UPDATE: Arizona’s Esmery Martinez opts to forego 5th year, enter 2023 WNBA draft

Mar 28, 2023 - 11:11 PM

Esmery Martinez was a huge part of the success Arizona women’s basketball had on the court last year. She would have been a huge part of the team’s success next year. Instead, she hopes to be making her impact at the next level.

The WNBA announced on Tuesday afternoon that Martinez was one of the players who had opted into this year’s draft, which is set to be held on Apr. 10.

While Martinez has the option to rescind her entry into the draft, it’s not common. Players have until five days before the draft to rescind their entry. In that case, they retain college eligibility.

If players are still playing in the NCAA Tournament, they can continue adding themselves to the list until two days after their final college game, so the list of 64 players from US colleges and universities who are eligible to be drafted will continue to grow but will likely not include all of the college players who are eligible to be drafted. The list currently contains players who were out of eligibility, including Arizona’s Cate Reese, Shaina Pellington and Jade Loville.

It’s potentially a big loss for Arizona. With Lauren Ware announcing her entry into the transfer portal and Reese out of eligibility, Arizona will have only Maya Nnaji returning in the frontcourt.

Martinez averaged 10.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 25.8 minutes per game this season. She shot 50.6 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from 3-point range in her only season at Arizona.

Update: Martinez put out a statement on social media stating that all of her options are open. She may stay in the draft, she may return for another year, and she may transfer.