville, Jude had 711 career points, 221 steals, and a team-leading 392 assists during that span.
The draft will also be available through WatchESPN, accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 or Xbox One to fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider.
Mohegan Sun Arena has hosted the WNBA Draft once before (2014) and the WNBA All-Star Game three times (2005, 2009 and 2013).
WNBA.com, in addition to providing comprehensive draft-day coverage, will serve as the web destination for fans who want to track the top seniors in advance of the draft.
The current order for WNBA Draft 2015 presented by State Farm is as follows:
(as of Feb. 25, 2015)
First Round
1) Seattle (12-22)
2) Tulsa (12-22)
3) Seattle from Connecticut (13-21) (Little, Stricklen, Montgomery, 1/28/15)
4) Connecticut from New York (15-19) (Charles, Thomas, Bone, 4/14/14)
5) Chicago (15-19)
6) Indiana (16-18)
7) Los Angeles (16-18)
8) Washington (16-18)
9) San Antonio (16-18)
10) Atlanta (19-15)
11) Minnesota (25-9)
12) Phoenix (29-5)
Second Round
1) Tulsa (12-22)
2) Los Angeles from Seattle (12-22) (O’Hea, 4/1/14)
3) Washington from Connecticut (13-21) via Seattle (Little, Stricklen, Montgomery, 1/28/15) (Hollingsworth, 2/22/15)
4) New York (15-19)
5) Chicago (15-19)
6) Phoenix from Indiana (16-18) (Lucas, 5/12/14)
7) Connecticut from Los Angeles (16-18) (Gruda, 3/28/14)
8) Seattle from Washington (16-18) (Hollingsworth, 2/22/15)
9) San Antonio (16-18)
10) Chicago from Atlanta (19-15) (Cash, Clements, 5/7/14)
11) Minnesota (25-9)
12) Phoenix (29-5)
Third Round
1) Tulsa (12-22)
2) Seattle (12-22)
3) New York from Connecticut (13-21) (Charles, Thomas, Bone, 4/14/14)
4) Minnesota from New York (15-19) (Rodgers, 4/16/14)
5) Atlanta from Chicago (15-19) (Cash, Clements 5/17/14)
6) Indiana (16-18)
7) Los Angeles (16-18)
8) Washington (16-18)
9) San Antonio (16-18)
10) Atlanta (19-15)
11) New York from Minnesota (25-9) (Rodgers, 4/16/14)
12) Phoenix (29-5)
