Lynx Take Kentucky Center Clara Strack at No. 15 in ESPN WNBA Mock Draft

Minnesota had the best record in the WNBA in 2026, which puts the Lynx last in the first round. In his updated mock draft on Friday, ESPN's Michael Voepel uses that 15th pick on Kentucky center Clara Strack.

Sunday's lottery sets only the top seven. Voepel's order is provisional, and it doesn't settle who will enter the draft.

Strack is from Buffalo, N.Y., and stands 6-foot-5. Kentucky is 4-0, and the senior center is averaging 15.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.8 blocks, ESPN reported. She has made 42 3-pointers over the past two seasons.

In his ESPN mock, Voepel wrote, "It's not easy for traditional centers to find their way in the WNBA, so having shooting range matters."

In 2025, Strack was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year. Victoria Dunlap, in 2011, was the only Kentucky player to win it before her. That season, Strack set school single-season records with 73 blocks and 2.4 per game, and her 8 blocks at Ole Miss set the program's single-game record, Kentucky said. She also had 15 double-doubles, fourth in the SEC, and was one of 10 finalists for the Lisa Leslie Award, according to the school.

She broke her own blocks record last season with 85. She led Kentucky in points, rebounds, blocks, and steals and averaged 17.1 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 2.58 blocks, Kentucky Athletics said when she was named a Naismith Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist.

She made the All-SEC first team and the SEC All-Defensive team last season, and this time she was one of five finalists for the Lisa Leslie Award, which goes to the nation's top center. USA Today put her on its All-America second team. The AP and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association made her an All-America honorable mention. In October, SEC coaches voted her unanimously onto the preseason All-SEC first team, and the league's media put her on its first team too.

The Lynx went 33-11 in 2026 and were the No. 1 seed for the second year in a row. Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve won WNBA Coach of the Year for a record fifth time in her 17th season with the franchise. In July, she became the winningest coach in league history.

Olivia Miles, the TCU guard Minnesota drafted second overall in 2026 with a pick it held from Chicago, was named Rookie of the Year, MPR News reported.

New York swept Minnesota in the first round. The Liberty were the first No. 8 seed to eliminate a No. 1 seed in league history.

Minnesota's own 2026 first-round pick, No. 15, belonged to Connecticut. The Sun used it on UCLA guard Gianna Kneepkens.