Mystics Take Monumental Step Forward with Six-Pick Draft Class
Only a short time after a major change in the front office, and only hours after the team re-signed Shakira Austin to a multi-year deal, the Mystics took a monumental step in their master plan as they made six selections in the 2026 WNBA Draft.
Note: This also is the first year league rosters include two developmental players, so there’s more incentive to draft for upside throughout the draft than there ever has been in the W.
Lauren Betts — 4th overall
Without a doubt, the most impactful post player available at the No. 4 draft spot, Lauren Betts has been a consistent force throughout her illustrious college career at UCLA after transferring from Stanford.
The lynchpin for UCLA’s championship as the 2026 NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, Betts led a team that saw its top six players all drafted Monday night.
Betts averaged 17.1 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists on a 58% clip from the field in 2026, while adding 2.0 blocks per game.
She has the post footwork, consistent ability to finish at the rim and a reliable face-up game to be an impactful scorer, but is truly special as a player who can alter shots on defense.
With Betts in D.C., she continues her path with Angela Dugalić from UCLA and reunites with Kiki Iriafen, whom she played alongside during her lone season at Stanford.
Additionally, with the Lauren Betts pick, you also get a player who is unafraid to be human in the public eye and has truly embraced her platform as a high-profile athlete to tell her personal story. As much as she can impact on the floor, in an area like the D.C. area, having a player that fans of all ages can relate to presents an incredible value that is impossible to quantify.
In her rookie year, in a crowded Mystics frontcourt, it seems like there will be a bit of a tougher path to uninterrupted playing time, but Betts will look to have an important role in the organization out of the gate.
Angela Dugalić — 9th overall
With their second pick in the draft, the Mystics continued the UCLA trend and added another champion to their ranks with Angela Dugalić, the Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year.
The main thing that stands out about Angela Dugalić’s game is versatility. At UCLA, Dugalić’s raw statistical volume isn’t eye-popping, but in the 2026 NCAA Tournament, she averaged 8.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists.
Dugalić took a scoring backseat in UCLA’s offense, but the tools are there for her to be impactful at the next level, and it helps that she’s developed chemistry playing alongside Lauren Betts.
She’s a good passer, an effective rebounder and has a smooth shooting stroke that allows her to find different avenues to get and stay on the court at the next level.
Angela fills plenty of gaps teams need on the court, and as the Mystics work to figure out their future, she provides high-level upside the team is looking for, along with the ability to make an immediate impact.
Cotie McMahon — 11th overall
At Ohio State and in her last season after her transfer to Ole Miss, Cotie is truly all about putting the ball in the bucket and is another tall addition to the Mystics, who saw all three of their first-round picks average 6-foot-4 in height.
Averaging 19.5 points per game in her senior season with increased volume, the Mystics added a relentless attacker to their lineup.
The keyword for McMahon is “downhill,” something Mystics coach and current controller of basketball operations Sydney Johnson mentioned briefly in the post-draft presser.
Cotie thrives as she gains momentum, whether through transition or off handoffs from the wing, and her mentality as a scorer can make up for what has sometimes not been statistically efficient shooting.
However, she has a true scorer’s mentality and will be someone to watch in training camp to see how she utilizes her physical ability to create opportunities.
Cassandre Prosper — 19th overall
One of the more intriguing picks in the draft, Prosper was the ACC’s Most Improved Player in 2026 at Notre Dame, as she averaged 13.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game.
Prosper, listed at 6-3, brings more size and physicality at the guard spot and an impressive shot-blocking profile at that position.
Prosper has upside in the W, but that upside is hyper-dependent on her developing a pro-level outside scoring ability.
Her shooting splits in college, much like a few of the Mystics’ picks this year, are a major area of improvement, but Prosper brings several elite tools to her game that will only be enhanced if the shooting follows.
Darianna Littlepage-Buggs — 30th overall
As the 2026 draft wound down, it was interesting to see the Mystics’ strategy, and Sydney Johnson spoke about the intentionality behind later-round picks.
This was evident in the selection of Darianna Littlepage-Buggs.
Darianna at Baylor was a double-double machine and the ninth Baylor Bear to surpass the 1,000 career rebound mark.
In her final season at Baylor, she averaged 10.6 points, 10.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game and shot 52% from the field over her entire career.
Darianna will likely need to make the team as a guard/wing, as the path to frontcourt success is crowded, so it will be interesting to see how she fits into the mix in D.C., but is yet another good add at pick No. 30.
Rori Harmon — 34th overall
Rori Harmon is one of the best competitors in her class and, in my opinion, was one of the most underrated players in college basketball this year at Texas.
Harmon embodied her coach Vic Schaefer’s mentality and led one of the most successful stretches in Texas basketball history during her tenure.
Harmon averaged 8.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.8 steals per game last season.
Harmon is an adept perimeter defender with a nose for the basketball, who always found a way to compete on that end despite being one of the shorter players on the floor at 5-foot-6.
Rori is also a great passer and playmaker and, over time, improved her shot selection to become more efficient, shooting 44% from three her senior year, though with low volume.
A pick that offers the potential for high reward if she can battle through training camp at the point guard spot and potentially earn a developmental roster selection.
Final thoughts
Overall, a very good draft for the Mystics, who found value at every selection as they continue on their road back to contention.
One thing about the draft for fans to understand is that it will be a process, but the organization is headed in the right direction with high-value picks upcoming in the 2027 and 2028 WNBA Drafts.
This season, the rookies who make the roster through training camp are likely to have a role in the team’s success from the start, but time and roster spots will also be determined by how the Mystics navigate the remaining period of free agency.
Looking forward to seeing how things develop this year as it is an exciting time to be a basketball fan in D.C.
