Two Iowa State women's basketball players projected for first round in WNBA mock draft

Two former members of the Iowa State women's basketball team could be selected in this year's WNBA Draft. And both could come off the board early.

Ex-Cyclones Stephanie Soares and Ashley Joens are projected to go in the first round of their year's event, according to a mock draft compiled by ESPN's M.A. Voepel.

The mock draft, released this week, has Soares going with the fourth overall pick to the Washington Mystics and Jones going to the Los Angeles Sparks, who have the 10th overall pick.

Soares, a two-time NAIA Player of the Year at The Master's in California, played in 13 games with Iowa State this season before suffering a torn ACL. She tried to receive a medical waiver to gain an extra season of eligibility. That was denied by the NCAA, ending her college career.

More: Was this the worst March Madness weekend ever for Iowa basketball teams? We ran the numbers.

Joens, a fifth-year senior from Iowa City, is Iowa State's all-time leading scorer. She was a possible draft pick last season but decided to put her pro career on hold, taking advantage of the extra season of eligibility awarded by the NCAA for the COVID-19 pandemic and return for another season.

Iowa State hasn't had multiple players selected in the same draft since Chelsea Poppens and Anna Prins were taken in the second round of the 2013 draft. The Cyclones have never had more than one first-round pick in the same draft.

This year's draft is held on April 10 in New York.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: 2 Iowa State basketball players projected for 1st round of WNBA Draft