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Who is eligible for the WNBA draft, and how old do you have to be?

By McKinley Malbrough III, J.D., MS-HRM · Certified WNBA player agent · Former certified NBA agent

Published October 20, 2026. Last updated October 20, 2026.

Draft eligibility is set by Article XIII of the 2026 collective bargaining agreement between the WNBA and the players' union, not by the NCAA. The NCAA's own clock on college seasons is a separate rule, covered in the five-for-five eligibility guide. The men's version of this question is answered in the NBA draft eligibility guide.

Who is eligible for the WNBA draft, and how old do you have to be?

A domestic player is eligible if she meets any one of three tests, per Article XIII, Section 1(b) of the 2026 CBA. She will be at least 22 years old during the calendar year of the draft, or she has graduated from a four-year college, or is to graduate within three months after the draft, or she attended a four-year college and her original class has graduated or is to graduate within that window.

For the 2027 draft, a domestic player who turns 22 that year was born in 2005 or earlier. The CBA defines "is to graduate" for the graduation test: she would graduate if she finishes the coursework she is enrolled in, and that load is commensurate with her earlier loads. For the class test, it means the majority of her class would graduate on finishing their current coursework. Only women are eligible to play in the WNBA, per Section 1(a).

The CBA has no test that counts years since high school. Some news coverage describes one, but the text of Article XIII does not contain it. Agents notice that families count college seasons when the CBA counts birthdays and graduation dates, so the first check is a player's birth year.

Can a college player enter the WNBA draft early?

Yes, but she must give up her remaining NCAA eligibility in writing. A player who meets a test above and has college eligibility left renounces it by written notice to the WNBA at least 10 days before the draft, per Section 1(b). A player still competing in the NCAA Tournament can renounce in the 48 hours after her final game, and no later than 3 hours before the draft.

A player who renounced can withdraw by written notice received by the WNBA 5 days before the draft, per Section 9(d). The commissioner sets the draft date each year, and it must come before May 15 ahead of the season, per Section 3. The 2026 draft was held April 13 in New York, per the WNBA draft FAQ. The sources reviewed for this article do not list the 2027 draft date, so check the WNBA's draft page when it is announced.

Representation matters before that decision, andthe guide to how new WNBA agents find clients explains how the player-agent side works.

How does WNBA draft eligibility work for international players?

An international player is eligible if she will be at least 20 years old during the calendar year of the draft, per Section 1(c) and (d). In 2027 that means a birth year of 2007 or earlier. The CBA defines the group as any person born and residing outside the United States who plays basketball as an amateur or a professional.

An international player who exercises U.S. college eligibility falls under the domestic rules instead. The CBA calls her a late matriculating international player, and this applies even if she was eligible as an international and went unselected. The same status matters for players asking whether they can play college basketball, covered in the international players and college basketball article.

How many times can a player be eligible for the WNBA draft?

A player can be eligible for no more than two drafts, and a late matriculating international player for no more than three, per Section 1(e) and (f). No player can sign or play in the WNBA unless she has been eligible for at least one draft. A drafted player who received a Required Tender and does not sign before the next draft loses her team's exclusive rights and becomes eligible for that next draft, which counts toward the two-draft limit, per Sections 5(a) and 1(f).

A player who used her college eligibility and then played professionally in another league is eligible for the next draft if she will be 22 that year, and otherwise for the first draft in the year she turns 22, per Section 1(b). National-team play does not count as professional basketball for this purpose.

What happens after a player is drafted, including one playing overseas?

The drafting team holds exclusive negotiating rights until the next draft, as long as it makes a Required Tender within 7 days of the draft, per Section 5. A Required Tender is an offer of a rookie scale contract that the player has 10 days to accept. If a team makes no tender, the player becomes a rookie free agent on the eighth day after the draft.

A drafted player under contract abroad is the draft-and-stash case. The team keeps her WNBA rights for one year from the day she notifies it she is immediately available and free of any legal impediment. The rights renew for further one-year periods only if she stays under a non-WNBA contract and either made no bona fide effort to negotiate with the team, or made one and the team made a Required Tender by April 5, per Section 6. A trade moves those rights without enlarging them, per Section 8. Pay on the rookie scale is covered in the WNBA rookie contract guide, where the 2026 scale starts at $500,000 for the first pick, per Article VIII of the CBA.

What happens if a player goes undrafted?

She becomes a Non-Draft Rookie and a rookie free agent, so any team can sign her, per Article I of the CBA. The contract options are a training camp contract, a player development contract or a non-draft rookie scale contract of up to two seasons, per Article V. Under the 2026 scale, second-round picks, third-round picks and undrafted players start at $270,000 in year one and $288,600 in year two, per Article VIII. The scale rises each season, so a contract that starts in 2027 does not follow the 2026 table.

A training camp contract carries no team salary until the regular season starts, runs no longer than one season and pays only per diem, lodging and transportation during camp, per Article VII, Section 2(g). A player development contract pays $750 per regular-season week plus an active games bonus, per Article V, Section 12. Salary levels across the league are in the WNBA salaries guide.

Is the WNBA draft age rule likely to change?

The 2026 CBA left draft eligibility unchanged, per Front Office Sports. The same report says many team sources believe lowering the age would help them develop players, and concludes a change is a matter of when, not if. The agreement runs through January 15, 2033, per Article XXXVIII, Section 1, but either side can end it early by notice on or before January 15, 2031, effective January 15, 2032. A change before then would need the union's agreement.

The gap with the NBA is wide. An NBA player must turn 19 and wait one season after high school, and an international player files early-entry notice at 19, as the NBA guide sets out. The WNBA path runs through a four-year college for most players, which is why the development leagues article treats the age rule as part of a larger pipeline question.