College basketball is keeping another one of its biggest stars for the 2025-26 season. Flau’jae Johnson did not declare for the 2025 WNBA Draft, a source briefed on the matter confirmed to The Athletic.
A rising senior, Johnson has one more year of eligibility but could have skipped her final season of college because she turns 22 during the 2025 calendar year. The deadline to declare for the draft was March 31, but players who advanced to the Elite Eight were given 48 hours after their final game. LSU’s season ended in the Elite Eight on Sunday after a 72-65 loss to UCLA, so Johnson had to notify the league by Tuesday at midnight.
Johnson, who was first-team all-SEC and third-team All-American this season, likely would have been a lottery pick. However, by delaying her entry into the WNBA, she will join a league with a new collective bargaining agreement and significantly higher salaries. The current value of a rookie contract over four years for a lottery pick is about $350,000.
Johnson now returns to the Tigers as the undisputed alpha. They are losing Aneesah Morrow to the WNBA, junior center Sa’Myah Smith is in the transfer portal and starting point guard Shayeann Day-Wilson is graduating. However, Johnson’s running mate on the wing, Mikaylah Williams, will be back…
