SECAUCUS, N.J. -- The Phoenix Mercury, who finished with the worst record in the WNBA last season, will get the first pick in the April draft that includes three-time All-Americans Diana Taurasi of Connecticut, Alana Beard of Duke and Stanford's Nicole Powell.

Phoenix (8-26) won the draft lottery Wednesday, beating out the five other teams that missed the playoffs. The Mercury staff toasted the news with champagne in their America West Arena office.

"The prospect of playing in the WNBA is exciting, but right now my focus is on my senior year at Connecticut and winning the national championship," Taurasi said in a statement released by the university. "When the time comes to start thinking about a professional career it will be very exciting."

Mercury GM Seth Sulka wouldn't commit specifically to Taurasi, but it was clear she would be the first choice barring something drastic in the five months before the draft.

"I think she's got to be the front-runner but I don't think we will tie ourselves to that," Sulka said. "She's got all the skills. She's won back-to-back championships at Connecticut. The second one she won after losing four other starters to the top six draft positions to our league."

Taurasi, a 6-foot guard/forward has won back-to-back national titles at Connecticut. She averaged 26 points during the 2003 NCAA tournament and is 112-4 in her three-year career with the Huskies.

"Whatever team selects me after my time is up at UConn will be a great opportunity because I will get the chance to compete against the best players in the world," Taurasi said.

The draft also will include Penn State's Kelly Mazzante and Nicole Ohlde of Kansas State.

"The specialness of this year is that really we haven't seen depth at the top really in any draft we've had in this league," Sulka said.

The Washington Mystics (9-25) will get the second pick, followed by the Indiana Fever (16-18), San Antonio Silver Stars (12-22), New York Liberty (16-18) and Seattle Storm (18-16).

Sulka said he expects Taurasi, Beard and Powell will likely be the top three picks.

The draft lottery established the order of selection for the first round, with the order for the second and third rounds based on team records.

The league's third draft lottery, was conducted by WNBA officials and representatives from the accounting firm of Ernst & Young at the NBA Entertainment studios in Secaucus, N.J.

Last season, the Cleveland Rockers tabbed forward LaToya Thomas with the top overall pick. The Detroit Shock selected eventual Rookie of the Year Cheryl Ford third overall.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.