College basketball is keeping another one of its biggest stars for the 2025-26 season. Flau’jae Johnson did not declare for the 2025 WNBA Draft, a source briefed on the matter confirmed to The Athletic.
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.
Advertisement
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.
(Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
This news was originally published on this post .
About the author
NBA Playoffs: Bucks’ Damian Lillard leaves Game 4 matchup with Pacers early with apparent ankle injury
Damian Lillard had to be helped off the court at Fiserv Forum after he went down with an apparent ankle injury on Sunday night.Lillard, just minutes into the Milwaukee Bucks’ Game 4 matchup with the Indiana Pacers, stumbled while trying to grab a rebound at the top of the key. He immediately reached for his left ankle and foot after he successfully passed the ball away, but he remained down clearly in pain as play went the other way.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementLillard remained down on the floor for quite some time, and was then helped off the court without putting any pressure on his left foot. He went straight back to the locker room, and the team then ruled him out before the start of the second quarter with what they called a lower leg injury.Further specifics of his injury are not yet […]
How the Blues are beating Connor Hellebuyck and more from a beer-chugging win over Jets
ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Blues defenseman Colton Parayko wasn’t expecting the puck at the point, but when teammate Cam Fowler’s shot was blocked by the Winnipeg Jets’ Haydn Fleury, it ricocheted right to him.With less than 30 seconds left in the first period of Game 4 Sunday, Parayko put an innocent shot on net with Jake Neighbours parked just to the left of Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck.Advertisement“I didn’t actually see (Neighbours) there,” Parayko said.Neighbours saw Parayko, however, and the puck rotating as it elevated toward him.“Honestly, the puck came in so slow, I had time to line it up and make sure I got a stick on it,” Neighbours said.Neighbours had his first NHL playoff goal and the Blues were on their way to another rout of Winnipeg, a 5-1 win that evened the Western Conference first-round series at […]
Braves takeaways: Spencer Schwellenbach hits a lull, Ozzie Albies struggles and more
PHOENIX — Even though the Atlanta Braves lost Sunday for the third time in six starts by Spencer Schwellenbach, who’s been their ace this season, they left Arizona with their first road-series win, along with a 7-2 record in their past nine games and a 12-8 mark since their ugly 0-7 start.They left feeling rejuvenated.AdvertisementIt was a decidedly different mood in the clubhouse, even after Sunday’s 6-4 loss to the Diamondbacks, than it was when the Braves left Toronto with a 5-13 record on April 16 after striking out 19 times in a series finale.“I think we all expect to play like this every time,” Schwellenbach said of the Braves’ three consecutive series wins. “We have a really good team, and a lot of confidence in each and every one of our guys that when we come out here, each […]
Broncos’ Dre Greenlaw suffers quad injury, expected to be ready for 2025 season: Sources
By Nick Kosmider, Matt Barrows and RJ KraftDenver Broncos inside linebacker Dre Greenlaw suffered a quadriceps strain but is expected to be ready for the start of the 2025 NFL season, a league source told The Athletic.Greenlaw suffered the injury while working out and will spend several weeks rehabbing during the offseason and will not need surgery, according to a source with knowledge of the injury and the recovery timeline.AdvertisementThe 27-year-old linebacker signed a three-year, $35 million deal with the Broncos last month after spending the first six seasons of his career with the San Francisco 49ers. He tallied back-to-back seasons with at least 120 tackles in 2022 and 2023. A torn Achilles tendon while running onto the field in Super Bowl LVIII cost Greenlaw most of the 2024 season, but he was able to return for two games in […]
The Lakers are on the brink of elimination — and Anthony Edwards is the biggest reason why
MINNEAPOLIS — Exhausted, weary and frustrated, the Los Angeles Lakers are on the brink.Elimination is staring them in the face, an unexpected development considering how well the LeBron James-Luka Dončić partnership has worked in a few short months.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementElimination is staring them in the face because they couldn’t manage to scrape out one win on the road against a Minnesota Timberwolves team we can no longer describe as immature and unserious.But most importantly, elimination is staring the Los Angeles Lakers in the face because Anthony Edwards pushed them there, because Edwards’ mental and physical stamina is greater than the two stars he stands across the way from.The Lakers faltered down the stretch in their 116-113 Game 4 loss to the Timberwolves Sunday afternoon, as Minnesota has taken a 3-1 lead and can eliminate the Lakers with a win at Crypto.com Arena […]
Devils’ Timo Meier, a controversial collision and the edge between reckless and ‘made for the playoffs’
NEWARK, N.J. — Two years ago, when the New Jersey Devils were in the midst of a seven-game series win against the New York Rangers, Igor Shesterkin joked that Timo Meier must watch a lot of MMA. The Devils forward had no qualms going hard at the Rangers’ goalie, at one point falling into his lap after a rush and drawing a roughing minor when Shesterkin whacked him with his blocker.AdvertisementMeier does not shy away from driving to the net, even if it means some contact with the most protected player on the ice. It’s a style NHL teams and their fans often applaud come the postseason, when goals are at a premium. New Jersey captain Nico Hischier hinted at as much when he called Meier “made for the playoffs.”But the style also has ramifications. And on Sunday in Game […]
