WNBA: Which team could Gabriela Jaquez play for in 2026?
The Mexican is a few days away from knowing what her destiny will be in the 2026 WNBA Draft: here we tell you which teams would be the most interested.
The great effort and prominence that the Mexican had Gabriela Jaquez in the championship final NCAA in view of South Carolina has not gone unnoticed. Just a few weeks ago, most Mock Drafts They had the next UCLA graduate between picks 11 and 15 in the first round of the draftwhich will be held on April 13.
But the path to the collegiate title, the first in UCLA history, has given the league’s talent scouts a much more comprehensive look at what the Mexican can offer as a professional. His performance in the final against South Carolina, in which he shone with 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, was the icing on the cake for a tournament in which he averaged 12.6 points, six rebounds and 2.5 assists en route to the title.
Today, the majority of Mock Drafts have validated this effort by elevating Gabriela among the ten best prospects heading to the WNBA for the next season. Below, these are the teams that Jaquez could join next season, and the role he would find within them, taking into account that two days before the Draft, the league will also begin its free agency period, where several players could change colors:
Golden State Valkyries (pick #8)
Golden State’s style fits, apparently, perfectly with Gabriela’s personal style as a player. That is, offensive versatility and the possibility of playing multiple positions for the team thanks to the physical effort that the Mexican promotes both offensively and defensively.
Golden State managed to reach the playoffs in just its first season, losing in the first round to Minnesota, in a series where it lacked offensive spark – its leading scorer in both games was Monique Billings, with 15 points – something that Jaquez will surely help with instantly.
The Mexican more than responded in various difficult moments of the postseason with UCLA, something that Natalie Nakase, Golden State’s coach, surely noticed. Just in case, Nakase is a graduate of the same university, something that sounds like a plus within the arguments of selecting Gabriela, who would stay in California for the beginning of her professional career, although, yes, in the San Francisco and Oakland area, and no longer in Los Angeles.
Washington Mystics (pick #9 and #11)
There will potentially be two opportunities for the capital team to select the Mexican if they want her, and although they also have the fourth selection, it is estimated that Washington will choose Gabriela’s former teammate at UCLA, Lauren Betts.
After Kiki Iriafen and Shakira Austin, Washington’s rebounding options are practically minuscule. Likewise, Austin is the only player on the roster who had more than one block per game in 2025.
That said, Jaquez looks like an excellent option for the team to improve in both metrics, taking into account that the team has ample scoring options in the two players mentioned above, as well as Brittney Sykes (15.4 points per game in 2025) and Sonia Citron (14.9 per game).
Although Washington did not make the playoffs in 2025, adding a player like Jaquez to the roster who fulfills many of the things the club lacked last year sounds like an excellent option to continue improving. Thus, Washington would forge stronger arguments to reach the postseason for the first time since 2023, and win the first playoff game since 2019, when they won the title.
Indiana Fever (pick #10)
Gabriela would form, together with Caitlin Clarkan instantly formidable offensive duo. Clark was out for most of the 2025 season with an injury, but thanks to his participation in recent months with USA Basketballshe has been seen ready to resume the great level that 2024 showed in her debut season.
Jaquez would sit next to Clark as one of the team’s two outside players, exchanging both in the role of point guard and shooting guard. Thanks to Jaquez’s great effort under the basket to grab rebounds, a future could also be predicted in which the Mexican takes on more of a small forward role, with Clark remaining as a shooting guard, and especially if Sophie Cunningham, a free agent, does not return to the team in 2026.
In the best-case scenario, Jaquez could put together a lethal trio on offense alongside Clark and Kelsey Mitchell, who led the Fever in 2025 with 20.2 points per game and was named, for the third time, to the All-Star Game.
Connecticut Sun (pick #12)
Finally, Jaquez could find a new home in Connecticut, on the opposite side of the country from where he spent his childhood and college career in Southern California. Although, yes, it would probably be for a short time, since it was reported a few weeks ago that the team was purchased by the owners of the Houston Rockets, who will seek to take the team to Texas with the old nickname of the Comets, the founding team of the WNBA.
The Sun’s current roster, led by French coach Rachid Meziane, lost Marina Mabrey, who served as the team’s forward in 2025, a position in which Gabriela could instantly enter even as a starter. Shooting guard Bria Hartley, the Mexican’s other preferred position, missed the final stretch of the previous season with an injury and is out of contract, opening up another opportunity on the roster.
For now, Jaquez would have as a partner the talented French player Leila Lacan, who scored 10.4 points per game for Connecticut last season.
