Louisville's Emily Engstler and South Carolina's Destanni Henderson are among the draft-eligible players who boosted their profiles with dazzling tournament performances.

By John Volk

April 11, 2022 at 4:43PM

(Clockwise from top left) Emioly Engstler of Louisville, Christyn Willians of UConn, Naz Hillmon of Michigan, Kierstan Bell of Florida Gulf Coast and Destanni Henderson of South Carolina. (AP photos/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

When the orange, blue and green confetti rained on the champion South Carolina Gamecocks at Target Center on April 3, it brought to an end one of the most watched NCAA women's basketball tournaments. On Monday night, some of the tournament's brightest stars find their next stage in the WNBA draft, which starts at 6 p.m. on ESPN.

The consensus first three picks in the draft — Kentucky's Rhyne Howard, Baylor's NaLyssa Smith and Mississippi's Shakira Austin — were bounced by double-digit seeds in the first two rounds of the tournament. Here are five players who boosted their profiles with dazzling tournament performances.

Emily Engstler, F, Louisville

After transferring from Syracuse last April, Engstler lifted Louisville to a No. 1 seed and the Final Four in 2022, a path that included wins over Tennessee and Michigan. She averaged a double-double in five tournament games with 14.4 points and 10.6 rebounds, and is an elite playmaker on both sides of the court. Fouls became an issue for her this season as she fouled out four times, including in the semifinal game against South Carolina. But her versatility and ability to stretch the floor with a pure three-point shot make her a top prospect in this year's draft.

Destanni Henderson, G, South Carolina

Henderson picked the right time to have the game of her life. A 26-point outburst in the national championship game shot her up draft boards, in some cases going as high as No. 6 to the Indiana Fever. The primary ball-handler for South Carolina, Henderson steered the ship powered by Aliyah Boston's interior dominance through a wire-to-wire campaign. Henderson's points, assists and rebounds per game all took a step back in 2021-22 from the season prior, but she consistently found ways to win games when it mattered the most.

Christyn Williams, G, UConn

Minnesota fans remember Williams from when she dropped 31 in UConn's 88-58 rout of the Gophers in the Bahamas in November. She also quietly fueled the Huskies' run to the national championship game, toppling two No. 1 seeds in the process, North Carolina State and Stanford. Williams played her best game of the tournament against the Wolfpack, scoring 21 points and corralling five rebounds. Some inefficient three-point shooting down the stretch may be cause for concern, but Williams figures to be a reliable shooting guard in the WNBA with strong perimeter defense. Also keep an eye on her UConn teammate Olivia Nelson-Ododa, who projects as one of the better centers available.

Naz Hillmon, F, Michigan

Hillmon has been synonymous with Michigan basketball the last four years, and dominated once again in March Madness. She averaged 21.5 points and 10.8 rebounds in the tournament as she took the Wolverines to the Elite Eight, further than the program has ever gone before. Her strength in the post made her the most unstoppable offensive force in the Big Ten not named Caitlin Clark since 2018, the pinnacle being a 50-point performance against Ohio State in January 2021.

Kierstan Bell, G, Florida Gulf Coast

In a tournament ripe with upsets, Bell engineered one of the most improbable, guiding 12th-seed Florida Gulf Coast past fifth-seed Virginia Tech in the first round. Bell logged 22 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals in that game to shock the Hokies. Bell is also a top-five prospect in this draft — at 6-1, she has great height for a guard and excels at creating her own shot off the dribble. Don't be surprised to see the tournament Cinderella go to the Fever at No. 4.