Key Final Four players to enter 2023 WNBA draft

LSU‘s Alexis Morris and LaDazhia Williams, as well as South Carolina‘s Zia Cooke, Brea Beal and Laeticia Amihere, have declared for the 2023 WNBA draft, the players announced Tuesday on social media.

All five participated in the women’s Final Four, in which the Gamecocks fell in a national semifinal game to Iowa.

Beal and Amihere were slotted as potential first-round selections for the Indiana Fever (at No. 7) and the Minnesota Lynx (at No. 12), respectively, in ESPN.com’s latest mock draft, while Cooke could also end up going in the first round.

Cooke, Beal, Amihere and presumptive 2023 No. 1 overall pick Aliyah Boston — who declared for the draft on Saturday — were part of the decorated senior class at South Carolina that went 129-9 in their careers, advanced to three Final Fours and won the 2022 national title.

Beal, a four-year starter and standout perimeter defender, averaged 6.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per game while in Columbia and hit a career-best 38% in shooting 3s this season. Amihere (6.3 PPG, 4.1 RPG in her career) is known for her versatility as a forward who can also run the point and plays strong defense.

Cooke, another four-year starter and three-time all-SEC selection, enters the draft coming off a career-best season at South Carolina, averaging 15.4 points per game. She’s averaged double-figure scoring each year in Columbia.

Morris, who previously appeared at Baylor, Rutgers and Texas A&M, spent the past two seasons at LSU, helping coach Kim Mulkey turn the program around and win the 2023 national title. She averaged 15.4 points, 4.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game this season as a senior, was a 2023 all-SEC first-team selection and earned a spot on the Final Four all-tournament team.

Williams, who made previous stops at South Carolina and Missouri, started all 34 games for the Tigers, averaging 9.9 points and 6.0 boards per game as a fifth-year senior.

Basketball players were granted an extra year of eligibility amid the COVID-19 pandemic.