Liberty Pick South Carolina Shooter Tessa Johnson at No. 8 in ESPN WNBA Mock Draft

New York isn't in Sunday's WNBA draft lottery, but the Liberty's first-round pick sits eighth in Michael Voepel's updated mock draft. Voepel uses it on South Carolina guard Tessa Johnson in the piece ESPN published Friday.

The drawing decides only picks 1 through 7. Voepel's order for the rest of the first round is provisional too, and the projection doesn't settle whether Johnson or any other senior will enter.

Johnson made 90 of 201 3-point attempts last season. That's 44.8%. No power-conference player shot better from deep, ESPN reported. This season, the 6-foot-1 senior is 6-of-14 from beyond the arc, or 42.9%, and is averaging 13.3 points.

In his ESPN mock, Voepel wrote, "Johnson's 3-point shooting is an impressive tool that will translate to the pro game and could help her move up the draft board."

She made the All-SEC second team last season, South Carolina announced in March, one of five Gamecocks on the All-SEC teams, which matched the league record. She has been on the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament team twice, in 2024 and 2026, WCSC reported. This fall, the SEC's media put her on the preseason All-SEC second team, and the league's coaches put her on their first team.

On Sunday afternoon, hours before the lottery, the top-ranked Gamecocks play JuJu Watkins and No. 3 USC in Greenville, S.C. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. ET on ABC, according to ESPN. The Gamecocks have won the last two meetings, both within the past 12 months, The Associated Press reported. SEC media picked South Carolina to win the conference again this season, WCSC reported.

Voepel's piece also mentioned that seniors might return to school. The NCAA's eligibility page says the age-based rules don't guarantee every athlete five seasons.

Chris DeMarco's only season as Liberty coach ended at 26-18. New York won the Commissioner's Cup and went into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed, then swept the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx in the first round. A No. 8 seed had never eliminated a No. 1 seed in league history. It was DeMarco's first playoff series win as a WNBA head coach. Atlanta swept the Liberty 3-0 in the semifinals.

The Liberty fired DeMarco on Nov. 3, The Associated Press reported. He had taken over for Sandy Brondello, whom New York let go after the 2025 season. Brondello now coaches the Toronto Tempo.

Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, and Sabrina Ionescu are all under contract, Front Office Sports reported when DeMarco was fired.

New York did not keep its 2026 first-round pick. Washington held it at No. 11 and drafted Ole Miss guard Cotie McMahon.