NC State’s Saniya Rivers is Shining Brightly in WNBA Mock Drafts

NC State Guard Saniya Rivers is one of the best to ever wear the Red and White for the Wolfpack, but now she’s looking to take her Swiss Army Knife skills to the WNBA.

In this piece, I broke down Rivers’ vast impact on the NC State history books, but after the NC State Women’s Basketball Twitter account shared the following graphic, I had to share it.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to look at the numbers above to realize that Rivers is one of the most versatile players to ever play for the Wolfpack, and her versatility is one of the reasons she is sitting high in most 2025 WNBA Mock Drafts currently.

The Athletic has Rivers slotted as the #6 overall pick, going to the Washington Mystics.

Washington is essentially only beginning its rebuild, so it isn’t necessary to use its three picks on a big, a wing and a point guard. The Mystics aren’t building an Unrivaled team, after all. However, the best player available at this spot is Saniya Rivers, which makes for a happy accident.

Rivers is a tremendous passer, especially in transition. Her outlets and hit-aheads are jaw-dropping. She is also a top-tier athlete — she’ll step into the WNBA as one of the most athletic players in the league already with her speed, her bounce and her lateral quickness. That is part of what makes her an elite defender both at the point of attack and on the wing.

The knock on Rivers is her shooting. Her jumper is broken and needs a complete overhaul. Consequently, defenders sag on her, which limits her willingness to get to the rim. Even when she does drive, her touch at the basket isn’t great. She’ll need to work on her scoring package, and Washington has the time to develop her. Even so, her passing, defense and physical attributes are too impressive to pass up.

Washington received this pick from the Atlanta Dream via the Dallas Wings. (Athletic)

The Sporting News has the Chicago Sky drafting with the 10th overall pick.

With the frontcourt of the future lined up and veteran Courtney Vandersloot holding things down at the lead guard position, Chicago needs some reinforcements on the wing. Rivers has serious two-way potential, especially given head coach Tyler Marsh’s track record of offensive development. (TSN)

Yahoo! Sports, ESPN and SportsGrid both both project Rivers to go #11 overall to the Minnesota Lynx. Here’s what Yahoo! had to say.

If you’ve watched the NCAA tournament, you’ve seen what Rivers can accomplish on the court. She scored a double-double against Michigan State in the second round with 17 points and 11 assists, nearly notching a triple-double with eight rebounds. Rivers is flexible and can play different roles on the court, and that’s the exact kind of player Cheryl Reeve and the Lynx like. (Yahoo!)

Rivers and NC State teammate Aziaha James are prospective first-round picks. Right now, we lean a bit toward Rivers with her size and ability to defend a variety of players. She also has proved herself to be an adept playmaker and can run the court well. She helped lead the Wolfpack to the Final Four last season, and they are in the Sweet 16 this year. Rivers is averaging 11.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.3 blocks. She does it all. (ESPN)

FanSided projects Rivers to be drafted 13th overall by the Dallas Wings.

This last pick has always intrigued me more than any other pick in this draft, because there are so many ways Dallas could go. Saniya Rivers has one major hole in her game because she’s never shot better than 27.2 percent from deep for a season, but she’s a versatile player who can score inside and has the size to guard multiple positions. (FS)