WNBA Rookie Rankings: Olivia Miles leads loaded top 10 in outstanding class for 2026 season

While Miles is a lock to win Rookie of the Year, she wasn't the only newcomer to shine during the 2026 WNBA season

Sep 25, 2026 at 12:56 pm ET • 7 min read

As the 2026 WNBA regular season comes to an end, most fans can agree that Olivia Miles is the clear Rookie of the Year frontrunner. However, this has been a very talented rookie class, with multiple players showing a lot of promise in their first year in the league.

Although we ranked the top five rookies to watch throughout the season, this seems like the perfect time to take a step back and highlight a longer list of players and their overall performances.

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Jack Maloney

Without further ado, here are the CBS Sports Top 10 rookies of the 2026 WNBA season:

10. Charlisse Leger-Walker

Leger-Walker went from winning a national championship with UCLA to becoming the starting point guard for the Connecticut Sun in a matter of weeks. She wrapped up her rookie year with a total of 1,027 minutes played, more than any other player on the team.

While there were some games in which she couldn't get much going on the stat sheet, there were others where she showed her potential -- including a game against Golden State in August in which she scored 17 points in 17 minutes while shooting 83.3% from the field. She finished the year averaging 7.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game, which was second-best among rookies. She had a career-high eight assists against Washington in late July.

9. Lauren Betts

Betts had a dominant presence in the paint during her time at UCLA, and her rim-protecting ability is already showing at the WNBA level. Compared to others on this list, Betts doesn't have the most eye-catching stats. However, she averaged 6.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 0.9 blocks while coming off the bench in 17.7 minutes per game.

The 6-foot-7 center tried to make the most out of her minutes and managed to lead all rookies with a total of 37 blocks. Her most efficient game as a scorer was 18 points against Toronto in June, making an impressive 8-of-9 field-goal attempts in 21 minutes.

8. Laura Juškaitė

Juškaitė had ups and downs this season, but the 6-foot-4 forward found more consistency in the final stretch and showed her potential to help Toronto develop into a stronger team in the near future. She finished her rookie year averaging 11.2 points per game while shooting 48% from the field. Juškaitė registered four 20-plus point games, and three of those came in the last week of the regular season -- including her career-high 28 points against the Liberty while going 10 of 15 from the floor and a perfect 8 of 8 from the foul line.

The 29-year-old from Lithuania spent over a decade playing in Europe before joining the WNBA, and that professional experience could certainly help her improve faster in the league. Besides her ability to score, Juškaitė has shown signs that she could be a strong rebounder with 18 games registering at least five rebounds. She also showed potential on defense while averaging 1.3 steals per game.

7. Pauline Astier

This undrafted rookie burst onto the scene as the starting point guard for the Liberty. Astier was forced to embrace a major role for New York while star player Sabrina Ionescu was sidelined due to injury early in the season, but she handled it like a vet. In mid-May, Astier actually led all rookies in scoring while shooting over 60% from the field and over 45% from beyond the arc.

As the season developed and Ionescu returned, Astier remained in the starting lineup, but her stats settled down because she no longer had to score as much. She wrapped up the regular season averaging 9.3 points per game while keeping a high level of efficiency at 54.6% from the field. 

6. Kiki Rice

Rice definitely could have been higher on this list, but what kept her out of the top five -- what I would consider my All-Rookie Team -- is the fact that she missed 16 games due to injury, which is more than a third of the regular season. 

Regardless, it's not hard to see why Toronto coach Sandy Brondello called Rice her "franchise player." The former UCLA guard averaged 12.9 points per game while reaching double figures 21 times throughout the season. As if trying to send a message of how bright the Tempo's future can be, Rice set her career high on the last game of the season with 28 points on 45% shooting from the field, while also tying her career-best eight rebounds.

5. Awa Fam

At 19 years old, Fam became one of the youngest players to ever be drafted into the WNBA. The 6-foot-4 center has a 6-foot-8 wingspan, which would already be a major advantage for her. However, she also showed she can move exceptionally well, has the ability to guard multiple positions and her shooting repertoire even includes 3-pointers on certain nights. 

Fam averaged 10.3 points while leading all rookies with 5.9 rebounds per game. She was able to make an impact on multiple areas even when her shots were not falling, and once she figures out how to stay consistent and play more aggressively, Fam will be a major problem in this league. In her last appearance as a rookie, she set a career-high with 22 points while going 8 of 13 from the field and 4 of 7 from beyond the arc.

4. Sydney Taylor

Taylor went undrafted in 2024 after finishing her college career at Louisville, but this year she finally got the opportunity to play in the WNBA. She made the most of it. She averaged 13.6 points per game, the highest ever by an undrafted rookie, while shooting 42.5% from the field. Unfortunately, Taylor suffered a left groin injury on Aug. 3 and missed five games as a result. When she returned, she was on a minutes restriction and wasn't as consistent as she was before the injury -- which means her scoring average and field goal percentage would have likely been higher had she stayed healthy.

Regardless, Taylor still had an outstanding year. One of her many highlights includes scoring a career-high 31 points against the Liberty on July 22. She carried that momentum into the following week and scored 29 points against the Aces -- including the dramatic game-winning 3-pointer. She also hit a game-winner against Golden State in August, making her the first rookie ever to hit multiple game-winning shots with five seconds or fewer remaining.

3. Flau'jae Johnson

Johnson averaged 14.9 points per game this season, which was second-best among the rookies. Although not every outing was a good shooting night, she still had some impressive performances, including 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting (75%) and 11 rebounds in a 105-90 win against Atlanta in June. 

Her career-high 29 points happened in a loss to Las Vegas in the second-to-last game of the regular season. That game was a good example of how good she can be on both sides of the ball. She went 5 of 8 from beyond the arc while adding six rebounds, six assists, four steals and -- most memorable of all -- a block against A'ja Wilson that she immediately apologized for. The energy she brought to the court every game and her willingness to learn helped her grow throughout the season, and she became one of the most well-liked rookies in this class.

2. Azzi Fudd

Fudd's rookie year ended early due to a knee injury, but what she did throughout the first part of the season still earned her the No. 2 spot on this list. 

The expectations for the No. 1 overall pick were incredibly high, especially since Fudd was joining her former UConn teammate and the 2025 Rookie of the Year, Paige Bueckers. Fudd was not a starter at the beginning of the season and was in an interesting position because the team already had some talented guards on the roster. However, she kept her head down and eventually earned her spot in the starting lineup. 

While at UConn, Fudd was known for having one of the purest shooting forms. This was on full display during All-Star Weekend when Fudd became the first rookie to ever win the 3-point contest. She finished the year averaging 13.1 points per game, but what truly made her stand out was her outstanding effort on defense.

1. Olivia Miles

There is no clearer candidate for Rookie of the Year. Miles hit the ground running and became the fastest player in league history to reach 350 points, 100 rebounds and 100 assists. Minnesota needed a true point guard on the roster and Miles' smooth transition from college to the WNBA helped the Lynx start the season strong, even while star player Napheesa Collier was still working on getting healthy. They eventually earned the No. 1 seed in the playoffs and Miles' impact got her a spot in the MVP conversations.

The former Notre Dame and TCU guard averaged 19.8 points per game, which put her in the top 10 across the league. In the process, she broke the WNBA all-time rookie scoring record set by Caitlin Clark two years ago. She also set a new rookie season 3-point record (64 and counting), as well as the single-game 3-point record when she went 8 of 11 from beyond the arc in a win against the Valkyries in June.