LSU women’s basketball star Flau’jae Johnson will delay her inevitable jump to the WNBA by skipping the 2025 draft this month and returning to college for her senior season.
Johnson’s decision comes after the WNBA’s players opted out of their current collective bargaining agreement last October.
The league’s players will play under the current CBA for the 2025 season, then the WNBA and the players’ union will have a year to negotiate a new deal.
That means Johnson and others who enter the league in 2026 will have much higher salaries, among other things in a new CBA.
The 5-foot-10 guard, who did not declare for the draft within the 48-hour window players who advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight are granted, “could either continue her career at her current program or explore new opportunities via the transfer portal,” a source told The Post on Friday.
Flau’jae Johnson #4 of the LSU Lady Tigers looks on against the UCLA Bruins during the first quarter in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at Spokane Arena on March 30, 2025 in Spokane, Washington. Getty Images
Johnson — who’s also a rapper and has 15 NIL deals — has yet to address the reports publicly.
The transfer portal closes April 22.
LSU’s season ended Sunday with a 72-65 loss to top-seeded UCLA in the Elite Eight.
It marked the second straight year the Tigers fell short of the Final Four — two years after their national championship win in 2023.
Johnson’s deadline was Tuesday at midnight to enter the draft, which will take place April 14 in New York.
Head coach Kim Mulkey and Flau’jae Johnson of the LSU Lady Tigers look on during the second half in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at Spokane Arena on March 30, 2025 in Spokane, Washington. Getty ImagesThe 21-year-old Georgia native had the option to skip her final year of college because she turns 22 during the 2025 calendar year.
Johnson, who was first-team All-SEC and third-team All-American this season, spent her first three seasons at LSU under head coach Kim Mulkey.
The two have a close relationship, as Johnson was the first McDonald’s All-American Mulkey signed at LSU.
Mulkey said she is “forever indebted” to Johnson after Sunday’s loss.
LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson (center) reacts against the UCLA Bruins during the second quarter in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at Spokane Arena on March 30, 2025 in Spokane, Washington. Getty ImagesAs a freshman, Johnson played a key role in LSU’s 2023 title run alongside forward Angel Reese — the No. 7-overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft — with 10 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the championship victory over Iowa.
If Johnson doesn’t enter the transfer portal, she has the keys to LSU and the opportunity to chase her second NCAA title with Mulkey.
LSU is losing forward Aneesah Morrow to the WNBA, and junior center Sa’Myah Smith entered the transfer portal this week.
The Tigers will lean heavily on Johnson as starting point guard Shayeann Day-Wilson is graduating.
Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles, a projected top-two pick, passed on the 2025 WNBA Draft to enter the NCAA transfer portal for her final year of eligibility, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Notre Dame was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament last Saturday in the Sweet 16 by TCU.
