If Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark had been operating under NBA's rules, they wouldn't have participated in this year's NCAA Tournament.
The UConn and Iowa stars both made an immediate impact as freshmen, posting incredible stats and making deep tournament runs. Bueckers averaged 20.0 points, 5.8 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game in 2020-21 and won the AP Player of the Year award. Clark averaged 26.6 points, 7.0 assists and 5.9 rebounds and led the Hawkeyes to the Sweet 16 that season. She lost to — you guessed it — Bueckers and the Huskies.
Bueckers and Clark would have been the top two prospects available in the 2021 WNBA Draft, so why didn't they leave college hoops behind? Well, they don't actually have full control when it comes to that decision.
Timing is everything.
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Why can't Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark enter the WNBA Draft?
Unlike the NBA, there is no one-and-done policy for the WNBA. The current collective bargaining agreement states that a player is eligible if she will be at least 22 years old during the calendar year in which the draft is held and has either no remaining college eligibility or will renounce her remaining college eligibility.
Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu, for example, could have declared for the 2019 WNBA Draft because she was turning 22 that year. Instead, she decided to return to Oregon for her senior season.
A player is also eligible if she will be graduating from a four-year college or university within three months of the draft. An international player is eligible if she will be at least 20 years old during the calendar year in which the draft is held.
When are Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark eligible for the WNBA Draft?
Bueckers is 20 years old and was born in October 2001, so she won't be eligible until 2023.
Clark is 20 years old and was born in January 2002, so she won't be eligible until 2024.
Will the WNBA change its draft eligibility rules?
The WNBA and Women's National Basketball Players Association reached an agreement on a collective bargaining agreement in January 2020. The new CBA, which runs through 2027, marked a significant improvement for player compensation and benefits, but WNBPA vice president Sue Bird admitted that the draft was not a major part of negotiations.
"The truth is, sometimes in CBA talks when there's so much that needs to be addressed or fixed, you don't get to everything," Bird said (via ESPN's Kevin Pelton). "And sadly, that was one thing. If anyone's been involved in a negotiation, they know you've got to have a priority list."
However, WNBA players generally seem supportive of giving prospects the ability to leave early if they feel comfortable renouncing their college eligibility. This topic will likely be part of future discussions between the WNBA and WNBPA.
"I think the next step is to have that option," Mercury star Diana Taurasi said. "Will kids do it? Probably not. But you should have that option. It is a career path you're taking and if you're the best at your profession, you should be able to keep getting better. Not saying that they won't in college, but it's just a different level when you get to the pros."