Thirty-six players will hear their name called in Thursday night’s WNBA Draft 2016 presented by State Farm. A select 12 will get the unforgettable opportunity to walk across the stage live on ESPN2.

Go to WNBA.com Draft 2016 Hub

This year’s crop of invitees are headlined by UConn’s four-time champs, Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck, but are deep in talent and personality.

Learn more about the 12 elite prospects:

Rachel Banham, Minnesota

• Scored 60 points in a double overtime victory at Northwestern on Super Bowl Sunday.
  (Tied NCAA Single-Game Scoring Record).
• Holds the Big Ten Career Scoring Record: 3,093 points (6th all-time in NCAA).
• Banham received highly publicized praises from Kobe Bryant via several Twitter
  exchanges and a postgame press conference.
• Kobe Bryant on Banham: “Clutch @rachelbanham15 not many players can side fade,
  let alone for a game winner #mambablood”

Imani Boyette, Texas

• Imani’s mother, Pam McGee, played in the WNBA, won two National Championships
  at USC and played for the U.S. Olympic gold medal winning basketball team in 1984.
• Her half-brother, JaVale McGee, is a seven-year NBA veteran who currently plays for
  the Dallas Mavericks.
• Imani practices the art of spoken word and slam poetry.
• Imani: “I say poetry is air because it’s something I can’t live without. I credit poetry with
  saving my life.”
• Received the prestigious Honda Inspiration Award and was named Big 12 Conference
  Female Sportsperson of the Year.
• Married Paul Boyette, defensive tackle on the Texas Football Team, in the summer of
  2015.

Kahleah Copper, Rutgers

• Kahleah’s life changed one day during her sophomore year of high school in
  Philadelphia when she received a text message from her mother, Leticia: Leticia had
  breast cancer.
• During Leticia’s battle, the basketball court became Kahleah’s refuge. “It was difficult,
  especially in the beginning. But basketball just takes all the pain away. I can be mad at
  the world and have the best game of my life.”
• Kahleah considers herself a cartoon aficionado.

Moriah Jefferson, Connecticut

• Helped Uconn to four straight NCAA Championships, and joins teammates Breanna
  Stewart and Morgan Tuck as the only male or female players to do so in NCAA history.
• Her slight frame, unmatched speed and quickness earned her the nickname “Gnat” or
  “Spitfire” from her beloved Uconn fans.
• Moriah’s parents chose to home school her, which provided an unconventional path
  into college athletics.

Jonquel Jones, George Washington

• The lure of better basketball brought Jonquel from her native Freeport, Bahamas to the
  U.S. where she became just the third Bahamian woman to earn a D-I basketball
  scholarship in the US.
• Jonquel’s father and uncle built a court in her grandmother’s backyard before she was
  born. When she was young she’d wake up at 6 a.m., take a shortcut to her
  grandmother’s house (running through the bushes on this path) to practice from 6-8am,
  then go to school.
• Her teammates and closest friends affectionately call her “JJ” and she is known to be a
  big fan of hip-hop and reggae music.
• Jonquel is also a childhood friend and frequent training partner of Buddy Hield (fellow
  Bahamian and former Oklahoma University men’s basketball player).

Tiffany Mitchell, South Carolina

• As a third-grader, Tiffany was a huge Dawn Staley fan and completed a biography
  project on Staley’s life. She asked for Staley’s WNBA Charlotte Sting jersey, which she
  later wore to a Sting game before hanging it on the wall in her home.
• Tiffany helped now-coach Staley raise the South Carolina program to national
  prominence over the course of her career.
• Tiffany Mitchell won the Dawn Staley Award her junior year (recognizing her as the
  best D-I guard in the nation).
• Tiffany is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Aerial Powers, Michigan State

• Before taking up basketball Aerial first took part in boxing.
• Aerial credits her father for introducing her to the game. When she was younger her
  father pushed her to play against guys on the Detroit neighborhood courts until she
  learned to say “I got next!”
• Aerial was twice chosen as Michigan’s Class B Player of the Year at Detroit Country
  Day, a school whose famous alums include Chris Webber, JaVale McGee, Steve
  Ballmer, Shane Battier.

Breanna Stewart, Connecticut

• Led UConn to four consecutive NCAA Champions and joins teammates Moriah
  Jefferson and Morgan Tuck as the only male or female players to do so in NCAA
  history.
• Often referred to as “Stewie” by her teammates and women’s basketball followers.
  Auriemma on Stewart: “No one ever has impacted the NCAA Tournament as many
  times and as well as Breanna Stewart in the history of college basketball and women’s
  basketball.”
• Named as a finalist for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team.

Morgan Tuck, Connecticut

• Helped UConn to four straight NCAA Championships, and joins teammates Moriah
  Jefferson and Morgan Tuck as the only male or female players to do so in NCAA
  history.
• Geno Auriemma on Morgan Tuck: “Morgan’s just somebody we can count on every
  day. She’s nothing flashy or spectacular; she just does all the little things that help you
  win games.”

Courtney Walker, Texas A&M

• Brothers, Anthony and Timothy, both played in the NFL.
• Clutch player: Hit 7 go-ahead or game tying shots in the last minute of regulation or
  OT in her career.
• Departed as Aggies’ career leader in points, made FGs, FT% and starts.

Talia Walton, Washington

• Helped Washington reach the Final Four for first time in program history.
• Set Final Four record for 3-pointers, converting on her first 7 three-point shots vs. Syracuse on April 3
• Wears #3 because Diana Taurasi and Candace Parker are her favorite players.
• Her drive to compete each day is inspired by her mother’s battle with liver cancer.

Courtney Williams, South Florida

• Courtney’s mother played high school basketball. As a freshman Courtney scored 42
  points in a game, two more than the school record owned by her mom.
• Courtney won a gold medal with the 2015 USAB World University Games team.
• When asked what WNBA Player she likes to be compared to she replied: “Diana Taurasi because we have the same mentality.”