“Huge Fan”: Cathy Engelbert Reveals NCAA Star She’s Eager to See in 2026 Draft

Cathy Engelbert is probably set to have three of the busiest weeks of her career. She was sitting at the negotiations table for hours at length the WNBA and WNBPA agreed to a deal on March 18th. Engelbert will now dive into the offseason, which begins with an expansion draft on April 3rd. 10 days later, the WNBA will host the rookie draft in New York. Now, the WNBA Commissioner has revealed one standout college basketball star she is excited to see in the league. 

“Huge fan of hers,” Engelbert said regarding Flau’jae Johnson on the ‘Pat McAfee’ show. “Followed her since she was a freshman. Huge success at LSU. Just personality, and I can’t wait to see her at the draft.” Johnson has been one of the standout stars in college basketball. She won the National Championship as a freshman and is one of the most popular players in this draft. Johnson has built her personal brand with her NIL value touching $1.5 million. And her music career just adds to the flair she has on the court. 

“Truly, the most inspiring part of the commissioner job for me is seeing that next generation of talent come in and how excited they are, and Flau’jae is definitely one of those talents,” Engelbert said. 

Johnson was initially expected to be a top-five pick but her slightly muted senior season has dropped her in multiple mock drafts. She averaged 14.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists for LSU who bowed out of the NCAA Tournament against Duke in the Sweet 16.  Those numbers are a career low for Johnson. There is no question about her talent, but there is about her consistency. As a result, The Athletic recently predicted Johnson to go No. 11 to the Washington Mystics. 

“I believe in Johnson’s upside, but her floor is getting less certain than some of the prospects ahead of her,” Sabreena Merchant wrote. So, despite dazzling for LSU for the majority of her career, her senior season has brought on these doubts. Her talent is exciting, like Cathy Engelbert says but her future beyond the draft is just as uncertain. However, she will have plenty of opportunity to prove herself on any team she lands at. The WNBA and Engelbert are especially ensuring that by introducing a “G-League equivalent.” 

Cathy Engelbert Reveals Intention Behind Developmental Roster Spots

The WNBA had a historic amount of injuries last season, which had many coaches and fans calling for a roster expansion in the new CBA. Under the old system, the teams were required to have 11 players and could have a maximum of 12. A couple of injuries meant the team was left short handed and they had to sign players on emergency deals. The new CBA has achieved that to an extent, as the teams are now required to have 12 players and added 2 “developmental spots” that will not take up the salary cap. 

“We knew that we didn’t need to stand up an entire kind of G-League equivalent, but could we bring development? We’re calling them “development players” so that there’ll be two development players per team. That’s 30 additional opportunities for players,” Engelbert said. 

The NBA has players on two-way contracts that can play games for their main team and the second string team in the G-League. The WNBA doesn’t have the talent pool large enough to introduce something like that. Only the top draft picks generally become a regular part of the team while many second- and third-round picks used to get cut because of roster constraints. Now, there are more opportunities for the youngsters to grow into the league. 

“We also went from 144 players, and now with expansion we’ll be up to 216 by the end of the decade, and we’ll be 180 this year, 180 players plus the 30 development players. It will be over 200 that we’re taking care of, giving opportunities and developing,” Engelbert further said. The new WNBA minimum is $270k. Whether that is applicable to the developmental players is unknown. It’s an advantage for the teams too. They can bring in their developmental players who are already integrated into the team in case there is an injury. With further expansion planned till 2030, the opportunities will only increase. 

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