Related
NBA Playoffs: Bucks’ Damian Lillard leaves Game 4 matchup with Pacers early with apparent ankle injury
Damian Lillard had to be helped off the court at Fiserv Forum after he went down with an apparent ankle injury on Sunday night.Lillard, just minutes into the Milwaukee Bucks’ Game 4 matchup with the Indiana Pacers, stumbled while trying to grab a rebound at the top of the key. He immediately reached for his left ankle and foot after he successfully passed the ball away, but he remained down clearly in pain as play went the other way.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementLillard remained down on the floor for quite some time, and was then helped off the court without putting any pressure on his left foot. He went straight back to the locker room, and the team then ruled him out before the start of the second quarter with what they called a lower leg injury.Further specifics of his injury are not yet […]
How the Blues are beating Connor Hellebuyck and more from a beer-chugging win over Jets
ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Blues defenseman Colton Parayko wasn’t expecting the puck at the point, but when teammate Cam Fowler’s shot was blocked by the Winnipeg Jets’ Haydn Fleury, it ricocheted right to him.With less than 30 seconds left in the first period of Game 4 Sunday, Parayko put an innocent shot on net with Jake Neighbours parked just to the left of Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck.Advertisement“I didn’t actually see (Neighbours) there,” Parayko said.Neighbours saw Parayko, however, and the puck rotating as it elevated toward him.“Honestly, the puck came in so slow, I had time to line it up and make sure I got a stick on it,” Neighbours said.Neighbours had his first NHL playoff goal and the Blues were on their way to another rout of Winnipeg, a 5-1 win that evened the Western Conference first-round series at […]
Braves takeaways: Spencer Schwellenbach hits a lull, Ozzie Albies struggles and more
PHOENIX — Even though the Atlanta Braves lost Sunday for the third time in six starts by Spencer Schwellenbach, who’s been their ace this season, they left Arizona with their first road-series win, along with a 7-2 record in their past nine games and a 12-8 mark since their ugly 0-7 start.They left feeling rejuvenated.AdvertisementIt was a decidedly different mood in the clubhouse, even after Sunday’s 6-4 loss to the Diamondbacks, than it was when the Braves left Toronto with a 5-13 record on April 16 after striking out 19 times in a series finale.“I think we all expect to play like this every time,” Schwellenbach said of the Braves’ three consecutive series wins. “We have a really good team, and a lot of confidence in each and every one of our guys that when we come out here, each […]
Broncos’ Dre Greenlaw suffers quad injury, expected to be ready for 2025 season: Sources
By Nick Kosmider, Matt Barrows and RJ KraftDenver Broncos inside linebacker Dre Greenlaw suffered a quadriceps strain but is expected to be ready for the start of the 2025 NFL season, a league source told The Athletic.Greenlaw suffered the injury while working out and will spend several weeks rehabbing during the offseason and will not need surgery, according to a source with knowledge of the injury and the recovery timeline.AdvertisementThe 27-year-old linebacker signed a three-year, $35 million deal with the Broncos last month after spending the first six seasons of his career with the San Francisco 49ers. He tallied back-to-back seasons with at least 120 tackles in 2022 and 2023. A torn Achilles tendon while running onto the field in Super Bowl LVIII cost Greenlaw most of the 2024 season, but he was able to return for two games in […]
The Lakers are on the brink of elimination — and Anthony Edwards is the biggest reason why
MINNEAPOLIS — Exhausted, weary and frustrated, the Los Angeles Lakers are on the brink.Elimination is staring them in the face, an unexpected development considering how well the LeBron James-Luka Dončić partnership has worked in a few short months.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementElimination is staring them in the face because they couldn’t manage to scrape out one win on the road against a Minnesota Timberwolves team we can no longer describe as immature and unserious.But most importantly, elimination is staring the Los Angeles Lakers in the face because Anthony Edwards pushed them there, because Edwards’ mental and physical stamina is greater than the two stars he stands across the way from.The Lakers faltered down the stretch in their 116-113 Game 4 loss to the Timberwolves Sunday afternoon, as Minnesota has taken a 3-1 lead and can eliminate the Lakers with a win at Crypto.com Arena […]
Devils’ Timo Meier, a controversial collision and the edge between reckless and ‘made for the playoffs’
NEWARK, N.J. — Two years ago, when the New Jersey Devils were in the midst of a seven-game series win against the New York Rangers, Igor Shesterkin joked that Timo Meier must watch a lot of MMA. The Devils forward had no qualms going hard at the Rangers’ goalie, at one point falling into his lap after a rush and drawing a roughing minor when Shesterkin whacked him with his blocker.AdvertisementMeier does not shy away from driving to the net, even if it means some contact with the most protected player on the ice. It’s a style NHL teams and their fans often applaud come the postseason, when goals are at a premium. New Jersey captain Nico Hischier hinted at as much when he called Meier “made for the playoffs.”But the style also has ramifications. And on Sunday in Game […]
Be the first to leave a comment