Wings Take Chloe Kitts and Talaysia Cooper With Two Firsts in ESPN WNBA Mock Draft

Dallas went from 10 wins to 27 in one year, and the Wings still hold two first-round picks for April's WNBA draft. Michael Voepel fills both in his updated mock draft for ESPN, published Friday, with South Carolina forward Chloe Kitts at No. 9 and Ole Miss guard Talaysia Cooper at No. 13.

Neither pick is part of Sunday's lottery. Voepel described his order as provisional, and a mock projects where players could go, not who has committed to entering.

In his ESPN mock, Voepel wrote, "Kitts sat out last season because of a knee injury but has looked very good so far."

Three games into her return, the 6-foot-2 senior has two double-doubles and is averaging 12.3 points and 9.7 rebounds, according to ESPN. She had ACL surgery in the preseason a year ago and missed all of 2025-26, after averaging 10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds as a junior starter in 2024-25.

That junior season ended with MVP awards at the 2025 SEC Tournament and at an NCAA regional. She led South Carolina in rebounding, shot 52.0% from the field, and was an All-America honorable mention, WCSC reported. SEC media voted her to the preseason All-SEC second team this fall.

Against North Carolina this month, Kitts had 17 points and 10 rebounds. Her previous double-double was a 15-point, 11-rebound game against Maryland in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, The Associated Press reported. The top-ranked Gamecocks play third-ranked USC on Sunday in Greenville, S.C.

Cooper started at South Carolina, moved to Tennessee, and is now at Ole Miss, her third SEC program. The 6-foot senior is averaging 14.3 points and has made 9 of 21 3-point attempts, or 42.9%, ESPN reported.

In his ESPN mock, Voepel wrote, "Cooper had her best defensive season as a sophomore at Tennessee, and a return to that level with Ole Miss will boost her."

That sophomore season was 2024-25, when Cooper made the SEC All-Defensive team and the All-SEC second team and was a Naismith Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist, Tennessee announced. Last season, she scored in double figures in all but four of Tennessee's 29 games, including a 30-point game at Ole Miss, Ole Miss said when she signed in April. She made the All-SEC second team again in 2026.

Dallas got the 13th pick from Las Vegas on June 30, 2025, when it sent forward NaLyssa Smith to the Aces for their 2027 first-rounder.

The Wings finished 27-17, 17 wins better than their 10-34 record in 2025, which was the largest single-season improvement in league history. Paige Bueckers scored 878 points, a franchise single-season record.

Golden State knocked Dallas out in three games in the first round and went on to win the championship. Azzi Fudd, the first pick in the 2026 draft, missed the end of the season after knee surgery. The 2027 season is expected to open May 7.