GSV draft prospects 4 & 5: Lauren Betts and Aneesah Morrow
keep in mind, rankings do change...
Don’t miss the index for the entire 2025 Valkyries Draft Prospects series.
Apricot: I am including all candidates that are put in the mock drafts because they are stellar prospects. However, guard your expectations. I question whether players will come out for the 2025 Draft if they have more college eligibility, because (1) there will be a new collective bargaining agreement for the 2026 season and they will likely want to enter the draft with the higher rookie salaries; and (2) with the rise of NIL deals, they may be able to make as much or more money than the WNBA by staying in college.
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Lauren Betts, C, UCLA
ESPN:
We don't know what the Valkyries will be looking for in the 2025 draft because they don't have any players yet; the expansion draft is Dec. 6. Betts, draft eligible because she turns 22 next year, could be a high pick if she leaves school early. Now in her second season at UCLA after starting at Stanford, Betts is a career 64.4% shooter.
Aneesah Morrow, PF, LSU
The Fever are going to need to shore up their frontcourt after losing arguably the best backup big in the WNBA in Temi Fagbenle to the expansion draft, and while Morrow’s skillset is vastly different than Fagbenle’s, she’d nonetheless be right at home playing next to Indiana’s dynamic playmakers.
At 6-foot-1, Morrow is a bit undersized for her position, but her physicality and activity more than make up for it; she’s currently averaging a monstrous 13.3 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game for LSU. Playing her next to Aliyah Boston would help alleviate any size concerns Indiana may have, and Morrow would thrive offensively receiving passes from Caitlin Clark. She already has the jump shot and the touch in the paint to be an effective scorer—we’ve seen that at both LSU and her underclassman seasons at DePaul—and the hope for whichever team drafts her will be that her efficiency will rise playing in a WNBA offensive system.
ESPN:
Morrow has been an exceptional scorer and rebounder in her college career, which started at DePaul and will finish at LSU. But there is concern about her size and what her most effective position will be in the WNBA. Plus, she has shot 24.3% from 3-point range in college. Still, there is a lot of potential for Morrow as a player who could run the floor well and be another target for Caitlin Clark's passes.
In 2024, the Mystics ranked dead last in rebounds. They should use this pick to help address that issue.
Morrow has been one of college basketball's best rebounders since Day 1. She averaged 13.8 rebounds per game as a freshman and turned in a 20-20 performance three games into her senior year.
Statistically, Morrow is a poor 3-point shooter (24.3 percent) but she's done so at a relatively high volume (3.1 attempts/game). She has shown enough comfort to figure that part of her game out, giving her positional flexibility in a situation with a crowded frontcourt like Washington.
If nothing else, Morrow's rebounding ability should instantly translate to the pro level.
Morrow has put up huge numbers throughout her college career at both DePaul and LSU, but there are questions about how her game will translate to the professional level. She stands just 6-foot-1 and has never developed a 3-point shot; so far this season, she hasn't even attempted one. She's a rebounding machine and willing defender, though, and those are the type of players that Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve loves. If Morrow ever develops an outside shot, she could be a steal at No. 11. And even if she doesn't, she could be a successful role player in the Lynx's infrastructure.