A Look at the Cards for the Top Prospects in the Women's Sweet Sixteen
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Sweet Sixteen action gets underway on Friday in the 2025 Women's NCAA Basketball tournament and the bracket is still loaded with top pro prospects. As we get to the business end of the tourney, let's take a look at some of the players who project to be WNBA lottery draft picks, and their cards.
Paige Bueckers, UCONN
The likely top overall pick in the upcoming 2025 WNBA Draft, Bueckers is a do-everything All-American with remarkable poise, vision, and basketball IQ. The guard is averaging 19.2 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 4.8 APG, whose elite talent was on full display in a 91-57 second-round blowout win against South Dakota State. Bueckers put up 34 points, 3 rebounds, four assists, and four steals in 29 minutes of action.
March has been a busy time in the Paige Bueckers market, with Card Ladder listing 46 sales of $500 or more since the first of the month. Buecker's 2024 Panini Instang Blue Viper Auto 1-of-1 sold for $2,125 on Tuesday.
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Olivia Miles, Notre Dame
If anyone can wrest the top overall slot in the WNBA draft away from Paige Bueckers, it may just be Notre Dame's brilliant guard Olivia Miles. The senior and second-team All-American has combined with teammates Sonia Citron and Hannah Hidalgo to create a fearsome Big Three. Miles has 13 assists in the Irish's first two tournament games, largely deferring as a scorer to Citron and Hidalgo to this point. As the tournament goes on, we could see the senior leader take on an even bigger role.
Miles is a fantastic pro prospect, and the card market may find itself playing catch up as the draft gets closer. Miles' 2022 Leaf Trinity Auto /25 sold for $100 on February 22. We'll see if collectors find themselves paying more attention should the talented Irish go deep into the tourney.
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Kiki Iriafen, USC
In the opening weekend of this year's tournament, perhaps no player in all of college basketball did more to enhance their reputation that USC forward Kiki Iriafen. When the top-seeded Trojans lost superstar JuJu Watkins through a devastating, season-ending injury, Iriafen picked up the team in dominant fashion, scoring a career-high 36 points. Forced into a role as the unquestioned first option, Iriafen has the opportunity to show the nation the Trojans can still compete for a title. A likely top-five pick in this year's WNBA draft, there may be more buzz building around Iriafen than anyone else in the tournament. What can she do for an encore?
Iriafen appeared with Watkins on a Bowman U Now card, commemrating the duo both reaching the 30-point plateau in a win over Saint Louis on November 29. Iriafen also has a 2024 Panini Prizm Draft Rated Prospect card, of which a version numbered to 3 sold for $200 in January.
Sonia Citron, Notre Dame
Electric shooting guard Sonia Citron should also hear her name called within the first handful of picks in the upcoming WNBA draft. The senior has averaged 20 PPG through the opening weekend. A great offensive talent with defensive upside, Citron is expected to have an excellent pro career. On March 19, Citron's 2024 Leaf Metal Women of Sport Autographed Blue 1-of-1 sold for $148. Bowman U Now released a Sonia Citron card following a February 20 performance in which Citron had 19 points to help keep Notre Dame perfect in ACC play.
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Lauren Betts, UCLA
While Junior Lauren Betts will be returning to UCLA next season, she's already considered the favorite to be the first pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft. The first team All-American is averaging 19.8 PPG and 9.7 RPB. Guiding UCLA to a top seed, Betts and the Bruins are 32-2, with the only losses coming against USC and JuJu Watkins. There's a real opportunity for Betts to claim a national title and give her a chance for a superstar return next season.
Betts, also a former member of the Stanford Cardinal, had Bowman cards released in 2022-23. The top Betts sale, at writing, per Card Ladder is $500 for a 2023 Bowman Chrome Auto /25. A PSA 9 Gold Lava Auto /50 went for $325 on March 18. A series of Betts cards can also be found in 2022 Topps Chrome McDonald's All-American. The highest Betts sale since the tournament began was for $199 for a PSA 10 Betts 2022 Topps Chrome McDonald's All-American Gameday Paper Auto. A PSA 9 version of the card is currently listed on Ebay for $149.
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Michael Terry is a writer based in Brooklyn. He specializes in sports, culture, and collecting. His work has appeared at Topps RIPPED, ESPN, Grantland, Vice Sports, and more.
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