Mystics To Pick Sixth Overall In 2010 WNBA Draft

NEW YORK, March 9, 2010 – The worlds’ top women’s basketball prospects will be selected in the 2010 WNBA Draft presented by adidas, which will be held on Thursday, April 8 at the NBA Entertainment studios in Secaucus, N.J. ESPN2 and ESPN360.com will provide live coverage and analysis of the first round of the draft beginning at 3 p.m. ET. ESPNU and NBA TV will broadcast the second and third rounds.

After completing a trade with the Minnesota Lynx earlier this year, the Connecticut Sun hold the top pick in the draft for the first time in franchise history. The Sun obtained the first overall pick and Renee Montgomery from the Lynx in exchange for Lindsay Whalen and the second overall pick. It marked the first time in league history that a team had swapped the No. 1 pick in advance of the WNBA Draft. Minnesota previously obtained the pick from the New York Liberty, which ultimately led to the Lynx winning the ninth annual WNBA Draft Lottery when New York’s lottery numbers were called.

The Lynx now have the second and third picks in the 2010 WNBA Draft followed by the Chicago Sky and the San Antonio Silver Stars to round out the top five selections.

Among eligible prospects for this year’s draft are the following players, who have combined for five Final Four appearances and eight Associated Press All-America selections over their collegiate careers: Stanford University’s Jayne Appel, the University of Connecticut’s Tina Charles, the University of Nebraska’s Kelsey Griffin, Epiphanny Prince, who played for three years at Rutgers University and is currently playing overseas for Botas in Turkey, Oklahoma State University’s Andrea Riley and the University of Virginia’s Monica Wright.

WNBA.com, in addition to providing comprehensive draft-day coverage, will serve as the Web destination for fans who want to track top prospects from mid-March through April 8.

The WNBA will tip off its 14th season on Saturday, May 15 as the defending champion Phoenix Mercury host the Los Angeles Sparks at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

2010 WNBA DRAFT ORDER

First Round

1 Connecticut from New York via Minnesota
(Whalen/Montgomery, 1/11/10) (Spencer/Quinn, Masciadri, 5/5/09)

2 Minnesota from Connecticut
(Whalen/Montgomery, 1/11/10)

3 Minnesota

4 Chicago

5 San Antonio

6 Washington

7 Tulsa

8 Los Angeles

9 Atlanta

10 Seattle

11 Indiana

12 Los Angeles from Phoenix
(T. Johnson, 3/26/09)

Second Round

13 New York

14 Washington from Minnesota
(Harding, 1/30/09)

15 Connecticut

16 Chicago

17 San Antonio

18 Washington

19 Tulsa

20 Los Angeles

21 Atlanta

22 Seattle

23 Indiana

24 Phoenix

Third Round

25 New York

26 Minnesota

27 Connecticut

28 Chicago

29 San Antonio

30 Washington

31 Tulsa

32 Los Angeles

33 Atlanta

34 Seattle

35 Indiana

36 Phoenix