Longhorns Star As No. 1 Draft Pick To WNBA Dallas Wings?

Texas center Charli Collier is considered by many to be the presumptive No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft, if she declares. If she does, she could end up in Dallas.

Now that the Dallas Wings own the No. 1 pick in the 2021 WNBA Draft, Texas Longhorns center Charli Collier may not end up far from home, if she decides to leave school early.

The Wings this week acquired the No. 1 overall pick through a series of trades. The New York Liberty, which had owned the No. 1 pick, traded it to Seattle for Natasha Howard. The Seattle Storm then dealt the pick to Dallas for Katie Lou Samuelson and a 2022 second-round pick.

That presents the Wings (who also own the second overall pick) with the opportunity to select Collier No. 1 overall, assuming Collier decides she wants to leave The 40 Acres one year early, as she’s a junior. The All-Big 12 First-Team selection from a year ago is considered by many to be a potential No. 1 overall pick.

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Collier recently joined the 1,000-point club at Texas and leads the team in scoring (22.3 points per game) and rebounding (12.8 per game). At 6-foot-5, she represents one of the best centers in the college game, and a selection by the Wings would not only keep her close to her collegiate home, but also to her high school home. Collier is from Mont Belvieu, Texas, and went to high school at Barbers Hill.

Collier told Voepel that she’s focused on this season with Texas and will sit down with her family and head coach Vic Schaefer to determine if she’ll go to the WNBA early or not.

Texas plays No. 7 Baylor on Sunday.

Matthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist who covers Longhorns in the Pros for Longhorn Country on FanNation.com and SINow. He also writes for CowboyMaven and DallasBasketball.com, covers the Big 12 for HeartlandCollegeSports.com and is the Editor of the College Football America Yearbook. Have a story idea about a former Longhorn now in the professional ranks? Contact Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.