Considering many WNBA stars have sharpened their skills and gained exposure in college media it could be argued that college basketball is paving new ways for the WNBA, but if you ask me, at what cost do these opportunities come? As they are already competing at a high level in college, players can catch the attention of WNBA scouts and increase their chances of getting drafted into the professional league obviously. But doesn’t college sports in general help develop players’ skills, teamwork, and understanding of the game, preparing them for bigger challenges later on? I think when it comes to drafting, the players should receive all the credit, not their college.
A prime example of a player paving new ways for the WNBA is 2024 draft pick Caitlyn Clark. Although Clark is still really young, only being 22 years-old, she seems to be one of the best collegiate players of all time according to Wikipedia. From my perspective, I see it as Clark working hard in college and getting her fair share and sure college basketball has been a talent pool for the WNBA, but I think it’s not exactly breaking new ground for the league or Caitlyn Clark.
While College basketball showcases a lot of talent within the players, the WNBA struggles with lower visibility and investment compared to the NBA. Don’t get me wrong, the college game does bring an audience and attention to Women’s basketball, but I wanna say that it still hasn’t resulted in significant changes in professional opportunities or fan engagement for the WNBA. The pay gap between the WNBA and the NBA remains infinite, showing that college ball’s impact on pro Women’s basketball is limited in pushing for recognition.
In other words, from my viewpoint college basketball contributes a lot of talent for the WNBA, it just falls short in paving new ways for the league. I say this because, I think college has a lot to do with exposure and the WNBA just provides media coverage for their athletes, again proving that the college is not paving new ways, but only getting their athletes noticed. 
