Graduate guard Lauren Hansen has declared for the 2024 WNBA Draft according to a list released by the league earlier today. Her declaration comes following one season with the Michigan women’s basketball team, after transferring from Missouri for her graduate season.
In her only season as a Wolverine, Hansen immediately took over the starting point guard duties. She carried that role throughout the season, starting in all 34 games that she appeared in. Hansen quickly became synonymous with big baskets, as her shot-making ability was on display in her short time in Ann Arbor. She ended the season with the second highest points per game on the team, averaging 11.9 points on 37.5% shooting from deep.
Hansen took some time to develop into the point guard role after starring as a combo guard for most of her career. While her growth in the position was important for Michigan in her one season, her move to the WNBA after running out of college eligibility leaves room for another player to have to step into that lead-guard role.
Her departure was expected, but now she has made her post-collegiate intentions clear. She will look to be the third Wolverine drafted in three years, following in the footsteps of Naz Hillmon and Leigha Brown. If Hansen is drafted it would just be the second time in program history that Michigan players have been selected in three consecutive WNBA Drafts, and the first since 2002.
Hansen is the only Wolverine that declared for the draft according to the WNBA’s list, leaving her as the only candidate in 2024 to continue the program’s streak of drafted players.