The WNBA Draft is around the corner, bringing excitement for new talent and direction. The league continues to push further towards pace, space, and versatility, all principles embodied by the title-winning Aces. Multiple players who entered their names into the draft pool fit this mold, but three standouts could pave the way for playing time and crucial developmental minutes.

Villanova forward Maddy Siegrist put together a historic scoring season as a senior. The 6’2 forward led the country in scoring in Division 1, averaging 29.2 points per game with superb efficiency, shooting 51% from the field, 36.1% from deep, and 85.8% at the line. That efficiency is more impressive considering the difficulty of her shots; only 26.7% of Siegrist’s jumpers were classified as “unguarded” by Synergy Sports.

The versatility Siegrist brings within her jumper makes her remarkably dynamic as a scoring threat.

Siegrist can score off a variety of screening actions; deep jumpers off of a flare screen, cross screens to open up a silky mid-range shot, and back screens to open her up moving toward the basket. She also can screen herself and pop as a shooting threat, something we’ll likely see even more of at the next level.

Her shooting and diversity as a shooting threat made her a tough guard. If a bigger four were tasked with defending Siegrist, Villanova would pull them into off-ball actions to make them chase her off of screens, a tall order for more traditional bigs.

That could open up opportunities for her to attack forced switches by opponents. With how high Siegrist’s release point is on her jumper and how quickly she gets the ball off, it was nearly impossible for smaller defenders to guard her even adequately.

It will be critical to see how Siegrist acclimates defensively at the next level and what her usage looks like (she was 5th in the country in usage rate this season). Adapting to a minor role is sometimes easier said than done, but with the elite skill that Siegrist brings, it’s not difficult to envision her impacting a W rotation.

Tennessee wing Jordan Horston is one of the most exciting prospects in the draft. The 6’2 Horston is a savvy pick-and-roll playmaker and scorer, with a solid pull-up jumper inside the arc and the ability to make quality reads and passes off drives. She has a very good touch on floaters and runners, pulling off routine crafty and athletic finishes around the basket.

While Horston’s outside shot is a definite question mark at the next level (career 28.5% three-point shooter), that’s one of the more moldable skills in development. Bringing the ability to dribble, pass, function as a cutter, and create her shot, Horston has an exciting offensive game with the potential to become even more if her skills round out.

The defensive aptitude and potential that Horston brings to the table immediately make me that much more confident in her getting the opportunities to develop her offensive game.

At her size, with a lengthy wingspan, good lateral quickness, and phenomenal recovery tools, Horston is an incredibly rangy defender. She actively seeks moments to roam off the ball and muck up plays in the paint, even bringing some impact as a rim protector from the weak side.

She covers ground in a way that few players can at her size, which is incredibly important as more and more players become capable of opening up and spreading the floor.

There’s room for Horston’s footwork to improve on the ball, particularly when defending smaller guards. The same can be said about how she trails off screens, but her versatility as a potential multi-positional defender (2-4) and her impact within a scheme makes her incredibly enticing.

University of South Florida guard Elena Tsineke is one of my favorite potential late first-round picks. Her senior season was a breakout one, honing her efficiency inside and outside the arc with cleaned-up jumper mechanics, opening up the rest of her game.

Tsineke’s game is primarily rooted in what she can do creating out-of-ball screens, thriving on a pick-and-roll heavy diet. 

She’s not particularly explosive but wins and creates advantageous scoring chances with a polished and creative handle and some of the best footwork in basketball. She has counters on counters on counters. 

Even against some of the best on-ball defenders in the game, Tsineke is elite at using their momentum against them, attacking hips and angles incredibly well. She doesn’t create space often with her first step, but through ball fakes, head fakes, and an elite ability to set defenders up into screens and re-screens.

Her finishing package of high glass finishes, lofty floaters, off-hand layups, and an incredible step-through allows her to attack over and through size even without being all that vertical around the rim.

Tsineke is a solid playmaker but more of a scoring or combo guard, which makes her continued jumper development essential. 

Where any of the trio will be drafted isn’t guaranteed, but be on the lookout for an impact at the next level by all three.

Siegrist, Horston, and Tsineke are all eligible for the 2023 WNBA Draft.

WNBA reporter Mark Schindler writes a column on WNBA.com throughout the season and can be reached on Twitter at @MG_Schindler. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the WNBA or its clubs.