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 for her third season in Baton Rouge. Kim Mulkey has historically been very successful in the portal, bringing in Angel Reese and Morrow in recent seasons. Furthermore, LSU has the top-ranked recruiting class in the country, headlined by forward Grace Knox.
Johnson will be a preseason All-American, and the Tigers will begin the season as a top 10 team. But the LSU star is coming back for more than that. She wants another national title. Although Johnson was a starter on the team that won in 2023, she said after LSU’s loss to the Bruins that she wants to win a championship where she is the leader.
“Not to take away my national championship, but still, I want to do something where I’m one of the leaders on the team,” Johnson said.
Coming back to Baton Rouge gives Johnson one more opportunity to do so.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
LSU Lady Tigers, WNBA, Women's College Basketball
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