Editing WNBA draft (section)

==Eligibility==
The WNBA "requires players to be at least 22, to have completed their college eligibility, to have graduated from a four-year college or to be four years removed from high school".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/sports/ncaabasketball/17ncaa.html|title=Rutgers Basketball Star to Turn Pro in Europe |last=Bishop|first=Greg|date=June 16, 2009 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=December 6, 2009}}</ref><ref>[http://www.law.northwestern.edu/journals/njlsp/v3/n1/1/ Analyzing the WNBA's Mandatory Age/Education Policy from a Legal, Cultural, and Ethical Perspective: Women, Men, and the Professional Sports Landscape] See Note No. 100</ref> Since the WNBA draft is currently held in April, before most U.S. colleges and universities have ended their academic years, the league considers anyone scheduled to graduate in the 3 months after the draft to be a "graduate" for draft purposes. The current rules for draft eligibility have been in place since at least 2014.<ref name="2014 CBA eligibility">{{cite web|url=https://wnbpa.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/WNBA-CBA-2014-2021Final.pdf |title=Article XIII, Section 1: Player Eligibility |work=2014 Women's National Basketball Association Collective Bargaining Agreement |publisher=Women's National Basketball Players Association |access-date=April 6, 2019}}</ref><ref name="2020 CBA eligibility">{{cite web|url=https://wnbpa.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/WNBA-WNBPA-CBA-2020-2027.pdf |title=Article XIII, Section 1: Player Eligibility |work=2020 Women's National Basketball Association Collective Bargaining Agreement |pages=110–11 |publisher=Women's National Basketball Players Association |access-date=February 28, 2020}}</ref>

The specifics of this rule differ in several ways from [[Eligibility for the NBA draft|those used by the NBA]] for [[NBA draft|its draft]].

* Both drafts make a distinction between U.S. and "international" players. However, the definition of "international player" differs slightly between the two drafts. The NBA defines an "international player" as an individual who has permanently resided outside the U.S. for the three years preceding the draft while playing basketball (amateur or professional), did not complete high school education in the U.S., and has never enrolled in a U.S. college or university. A prospective NBA player's birthplace or citizenship is not relevant to his status as an "international player".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbafaq.com/salarycap.htm#Q76 |title=76. What are the rules relating to international players and teams? |work=NBA Salary Cap FAQ |first=Larry |last=Coon |author-link=Larry Coon |date=July 1, 2018 |access-date=April 6, 2019}}</ref> On the other hand, the WNBA defines an "international player" as "any person '''''born''''' and residing outside the United States who participates in the game of basketball as an amateur or professional" (emphasis added), and who has never "exercised intercollegiate basketball eligibility" in the U.S.<ref name="2020 CBA eligibility"/> This means that a prospective WNBA player who was born in the United States is treated as a U.S. player, regardless of where she was educated or trained in basketball. Likewise, the association also defines as an "international player" a prospect with non-U.S. nationality even if one of her parents is a natural-born American, unless she has enrolled in a U.S. postsecondary institution.
* The current age limit for NBA draft eligibility is 19, measured on December 31 of the calendar year of the draft.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://3c90sm37lsaecdwtr32v9qof-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2017-NBA-NBPA-Collective-Bargaining-Agreement.pdf |title=Article X, Section 1(b)(ii) |work=2017 NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement |publisher=[[National Basketball Players Association]] |access-date=December 26, 2017 |date = January 19, 2017}}</ref> The WNBA's age limit is 20 for "international players" and 22 for U.S. players, both also being measured as of December 31 of the calendar year of the draft.<ref name="2020 CBA eligibility"/>
* A WNBA prospect who graduates from college while under the age limit can be eligible, but only if the calendar year of her college graduation is no earlier than the fourth after her high school graduation.<ref name="2020 CBA eligibility"/>
* In both drafts, players subject to the rules for U.S. players can declare early eligibility; however, the WNBA's higher age limit means that very few such players have the option to make such a declaration.
* For those players who are eligible to declare early, the timing of the declaration process is dramatically different.
** NBA prospects must notify the league office of their intent to enter the draft no later than 60 days prior to the draft,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://3c90sm37lsaecdwtr32v9qof-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/2017-NBA-NBPA-Collective-Bargaining-Agreement.pdf |title=Article X, Section 1(b)(ii)(F) |work= 2017 NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement |publisher=National Basketball Players Association |access-date=December 26, 2017}}</ref> which is currently held in June. Current rules allow prospects to withdraw from the draft and retain college eligibility, as long as they comply with NCAA rules regarding relationships with agents, do not sign a professional contract, and notify the league office of their withdrawal no later than 10 days after the end of the [[NBA Draft Combine]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/14564613/date-nba-draft-commitment-pushed-may |title=College players given extra time to mull NBA draft decision |first=Jeff |last=Goodman |website=ESPN.com |date=January 13, 2016 |access-date=January 13, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Flexibility for going pro and getting a degree |url=https://www.ncaa.org/about/flexibility-going-pro-and-getting-degree |website=NCAA.org |publisher=NCAA |access-date=February 1, 2019}}</ref>
** WNBA prospects must notify the league office no later than 10 days before the draft, and must renounce any remaining college eligibility to enter the draft. However, because postseason national tournaments (most notably the [[NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament|NCAA Division I tournament]]) are still ongoing during the 10 days prior to the draft, certain players who would otherwise be eligible to declare cannot do so before the standard deadline. A prospect whose team is still playing during the 10-day window must make her declaration within the 24 hours following her team's final game of the season, but no less than 3 hours before the scheduled start of the draft.<ref name="2020 CBA eligibility"/> The 3-hour period is a historic artifact that stems from the former scheduling of the WNBA draft; from 2006 to 2008, it was held in the city of the [[NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament|women's Final Four]] on the day after the championship game. Despite media commentary that argued that players involved in the NCAA tournament needed more time to make draft decisions,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.si.com/wnba/2019/04/10/jackie-young-wnba-draft-24-hours-ncaa-underclassmen-notre-dame-sabrina-ionescu |title=Jackie Young, Future Players Need More Than 24 Hours to Enter WNBA Draft |first=Laken |last=Litman |magazine=[[Sports Illustrated]] |date=April 10, 2019 |access-date=April 21, 2019}}</ref> the most recent WNBA CBA, agreed to in 2020, did not change any draft eligibility rules.<ref name="2020 CBA eligibility"/>

For the 2021 draft only, the league and its players union, the [[Women's National Basketball Players Association]], agreed to modified eligibility rules due to changes brought on by [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United States|COVID-19]]. The most significant change is that all age-eligible college players who wished to enter that draft had to opt in. Because the NCAA ruled that the [[2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season|2020–21 season]] would not count against the eligibility of any basketball player, everyone who played in that season, regardless of class, had remaining athletic eligibility at the time of the draft. Players who wished to enter the 2021 draft had to renounce college eligibility and notify the WNBA offices by email no later than April 1 of that year. Players involved in the 2021 Final Four had 48 hours after the completion of their final game, instead of the normal 24, to notify the league of their intent to enter the draft.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/31025336/college-players-need-opt-upcoming-wnba-draft |title=College players will need to opt-in to upcoming WNBA draft |agency=Associated Press |website=ESPN.com |date=March 8, 2021 |accessdate=March 8, 2021}}</ref>