Not until very recently, not many besides a select few people really cared about the Women’s Sports.

National Basketball Association (WNBA), let alone the WNBA draft. However, people not even interested in basketball are starting to recognize up and coming female basketball players’ names such as Caitlin Clark being one of the most prominent ones. Why is this though? Why all of a sudden are people starting to pay attention to women’s basketball? All of the credit goes to the outstanding players themselves.

During March every year March Madness takes place, and this is essentially a nationwide basketball tournament between Division 1 college basketball teams to determine who is the best that year. This year, more than most, women’s college basketball gained a bunch of attention. From the past three years, the viewership of the women’s March Madness finals grew by 23 percent to a whopping average of 3.7 million. 

The increase in viewership, especially this year, owes big thanks to the players themselves and their rivalries. One of the most well known rivalries in women’s college basketball was the rivalry between Louisiana State University (LSU) and the University of Iowa. Caitlin Clark who played for Iowa and Angel Reese who played for LSU represented their respective teams’ rivalries very much. Their team’s rivalries stemmed from the 2023 March Madness championship where the two colleges went head to head, and LSU came out with the championship. In 2024, LSU and Iowa went head to head once again but this time for a spot in the finals. Reese and Clark had a history of being major rivals/competitors, and this year Iowa was able to beat their former opponent and head to the finals.

For this year’s WNBA draft, many of the talented women who were admired in college basketball were drafted. Clark being the number 1 pick and committing to Indiana Fever, second pick being Cameron Brink committing to Los Angeles Sparks from Stanford College Basketball (fun fact: she is the godsister of Stephen Curry!), and third pick being Camila. 

Many people have now felt that these women’s skills have helped the future of women’s basketball tremendously. “Those women have done huge things for the WNBA because honestly I did not care at all who got drafted and now, I am obsessed with all of the players” Ilene Oh (11) told the Wrangler.